handling and restraint

equine field of vision

360 degrees

herd behavior; bovid

bovid/sheep/alpacas typically retreat when strangers approach, goats and llamas are typically more curious, llamas are often used as guard animals for herds of sheep/goats/alpacas, rams and bucks can be very aggressive during breeding season, watch intact males of all species

cattle restraint; moving or herding

calmly and quietly, point of balance, use of electric prods in reserved for encouraging animals to move when other methods have failed

large animals

large/farm animals are herd animals by instinct, hierarchy in the herd, fight to establish and hold position, most prey animals are typically not aggressive only become dangerous when threatened, large animals are prey, do not like to be singled out.

physical - casting

laterally recumbent in the large animal, can be intentionally with a series of ropes, sedatives or anesthetics can be used, animal can do accidentally typically in a small space such as a stall

diversionary - foot elevation (equine)

lift a foot to keep another on the ground, for wrapping/hosing/x-rays, etc...

cria rentrant

like a lamb

cervids

deer

horses have very limited vision in 3 areas

directly behind them, directly in front of nose, between eyes on the forehead

individual restraint sheep

do not grab by the wool, care when using horns, setting up, shepherds crook, halter

chemical restraint

dogs used to achieve appropriate level of restraint

cattle restraint; first

drive a group to a smaller working area

goat restraint

gregarious, inquisitive, respond to human touch and affection, aggression, independent, social hierarchy, lack herding behavior, by the beard, horns can be held near the base, do not restrain by eats, lateral recumbency, collars

diversionary - petting (equine)

firm patting or petting, talk soothingly

handling a foal

first you must catch and control the mare, leading the mare means leading the foal, naturally follow dam, controlling the mare is important for personnel safety, mare could be protective she must always be restrained while handling the foal

horse restraint; tail restraint

foals, small ponies, not adults, used to move/lift/support the hindquarters

striking

font leg kicking (horse)

goat restraint pt 2

front legs lift at fetlock, hand at the knees, rear legs lift at fetlock, extend caudally; small kids are usually held in lap for procedures such as dehorning

facilities

good facilities make a difference in the ease of handling, also if animals are trained to handle the process, ruminants and camelids do well with system that funnels them into a single file or narrow row but they have a good memory of both people and herd mates, they remember and associate negative experiences, dairy cattle are easier to handle than beef cattle

ear grab (equine)

grab ear and twist, unethical, makes a horse head shy

diversionary - shoulder roll (equine)

grasp a fold of skin, roll and wiggle it

diversionary - ear roll (equine)

grasp ear at base, touch and squeeze the ear, for short distraction, ear twitch

restraint techniques for camelids

more restraint may be needed than for goats, apply eat pressure keep firm grip, use miniature pony halter

watch for signs; equine

most expressive feature is ears, watch movement, pricked forward-alert, flicking constantly-nervous,

cattle restraint; third

move them up an alleyway to the chute

herding sheep

much like cattle, s strong flocking instinct, point of balance, flight zone

equine behavior

observe the horses behavior before approaching, horses re individuals with idiosyncrasies and personalities, be calm and confident, some breeds are naturally more nervous or high strung

heard behaviors; sheep

sheep have the strongest flock instinct and will clump can cause injury or breakout of the enclosure, sheep can make heroic attempts to rejoin the group, goats will scatter when frightened and tend to spread out more when grazing, livestock dogs will sometimes be kept with sheep but typically not alpacas and llamas because of the stress

stocks

some may need to be tranquilized, two gates, temporary out of hay bales

diversionary restraint

techniques to distract

if handler is in front of the point of balance

the animal moves backward

horse restraint; chemical restraint

the use of specific drugs to achieve the appropriate level of restraint for the protection of handlers and animal

handling and restraint of cervids

two main methods of restraining deer, chemical immobilization, sure system restraint

physical - hobbles

tying rear legs for breeding, can tie front legs and one rear and one front

equine read your posture

they know if you're fearful, speak calm and even toned, approach where the horse can see you but on his left if possible, offer bribes such as grain or treat (do not feed from hand, teaches to nibble/bite)

horse restraint

tie with a quick release knot on a short tie, cross ties with a quick release clips are safe, never wrap lead rope around hand/arm/neck, loop the lead rope over the neck before putting on a halter.

