Horses generally don’t like fly spray.
Fly spray has a strong smell. It can be strange and scary when it squirts out of the bottle and touches the horse, unexpectedly. And, a horse may not like the way it feels on their body.
Earlier this spring, I tried using a rag to put fly spray on Chewie.
However, Chewie told me in no uncertain terms (by walking away several times!) that she didn’t want anything to do with that weird, smelly stuff. Even if there was a lot of delicious food involved, her answer was “No!”
So, we ditched the fly spray for awhile. I needed a different starting point.
I didn’t want to create an approach-avoidance situation. It can be easy to create this type of situation when clicker training with food or with other types of positive reinforcement.
That is, I didn’t want to create a situation in which Chewie wanted to interact with me and wanted the food, but she also was still uncomfortable about the fly spray. These types of situations can create a lot of conflicting emotions and frustration.
Instead, I wanted a starting point where Chewie would be 100% happy and relaxed.
Our new starting point was wiping Chewie’s legs with a dry cloth and then with a cloth with some water on it. I also decided to simplify things by starting with just her legs, as the flies are often worse on her legs.
Chewie had zero issues with the wet cloth. I could wipe the cloth up and down her legs while she stood at a bucket, munching on some hay pellets.
(If the wet cloth were an issue, we would have needed a different starting point!)
For our next step, I sprayed the cloth about 10 times with water and added one small squirt of fly spray to the cloth. And, now, over the past week and a half, I have very gradually adjusted the ratio of fly spray to water.
For today’s session, I used two squirts of water and eight squirts of fly spray. And, Chewie did great! She stood calmly by the bucket and munched on some hay pellets while I wiped the rag up and down each leg.
Having a predictable routine with consistent cues has helped expedite this training.
We always do our fly spray training by a hanging bucket, I wear a black glove, and I rub the cloth down her legs in the same order each time. This routine helps Chewie know exactly what’s going to happen next.
In addition, I also start each training session by holding out the cloth and letting her sniff or touch it. This way, she knows the session is starting.
These sessions are very short. We generally spend around one to two minutes per day working on fly spray training. As well, you will notice in the pictures that Chewie is not tied up or restrained. She’s free to move away or walk away if she’s unsure or uncomfortable.
Pretty soon, we’ll move on to some other body parts. And, long term, I will also introduce her to the spray bottle. However, there’s no reason to rush ahead, when we have a routine that is working well.
I’m happy about all the progress we have made so far. Chewie is learning about the smell and feel of the fly spray. And, I’m able to accomplish the goal of actually getting some fly spray on her legs.
No comments yet.