Cooperative care with horses: Stress-free encounters with farriers and the vets

For some horses, the mere sight of the vet is enough to make their eyes go white and their heart rate increase. Minor or even major accidents are not uncommon because the frightened horse bolts at the sight of the syringe. Some horses are afraid of the vet and any form of medical treatment, while others are put off by the unpleasant noises and smells at the farrier’s.

This is where cooperativecare for horses comes in. This specialised training is designed to help horses overcome their fear of the unknown, making medical treatments as stress-free as possible.

Horse taps a target

What is cooperative care for horses?

The fetlock is sprayed with a spray

Having already proven its effectiveness with large wild animals in zoos, such as elephants and giraffes, cooperative care is now being introduced in stables. The aim of this training is to help horses overcome their fear of medical procedures by practising them in the smallest possible steps. As horses are flight animals that are naturally afraid of unfamiliar situations, their first instinct will always be to flee. Such defensive reactions can lead to accidents involving humans and animals alike.

At the same time, horses are creatures of habit and deserve to be systematically prepared for new situations. Cooperative care prepares horses for new situations step by step.

The benefits of cooperative care with horses

Cooperative care is beneficial not only for skittish horses, but for calm ones too. This is because internal stress can lead to an increased heart rate, which can skew test results such as blood test results. Cooperative care lowers the heart rate during treatment, making it suitable for all horses.

Furthermore, cooperative care strengthens the bond between humans and horses. The horse feels understood, respected and valued, and trusts the human more. In this way, cooperative care can address many issues simultaneously, even though the training itself focuses on just one. The horse will feel safe in the presence of its owner, even in new situations, and even when the vet arrives with a syringe.

The basis of cooperative care: The horse’s cooperation

Before starting cooperative care, it is important to familiarise yourself in advance with how horses learn and the concept of positive reinforcement. Clicker training is a suitable method for this.

The horse must associate the click with praise. The trainer, in turn, must click at exactly the right moment so that the horse links the behaviour shown with the praise and subsequently displays that behaviour more often. For every step the horse takes in the right direction, it receives a click or praise. The clicker acts as a reinforcement alongside verbal and food rewards.

At Kramer Equestrian, you’ll find everything you need for successful clicker training: as well as treats in various sizes, compositions and textures, you can also buy treat bags and, of course, clickers.

A woman feeds a horse treats whilst it is being trained

Now we can begin the cooperative care.

It may sound contradictory at first, but it is by no means so: a key part of successful cooperative care with horses is giving the horse a say in the matter. The horse’s willingness and consent to the treatment steps are crucial for creating a respectful and relaxed atmosphere and for the success of the cooperative care.

The next step may therefore only be taken once the horse has given its consent via the previously agreed cooperation signal. This cooperation signal may, for example, be touching a target (e.g. a foam tube) with its nose or resting its head on a so-called cooperator (padded headrest). If the horse moves away from the target, it feels uncomfortable and the treatment is stopped immediately.

Important!

Treatment or training must cease immediately if the horse fails to respond to the cooperation signal. Failing to do so will abuse the horse’s trust and render the cooperative care ineffective. Each subsequent treatment step must be consented to by the horse of its own free will.

Every time the horse shows its willingness to cooperate with a training or treatment step, it is given plenty of praise. The training sequences are gradually extended over time. The treats can also be gradually replaced with verbal praise to avoid food-driven behaviour and the stress that this can cause. After all, the aim of cooperative care is to reduce stress.

How to get started with cooperative care on a horse

As a horse handler, you should have experience of marker training or positive reinforcement. If not, you should seek advice from someone with training experience, particularly in the case of a severely traumatised horse.

We start on neutral ground with which the horse has no negative associations. Training progresses from easy to difficult, with the duration and intensity of the exercises increasing with every step forward:

  • Establish, develop and reinforce the cooperation signal
  • The basis of all examinations: standing still
  • Touching/palpating and all exercises that are unfamiliar to the horse but do not cause pain, e.g. taking a temperature
  • Transition to more challenging exercises, e.g. administering worming treatment, checking teeth, using needles. During training, use alternatives to the treatment equipment to simulate an emergency situation (tick tweezers instead of needles, and mash, water or sugar-free vegetable purée for children instead of worming medication).
  • Apply what has been learnt to a realistic environment: acceptance of strangers, smells (disinfectant), noises (the sound of aluminium spray), equipment (hoof stand, ultrasound & X-ray machine, stethoscope), locations or restrictions such as a headcollar.

Training example: A horse is afraid of spray bottles

Below, we explain how you can structure cooperative care using the example of a horse that is afraid of spray bottles (the sound) containing disinfectant (the smell). We have chosen touching a nose target (a foam noodle) as the cooperation signal. A prerequisite is that both the horse and the handler are familiar with clicker training.

1. Developing the target for the nose

  • Guide the horse towards the foam noodle using a treat.
  • Click and reward with a treat when the horse touches it; repeat several times.
  • Praise the horse when it touches the target on its own.
  • Repeat until the cooperation signal is firmly established.
Foam noodle

2. Standing still

  • Reward your horse when it touches the foam noodle for at least one second.
  • Gradually increase the duration of contact in one-second increments.
  • The click should be given when the horse remains still.

3. Reinforcing the cooperation signal: Touch the horse all over

  • You must not proceed to the next step until the horse has first demonstrated the cooperation signal (touching the nose target).
  • Gently guide the horse’s nose towards the target; it receives a click for each touch.
  • If it moves its nose away from the target, the touch is stopped.
  • Slowly extend the duration of the touch: sustained cooperation.

4. Introduce the spray bottle

  • Only bring the bottle close to the horse once it demonstrates the cooperation signal.
  • Reward the horse when you are able to hold the spray bottle close to its body. Immediately move the bottle away again after the click.
  • Gradually increase the contact time in increments of one second.

5. Spraying the spray bottle

  • By using the cooperation signal and observing the horse’s reaction, you can tell whether the horse is comfortable with the next step.
  • First, get the horse used to the sound of the spray; to do this, fill the bottle with water to begin with.
  • In the final step, practice spraying disinfectant spray to get the horse used to the smell.
The horse is sprayed with fly repellent

What can be practised with cooperative care?

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