sheep behavior

timid, do not like to be pet, easily frightened, seldom aggressive, aggression

objectives; large animal

understand potential risks that exist with the practice of large animal veterinary medicine, be able to tie multiple types of knots to ensure an effective set of tools for large animal restraint, understand the basic natural instincts of each large animal species, understand the importance of protecting themselves, veterinary personnel, and clients, be familiar with common methods of large animal restraint and able to apply them safely

walking equine

walk on the left of the horse when leading, close to the shoulder, hold lead rope with right hand, about 1-1 1/2 feet away

cria

young llama

the tail indicates attitude (equine)

wringing or circling - nervousness, straight down - pain or sleep, clamped tight - fear

mare

mature female horse

stallion

mature male horse

equine binocular vision

60-70 degrees, both eyes are used to synchronously produce a single image

lamb restraint

One hand under the body, while the other hand supports the neck, Castration and tail docking restraint

camelid behavior

aggressive or spit, eats and tail can be used to estimate mood, males do not tend to be more aggressive, orphan or bottle raised male camelids can be extremely dangerous

herd behavior

all herd animals will be calmer with a companion, small ruminants and camelids are especially in need of companionship, even keeping a buddy adjacent if not in the same pen will typically help, goats can form string friendship bonds

herd behavior; others

all herd animals will be calmer with a companion, small ruminants and camelids are especially in need of companionship, even keeping a buddy adjacent if not in the same pen will typically help, goats can form strong friendship bonds

flight zone definition

amount of space the animal will allow between itself and the threat before it moves

cattle restraint; second

crowd the animals in a tub

handling a foal pt 2

approach foal gently and purposefully, typically do not enjoy much human contact, one arm around foal shoulders or base of neck, control hind end by placing your arm around the hindquarters or using a tail hold, do not throw foals to the ground unless sedate

halter and lead rope (most common restraint)

approach horses on the left, stand on the same side as the person performing the procedure, approach from the left side, never coil or drag the lead rope, lead from the poll, use the buddy system

if the handler is in back of the point of balance

are used to handle and move large animal species

gelding

castrated male horse

individual restraint of goats

corner animal with hand on its jaw, straddle with rump to wall and squeeze with your knees, more athletic than sheep so tipping onto rump is difficult, use the horns of mature goats for additional restraint, never grab the hair or wool

bovine capture and restraint pt 2

corral or other enclosure, halter, head-gate or head-catch, squeeze chute, head-lock, tail restraint and tail jack, foot control and restraint, casting cows

covering the eyes (equine)

cover on same side as the procedure, do not cover the eye, blindfold should be removed easily, one or both eyes can be covered, can tuck into a halter, some animals will be resistant

bovine

cows

ruminants

cows, sheep, goats

equine

horses

horse safety

horses can be unpredictable depending on their history and training, horses can kick with front or back legs, some horses will rear up and strike with both front feet

double/single barrel kick

horses can kick straight back with hind legs (one or both).

cow kick

horses can kick to the side and as far forward with a back leg as their ears

equine behavior (pt 2)

horses typically prefer to live in hearts, pasture buddy is good even if its not another horse, highly developed social behavior, ranking of position within the herd just as other large animals, horses form bonds/friendships with other members of the herd, mutual grooming and scratching each other with their teeth

blind spots

horses will move head quickly to compensate for blind spots

watch for warning of impending kicks

horses will typically stomp a food/paw/or lift a leg as a warning

low stress handling

inherent fear of humans, 0-25 feet depending on the tameness of the animal, dairy cattle will have 5-10 ft flight zones, beef cattle will have 15-25ft flight zones, when humans in zone cattle bunch together and move away, pushing too hard results in stress and fear and cattle will flee, they may jump fences or push through gates or handlers

camelid

llama, alpaca, guanaco, vicuna

camelids

llamas and alpacas

Diversionary - chain shank

long leather strap with chain at end, used as distraction, correct usage (over the bridge, under the jaw, under the lip-severe use).

