07/12/2025
Horses often dislike syringes due to a combination of fear, negative past experiences, natural instinct, and handlers' anxiety. The issue is rooted in behaviour and association rather than an innate hatred of the object itself.
Key Reasons for Aversion
Negative Association and Past Trauma: The primary reason for a horse's fear of syringes is associative learning. A single bad experience—such as a particularly painful injection (certain medications can burn at the injection site), a difficult blood draw, or a rough deworming process—can cause the horse to associate the sight, smell, or sensation of a syringe with pain or stress. They remember the "punishment" even if they were well-behaved.
Anticipation and the "Fight or Flight" Response: Horses are prey animals with a strong instinct to flee from perceived threats. The anticipation of an injection or oral medication is often worse for the horse than the actual event. Their natural response to something new or invasive is suspicion and fear. When they are cornered or restrained for a procedure, their fear can escalate into a dangerous "flight" response (ducking, rearing, kicking, pulling away).
Handling Techniques: Abrupt movements, force, or handler anxiety can significantly contribute to a horse's aversion. If a person is nervous, the horse can sense it, which makes them more likely to be nervous too. Forcing the horse to accept the syringe often reinforces the negative behaviour, as the horse learns that if it struggles enough, it might escape the situation (negative reinforcement).
Oral vs. Injectable Medications: The aversion can apply to both oral syringes (for dewormers or medications) and hypodermic needles. For oral administration, it can be the strange taste of the medication, the physical pressure on their mouth, or the sensation of having a foreign object inserted.
Overcoming the Aversion
With patience and consistent positive reinforcement, most horses can be desensitized to syringes. Horse owners are often advised to practice by using an empty syringe or one filled with a tasty treat like Marshmallow Root Powder or Apple Juice, as a positive reward, gradually building the horse's confidence and trust in the process.
Use a wide nosel syringe
Mix Marshmallow root powder ( or slippery elm ) with chamomile ( soothing & calming ) and make a paste easy enough to sq**rt out of a wide nozzle syringe.
Spread some over the end of the nozzle so they also get a direct taste.
This consistency and texture resembles worming paste or anything similar.
Its fabulous way of horses overcoming the fear of a syringe and as great training aid to start for the first time using a syringe.
Find us here : https://www.equinevitality.co.uk/.../water-intake...
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