This is more of a training type related post but it's a post all the same.
So, did you know that spray bottles are monsters?! Seriously, the very bottle itself at any point in time can just go off! There is a cold wet feeling that comes right when that bottle shows up and it always seems to start on the legs! Who knows what the real intentions are of these bottles but if I am a horse, NO WAY THAT THING IS GOING TO KILL ME!!!!!!
I think that is what goes through Memphis' mind when he sees the bottle. I can usually see him tensing up right when I start walking towards him with it. But, at the end of the day I am going to win. (My 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Adams, would fail me based on the fact that I started that sentence with "but")
So every time we work through this issue it's much the same. This is so similar to working him through bath time that its the same principal. I have found that the safest place for me when working through an issue with my horse is right at his shoulder about 2-3 feet away from him. I do not stand in front of him, nor do I allow a large area of space between us. My reasoning for this is I do not want to be trampled if he decides to bolt forward and I don't want to give him the freedom of unpressured motion. (that leads to more of a free will to act even dumber I have found)
Now, I do not want forward movement out of him. His natural instinct is to bolt the hell away from the monster at hand and that is forward movement. (sometimes he bolts backwards but that's more in response to my pressure on him in the wrong spot) I want to restrict his ability to bolt forward for this exercise in getting over evil horse eating bottles.
I keep myself in a large area to give us both room to move around with no fears of hitting anything since I don't want to add any more monsters to the list while trying to train him to give to this bottle. I also need to allow myself enough patience to work him through this, so I usually give myself a second to decompose before I start. This is for my sanity and helps put myself in the mindset of getting a job done as opposed to trying to spray him with flyspray.
Ok, so I have a big dumb horse, I have fly spray in one hand, one short lead rope attached to his halter, and we are standing in the middle of a large open barn area. Let the fun begin!!!!
I start with his legs and spray the bottle, he immediatly trys to go forward on me. I counter his manuever and turn his head towards me. I don't say anything and I don't make a fuss, but this will make him try to turn his entire body away from me to straighten out his neck. I do not allow it. I walk with his body staying at his shoulder and I continue to spray his legs. Now we are doing a sort of dance in the barn. I do not allow him enough room to rear back, I do not allow him the ability to straighten his neck out and bolt, and I do not allow him the option to think about going crazy.
I'm steady and I'm firm.
I give him 5 minutes on each side. I don't want his neck to get sore from being bent one way the entire time; so after 5 mintues he gets a short break to catch his breath, let me get the room to stop spinning, and then I switch sides. Then we go again and again and again.
Took him 30 minutes before he just stopped and let me spray him. I took all pressure off of him. Allowed him to look forward, gave him slack on the lead rope, and took a deep breath while stepping off his shoulder and releasing the pressure I was putting on him.
He then got sprayed again like I would if I was going to do it before any ride. He gets no praises from me, his release from pressure was his reward. I make no fuss about it after I've sprayed him. I just tie him to the wall again, put the fly spray away, and then continue on with whatever I was going to do for the day with him.
I will repeat the above method each time he balks at being sprayed until he will allow me to spray him tied to the wall. This could take a bit, but I'm going to get it done.
Stupid horse eating monsters!!!
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