cattle restraint; stress

loss of production results in lower profits, increased feed requirements result in increased cost, decreased immunity results in increased illness, death results in lower profits, increased respiration, high mortality, teeth grinding, poor product quality, nervousness, poor growth rate, poor reproduction, increased flight zone

elevating a leg (equine)

mild form of restraint, intended to discourage a horse from moving around or kicking, required fir several other procedures

physical stocks

narrow chute type system, keeps the horse from kicking

diversionary - twitches (equine)

natural twitches are applied with the hands, mechanical twitches: chain - flat chain loop attached to handle, rope - cord or rope attached to handle, humane - metal clamp, works for a short procedure that is not terribly painful 10-15 minute

cattle should never be underestimated

never turn your back on a bull, dairy bulls in particular, cows with calves are often aggressive

individual restraint of sheep

once in small one first step is to control the head, never grab the wool can cause painful damage to fiber and meat, flex sheeps head to force sitting posture, grasp forelimbs and rest weight of the sheep against your legs, never grab the wool

chain shanks or lead shanks

over the nose, through the mouth, under the chin

halter/lead rope

physical restraint - use halter and lead rope

signs of aggression; equine

pinning ears, stamping front legs, swishing or wringing tail

subtle social signs; equine

pinning ears, vocal signs

haltering a horse

place the nose band on first, pass the crown strap behind the ears, unload the lead rope.

Allogrooming

practice of grooming other members of the same social groups

diversionary - eye press (equine)

press on upper eyelid, not easy if horse is head shy

physical-cross-tying

prevents from rearing up, helps keep front shoulder area stable, can still strike, lead rope on each side of halter, attached top table hook on each side.

Flight zone

prey animals move from the threat, no specific distance is available, flight zone varies by species/presence of offspring/confinement size/individual animal/threat level/previous interactions, to keep animals calm stay on edge of flight zone and move in slowly

herd behavior; bovid/sheep/alpaca

retreat when strangers approach, goats and llamas are typically more curious, llamas often used as guard animals for herds of sheep/goats/alpacas, rams and bucks can be very aggressive during breeding season, watch intact males of all species

bovine capture and restraint

risk for human/animal injury, approach: observe from a distance and use low stress handling, moving cattle: pressure and release system and point of balance

capture and restraint of small ruminants

risks for human injury, risks for animal injury, bunch herd tightly then move as group, work in groups of three to four animals, similar predator-prey interactions as cattle, observe from a distance to identify animals in need of medical attention

herd behaviors; ruminants

ruminants will typically follow the he'd, ruminants can refuse to move when they see people/shadows/sharp corners/darkness/dead end, sheep/goats/camelids have strong flock instincts, typically move better as a group, lag behind animals can indicate a health issue

horses

similar to other large animal species, prey animals, can be fearful and therefore dangerous when trying to escape what they perceive as a threat, judging distance directly in front is difficult without head movement

point of balance

situated at level of animals shoulder

leading a horse

stand 12-18 inches away, hold 6-12 inches down on the lead rope, lead from the poll, turn the horse away from you, never try to outmuscle them, always fold the lead in an accordion style.

cattle restraint; recumbent animals

stand along the spine, use a blunt object to encourage them to stand, should avoid use of cattle prods

cattle restraint; tailing

the middle of the tail is grasped and twisted forward to one side or the other/over the back and off of midline, too much pressure can break the tail, do not stand directly behind them

tying

use 2 feet of rope, use a safety release knot, tie horses away from strange horses, always untie a horse before taking of the halter

handling cattle

use flight Zone and point of balance knowledge, move them gently, invade flight zone a few feet then allow animals to reestablish, calm and quiet deliberate movements, quick/sudden/loud movements can cause animals to panic and attempt to flee, good handling can decrease flight zone

tail tie

use rope or gauze, keeps tail from moving during vaginal or rectal procedure

restraint

use the least amount to keep everyone safe and accomplish goals, choosing restraint depends on animals/humans/facilities/tasks