No really - it helps if you don’t make eye contact with a new-to-you-horse who just (probably seconds before I walked in the barn) tried to slice his eye out while feverishly itching his head on the edge of the metal 10 foot sliding door
Yesssss, that would be Sir Duncan. Duncan is yet another horse who should have come with a lifetime supply of bubble wrap. He missed his eye but he is a bit puffy at the lower inside edge this morning.
The slice on his face is a doozie (and he had a fly mask on) but not bad enough to need stitches. If a new, inexperienced horse owner would post pics of something similar, I would say “call the vet” simply because the person doesn’t have experience in dealing with a laid open cut and also the horse who says “nupe, you are NOT touching that - especially with that stuff you have in your hand”
First thing DH did last night was grab Duncan by the halter to hold him for me. I said “let him go. He’s had enough of people ganging up on him and drugging him to work on him. He has to learn to trust me and to do this by ourselves —— WITHOUT being tied up; now bring me the cookie jar
I got Duncan doctored good enough last night because that horse is a food mongor, lol. He knows what “you’ll get cookies” means and cookie bribes were high on my list to get the job done, lollol.
This morning, I showed Duncan the cookie jar and the medicines he had to have plastered on his face. He had to smell every single tube , plus the paper towel soaked in Vetericyn,. Thankfully I have earned some measure of trust with him but for some reason what really helps to work around the eyes and inside the ears on a horse not used to it, is to NOT make eye contact.
I learned the “no eye contact” trick years ago, when I had a concussion that left me with vertigo that would cause me to black out if I looked up, even for a few seconds. I learned how to clean ears and eyes while looking down at the barn floor.
Anyway, “don’t make eye contact” and whispering “you’ll get cookies” after each phase of the medicating process worked like a charm. Sir Duncan almost got an A+ for great behavior - close but no cigar as the saying goes, but he stood almost as perfect as I could ask for
Duncan is such a good hearted, loving, and intelligent horse - if he would just lose his accident prone ways because this isn’t his first incident, it’s just his worst
The main moral of the story is try not making eye contact, if working with the ears or eyes is difficult, look at the floor. It has worked for me on three horses
Yesssss, that would be Sir Duncan. Duncan is yet another horse who should have come with a lifetime supply of bubble wrap. He missed his eye but he is a bit puffy at the lower inside edge this morning.
The slice on his face is a doozie (and he had a fly mask on) but not bad enough to need stitches. If a new, inexperienced horse owner would post pics of something similar, I would say “call the vet” simply because the person doesn’t have experience in dealing with a laid open cut and also the horse who says “nupe, you are NOT touching that - especially with that stuff you have in your hand”
First thing DH did last night was grab Duncan by the halter to hold him for me. I said “let him go. He’s had enough of people ganging up on him and drugging him to work on him. He has to learn to trust me and to do this by ourselves —— WITHOUT being tied up; now bring me the cookie jar
I got Duncan doctored good enough last night because that horse is a food mongor, lol. He knows what “you’ll get cookies” means and cookie bribes were high on my list to get the job done, lollol.
This morning, I showed Duncan the cookie jar and the medicines he had to have plastered on his face. He had to smell every single tube , plus the paper towel soaked in Vetericyn,. Thankfully I have earned some measure of trust with him but for some reason what really helps to work around the eyes and inside the ears on a horse not used to it, is to NOT make eye contact.
I learned the “no eye contact” trick years ago, when I had a concussion that left me with vertigo that would cause me to black out if I looked up, even for a few seconds. I learned how to clean ears and eyes while looking down at the barn floor.
Anyway, “don’t make eye contact” and whispering “you’ll get cookies” after each phase of the medicating process worked like a charm. Sir Duncan almost got an A+ for great behavior - close but no cigar as the saying goes, but he stood almost as perfect as I could ask for
Duncan is such a good hearted, loving, and intelligent horse - if he would just lose his accident prone ways because this isn’t his first incident, it’s just his worst
The main moral of the story is try not making eye contact, if working with the ears or eyes is difficult, look at the floor. It has worked for me on three horses