On June 9, 2021, Wendy Murdoch — creator of the SURE FOOT® Equine Stability Program — welcomed Stacie to her “Webinars With Wendy” series (webinar No. 214) for a 53-minute conversation about Fear Free veterinary care, recorded the month after the Fear Free Equine Veterinary Certification Program launched. The conversation ranges from the origins of the program and the three core concepts to a video demonstration from Stacie’s own practice: nerve blocks on a horse with a history of being sedated for the farrier, done with food distraction and no restraint beyond a lead rope.
Webinars With Wendy No. 214: Fear Free Veterinary Care
Stacie G. Boswell, DVM, DACVS-LA, guest — Webinars With Wendy, SURE FOOT Equine, June 9, 2021. Excerpts below are lightly edited for clarity.
On what a veterinary visit looks like from the patient’s side:
Truly, if you think about it, it is like being sick and being kidnapped by aliens. They have no idea what is happening; they already don’t feel well. We take them away from their owners — and then there’s poking and prodding and holding, anesthesia and recovery, without any explanation, or being able to explain to our patients what’s happening and that they’re going to be okay.
On touch gradient, walked through with something as ordinary as taking a temperature:
Touch gradient is starting at a place where an animal is less sensitive, maintaining contact so we don’t elicit a startle response, and then working our way to an area that’s more sensitive. If I’m going to take a horse’s temperature, I’m going to touch that horse on the withers, pet him, scratch him, reassure him, maintain contact, and walk my hand all the way to the rump. That sounds like a lot of steps. It really isn’t — and it also gives the animal a chance to communicate. If I get to his flank and he starts swishing his tail, I’m going to believe him.
And on what horses do when they’re given a real choice:
We take for granted how fast we process things. It takes them a little bit longer to make a decision. But if we give them the opportunity, they will say yes. They will say yes to go in the stocks. They will say yes to get in the trailer. They will say yes to accept the needle sticks. They don’t have to — but by far and away, they do. They say, okay, I’ll do that for you.
Along the way, Stacie cites the British Equine Veterinary Association study that found equine practice to be the most dangerous civilian profession — and makes the case that reading horses better, and not frightening them into defending themselves, is a safety practice as much as a welfare one. The conversation also covers what owners can do at home: making sure a horse accepts touch everywhere, from nose to tail, before the day it matters medically.
The full webinar is on the SURE FOOT Equine YouTube channel, alongside the rest of Wendy’s series at surefootequine.com. Veterinary professionals can learn more about Fear Free certification at fearfreepets.com, and horse owners at Fear Free Happy Homes. Stacie’s book, The Ultimate Guide for Horses in Need — discussed at the top of the webinar — is available directly from Stacie or from Trafalgar Square Books.