HORSE SENSE: Equine learning theory: 'don’t break your vet' 23 March 2018 Premium

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23 March 2018

Irish Field Contributor on 23 Mar 2018

HORSE SENSE: Equine learning theory: 'don’t break your vet'

Veterinary surgeon Karen Dunne has some advice for horse owners on how you can work with your horse so that they remain relaxed and safe to handle

Irish Field Contributor

23 March 2018

Over the course of a 30-year career, a horse vet is likely to receive 7-8 injuries that are severe enough to require medical treatment and/or time off work

BEVA has launched a campaign which comprises a series of short videos, featuring vet and equine behaviourist Gemma Pearson (right), providing quick and simple advice for owners on how to teach horses to be quiet, relaxed and safe

Clickers are quite widely used in dog training but horses also respond well to them. You can buy one in most pet shops for less than €10.

It is much safer for a vet to handle a horse who has been trained to remain calm while being treated or injected

HORSES’ size and strength means that they can easily injure people and a study of UK and Irish horse vets found that they had a higher risk of workplace injuries than construction workers or fire fighters.

Over the course of a 30-year career, a horse vet is likely to receive seven or eight injuries that are severe enough to require medical treatment and/or time off work. However, it’s obviously not just horse vets who are in danger: anyone handling horses faces similar risks.