DUCT TAPE?
If you’ve spent much time on the Internet of late, you may have seen a novel solution for calming a horse: “There’s a video showing someone trying to shoe a mare, and she doesn’t want to be shod,” says Tia Nelson, DVM, of Helena, Montana. “Then the farrier puts this piece of duct tape lengthwise down the front of her face and the mare settles down. This seems to distract a horse. I’ve used various things like that on occasion, and they generally work.”
Still, you’ll also find a number of videos and blogs where people report that applying duct tape to their horses’ noses does not “settle” them. Some horses get downright antsy until the tape is removed. One possibility is that, at least in some fidgety horses, the tape provides a distraction that keeps their minds occupied while the farrier works on their feet. But a piece of tape probably won’t help much to overcome the anxieties of a truly fearful horse.
Nonetheless, simple distraction can be useful, and it can be achieved in different ways. “My husband often comes with me when I shoe horses, and he’s the best person I’ve ever been around for holding horses for the farrier. He just calms them down and they stand,” says Nelson. “I’ve asked him how he does that, and he says he just puts his hands under their face, on the mandible, with one finger on each side of the mandible— gently stroking. As he does this, he lifts the head a little bit, maybe just a centimeter, says this works to on horses that were freaking out like kites on the ends of strings when their owners were holding them, completely unmanageable.” problem but because they are masking agents,” Johnson says. “Just because a substance is natural or organic does not mean that it will not test or even that it is good for your horse. Both the United States Equestrian Federation and the Fédération Equestre Internationale have lists of forbidden substances on their websites, along with medication guidelines, that every owner should consult prior to administering any type of supplement to their horse.”
9. PHEROMONES
Chemicals released by animals to affect the behavior of others in the environment, pheromones play many roles, signaling everything from alarm to sexual receptivity. For several years, products based on pheromones secreted by females to comfort and reassure their offspring have been available to help calm anxious dogs and cats.