Funny Mason getting stuck in the farm frisbee
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Below was the snark face I got, rightly so, because on Saturday and today, when I went to kiss Laz or hand feed him a carrot...I STATIC SHOCKED his sweet lips!!!!!!!!!
Now, he's developing (quickly might I add...jeez my horse is brilliant) a new fear of shock. He comes close to my hand and then jumps back anticipating a shock. He tried to come again, and nibbled his lead line and POP, he got static shocked again.
UGH!!!
How do I eliminate static?!
I noticed when currying him and brushing him in the sand arena, there were pop pop pops sounds of static on his fur. Do I rub a dryer sheet on my brushes?! I do not want a head shy horse or one that is afraid of my kisses! Now, I know it's just static shock, not a big deal, but to my OVERLY sensitive OTTB, it's like I'm strapping him in the electric chair.
I can't bear looking in those chocolaty eyes when he looks and says "Why are you doing that to me? What did I do?" (sniff)..ok, so there's no sniff, but I feel awful.
I had to spend 15 minutes rubbing him, shoving carrots in his mouth (after I wet my hands to eliminate shock) and convincing him he wasn't being punished for something. Poor guy, must have been confusing.
I am happy to say, we did have a great little hack in the arena. We did a few minutes of trotting and did mostly power walking. No spooks, happy perked ears and good solid forward movement. We worked on our "Whoa's" and standing still, and our backing ups which he aced like a pro.
Little video clip of Laz and I trying to convince Mason that we won't bite....or won't we?!
Ignore my voice (gag!!!)
Mason is sooooo respectful of the arena and will only come in when I BEG him to. What a wonder dog he is.
Mason looking away because he's embarrassed of his big brother, Laz's god awful-growing-out-for-winter-hair-cut. Oh well, at least it's thick and luxurious!
Also, a quick update on Holistic meds. Laz has been taking them quite well. Every other day, I hand feed two different meds to him which he used to able to spit out the teeeeny tiny granules but now he eats them fine with some of his L/S feed. He also takes his dailies well in his feed. Whoo hoo.
Funny Mason. They are all growing in their winter fuzzies in full force.
ReplyDeleteWell, apparently you get more shocks when the air is dry, so maybe that's a factor. ?? Hopefully, it's a temporary thing caused by low humidity. Poor Laz, I'm sure he is confused!
ReplyDeleteI think there are anti-static sprays, but, yes, I do believe fabric softener sheets would work, as well.
I'm not sure how to eliminate the shocks to the nose, though wetting your hands is a good idea, but when you curry him you can avoid shocks by keeping your free hand on the horse. (Tucker's not a fan of being shocked either!)
ReplyDeleteKeeping a hand on helps. You can also "discharge" yourself by touching something grounded before you touch him, such as barn, pole, or anything solid attached to the ground. Simple but it works.
ReplyDeleteOMG...Hubby was grooming LBR last week and LBR start freaking out. When he would even raise his hand, LBR would put his head up in the air so far that 6'2" hubby couldn't touch.
ReplyDeleteEventually, LBR was tacked up and we had a great ride.
After the ride hubby approached us in the grooming stall and LBR freaked. When hubby touched him, he felt the spark and realized what he had been doing.
Every since then, we've been using a coat conditioner before we groom so that his fur (and it's fur now) will be slightly damp.
I like Laz's wild mane! I am weird, I guess. If I put my free hand on Pie and Sovey while I am brushing, an electric shock goes through and I shock them. It is horrible. I hate static - I get shocked more than anyone I know. Winter is the pits! I get shocked kissing the horses and Brian! I have to first touch Brian's face with my hand so that we don't get our lips shocked. I am not kidding!
ReplyDeleteHAHHA! Too cute...that is one "respectful" dog!
ReplyDeleteLaz...woohoo does the electric shuffle!
KK
I get shocked a lot in the winter too. Every single time I get out of my vehicle I touch the back of my hand to the door before I touch it with my palm because the shock doesn't hurt on the back lol.
ReplyDeleteI always had to rub a dryer sheet all over my poor dog (or the brush) just to groom her. And I had to use an anti static spray on my horse's blanket to put it on and take it off of him. He had randomly gotten to where he would totally freak out when I was taking his blanket off and I couldn't figure out why until one night I was doing it in the dark and saw all of the electrical shocks. So yes dryer sheets and sprays work great. Poor guy.
Oh and you sound just like me in the video. :D