The Power of Positive Reinforcement

I first brought Boston home last spring shortly before her first birthday. My veterinarian was working in my area a few days after she arrived home, so he agreed to stop by for her vaccinations. While he was here, we decided that both horses should be dewormed also. When he approached Boston with the dewormer syringe, she freaked out and ended up throwing herself on the ground!  Whoa! With that, deworming was accomplished. However, I was in for quite a challenge when it came to deworming her again.

Honestly, I just figured that since she was in a new home, didn’t know the vet (or me, actually), and was still a baby that surely the next time I would deworm her myself and everything would be fine. I knew that I would have the opportunity to build a relationship with her by then and that if I took my time, she would be all right. I had dewormed and vaccinated my horses myself for years without incident, so I knew that this had just been a fluke.

The next time came around and I pulled the syringe out. Boston threw herself in reverse and ended up rearing. I couldn’t get close to her. I tied her up and the fit she threw made me think she would end up throwing herself again. I certainly didn’t want to make that a habit.  I impatiently tried some approach and retreat, but she wasn’t having it. Hmmm… Back in the day, prior to learning anything about natural horsemanship, we used a twitch on horses who were reluctant to be dewormed. So, I bought a twitch and decided to give it a try. Oh my! The minute she saw the twitch, she had exactly the same reaction. I have handily twitched many horses over the years, but never have I had a horse absolutely refuse to let me near her with one.

I started perusing the internet for help. I found a neat article  about using an empty syringe, the approach/retreat method, and then gradually adding honey to the syringe to give her a sweet treat. You can read that article here. After a week of approach/retreat, I was able to move the empty syringe around her air space and touch her body with it. A few more days and I could touch her neck and then her cheek. She was still very wary and required a ton of patience from me. Literally, all I did with her every time I went out to the barn was mess around with this silly syringe. Nearly a week later, I was able to place the tip of the syringe in the corner of her mouth. Surely if she got a little squirt of honey, she’d be hooked. Wrong! Boston did not appreciate the honey in the least and we both ended up a sticky mess! I went back to approach/retreat until I could consistently get the tip of the syringe in the corner of her mouth. Then came the dewormer. I was nearly 3 weeks late and felt like I had to get this done. I snuck the actual dewormer into the corner of her mouth and gave it a quick squirt. Boston was NOT happy, but she was dewormed – for now.

The next day, I went out and tried our approach/retreat routine with the empty syringe and Boston was worse than before. I decided it was time for a new method – positive reinforcement. Lucky for me, Boston loves treats. I typically don’t use them much with young horses, but I was running out of options. I used approach/retreat until I could touch her neck with the syringe. Immediately, I gave her a treat and put the syringe away. Gradually, I worked my way to touching her cheek with the syringe and then the corner of her mouth. Each time I was able to touch her, she immediately got a treat and the syringe was put away. I used positive reinforcement like this multiple times a day, every single day, for three months, until I could easily put the syringe into her mouth, even when she was not wearing a halter.

The big test came just this week with the actual dewormer. Boston offered to take the full syringe, but after about half was squirted into her mouth, she backed up a couple steps. She put her head up and I could tell she was thinking it through. I gave her a treat,  relaxed, and gave her some time. Then I brought the syringe up again. She put her head down and let me squirt the remaining dewormer into her mouth. After she swallowed the nasty stuff, I gave her a treat. Every day since, I have used positive reinforcement with the empty syringe and she has been eager to take it, even with no halter.

Positive reinforcement took a lot of time and consistency! Sure, I could  just wait until the next deworming rotation and have a “fight” with her. Boston might get better or worse over time, depending on how sneaky I could be with the syringe. Taking time and finding a method that worked for her has made deworming part of our routine. I will continue to present Boston with the empty syringe several times a week and immediately reward her acceptance. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather that my horses offer the behavior I want than be forced to comply. She was so proud of herself and confident after this deworming. This is the horse behavior I want to inspire and encourage!