Advice on clipping a nervous horse?

[tanyajade]

Hi all,

I’ve had my mare for 4 months now, and she got clipped at the weekend. Judging by her reaction, she’d never been clipped before.

Within 2 minutes, the girl said we should ‘twitch’ her. I’ve never seen this before. It didn’t look nice at all. She assured me that it didn’t hurt her and it wasn’t cruel. But I’m not so sure.
It worked for about 45 mins/an hour, she stood still. Then all of a sudden she woke up and freaked out, the girl clipping got kicked.
So, she’s got a little bit of hair left unclipped, under her chin, one cheek, and little bits under her front legs.

Now, I’ve bought some Liveryman clippers, that are for touch-ups. They’re light, and supposed to be quiet, but they’re not that quiet.
For a few days I’ve been floating around her with the clippers around, just grooming her and giving her feed etc, so she can hear the buzzing. Occasionally placing them on her to feel the vibration, then taking them away after a few seconds. She’s very, very tense and on edge. Last night I put them in my top pocket, pressed against her and scratched her mane (she likes that). She didn’t freak out, but wasn’t relaxed.

I DO NOT want to twitch her ever again. I don’t believe that it’s kind, it can’t be. Nor do I want to sedate her using any drugs. I want her to overcome her fear, no matter how long it takes.

I just want any advice on getting her used to them please?

 

[chestnut cob]

Why don't you want to sedate her? All the horse remembers is standing quietly and being clipped, and it being a positive experience. I had one who was terrible to clip when I got him. First couple of times he was sedated by the vet, next couple of times with Sedalin by me, and was then fine. Never had any problems since.

Your horse has kicked someone else. This person could have been killed if they'd been really unlucky. I would be amazed if anyone will agree to clip your horse for you without sedation in future. I have seen this time and again, people trying to desensitise nervous/naughty horses with clippers. It rarely works because people mess around too much. For the sake of once or twice a year, just get the vet out and clip it quickly. That is IME the quickest way to overcome a horse's fear.

 

[ihatework]

If you can get close up and hold battery trimmers on her without her freaking out, then she will be relatively easy to de-sensitise over time I reckon.

I'd give her some sedalin (that will that the edge off without fully doping her), and then for now just use the quiet battery clippers to tidy her up. Just take your time and be patient with her.

For her next big clip I'd probably sedate her fully, then hopefully over time downgrade this to domosedan gel, then sedalin then hopefully nothing. In the interim try just taking cat hairs off with the trimmer non-doped etc.

 

[Patterdale]

Twitching is not cruel or painful but should never be done for more than 10 mins or so.
I've clipped hundreds of horses as it used to be a large part of my work. I would routinely twitch to finish the head but never for a whole body.

You need to sedate her, it won't harm her, she won't know, she will just remember standing still and being calm, as chestnut cob says.

If I go to clip a horse who's too nervous to do at all I insist on sedation as I won't get myself kicked.

If a horse has never been done before a good clipper should be able to do them without too much stress (the main body anyway) by being kind but businesslike. I did my extremely netvous 4 year old the other day. He jumped around a bit when I first put the clippers on but I didn't switch them off and just got on with it.

45 mins is far too long to twitch though, your clipper must have been a bit clueless.

 

[Kallibear]

Basically you pushed her too fast too quickly and she snapped. She didn't need a full clip. You could have done a smaller quicker easier clip instead of pushing her in the deepend.

Twitching isn't too bad. It's uncomfortable at most for them but can be very effective for many horses. It releases endorphins so they feel happy and mellow. If doesn't work on all horses buy can be very useful for those it does work on.

You've got the absolutely right approach now though. Just keep using the clippers near and on her every single day until she relaxes. Talking and praising loudly can help as it maaks the sound a bit. She will eventually relax, it'll just take time.

If she's very receptive to being twitched then having someone holding her and squeezing and releasing her lip in massage can also work well.

 

[Black lab]

Hi, I can understand why twitching appears rather a harsh method of quietening a horse, but it is honestly an effective and humane method of "natural" sedation, a soft piece of rope or braid is wrapped around the top lip, just below the nostrils and twisted to gently but firmly apply pressure on the underlying tissue which has the effect of producing an endorphin , which is the body's natural painkiller and sedative. I have only had to use this method a couple of times but much preferred it to the alternative of having the horse knowing the dreaded (no offence!!) vet was waiting in the wings with the sedative, not to mention the expense. A lot of old fashioned methods have been quite rightly judged outdated and/or ineffective or even inhumane, but as a genuine horse lover who cares very much for my animals' welfare and comfort, I am definitely in favour of twitching , even though it may take a bit of practice, regards,

 

[Black lab]

Have to agree with Kallibear, perhaps you rushed her re clipping, maybe just start off with a little bib clip? Then each week doing a little more, does she really need a full clip or can you just customise the clip style to suit her workload, type,environment,etc, rather than going for the whole hog, traditional ?

 

[cavalo branco]

Just want to add that, having an impossible-to-clip horse myself, the sedative, Dormosedon (sp?) is one obtainable from your vet but is an oral gel. In my experience ACP and sedalin had little effect but this gel worked wonders. As your horse is now very upset it might be worth trying?? I would use it when you next want to do a body clip, not just a few bits that you could tidy up with trimmers using your desensitising approach. Hope that this helps

 

[9tails]

You could also try her loose in your school or lunge pen if you have either. I have an "impossible-to-clip-needs-sedation" horse who stands stock still if not tied, I clip her in a gated corral we have at the yard. She dictates when we need a break by walking off and I give her 5 minutes before starting again, she generally walks back to me. When tied she reared, struck out and kept spinning.

 

[fatpiggy]

I would keep going with the desensitisation. Plus ask yourself what is the absolute minimum clip you could have, at least for the time being. I used to do a lowish trace clip on my girl who had a coat like a mammoth, and she was perfectly comfortable at all paces including gallop with that. Twitching isn't cruel but must be done correctly. It mimics what predators do in the wild when they grab a zebra or whatever by the muzzle to subdue them. My girl had to be twitched in order to do head xrays at Leahurst because her old head-shyness came back with the stress of it all and she wouldn't have the plates anywhere near her, let alone an inch from her face.