Best instant calmer to knock out horse for clipping??

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emmaln

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Hi all,

As title really, I had my young horse sedated last year for her first clip to ensure we were both kept safe and to limit stress for her, I have done a considerable amount of work with her and whist I can now get the trimmers on her almost everywhere (not face!) the clippers still remain her nemesis, I would like to try an instant calmer/sedation before calling the vet but wondered which was the best for this particular job??

Thankies
 
The vets will probably let you have sedalin if you contact them. It works well, I dont think anything you can buy in a shop will work.
 
Wasn't sure if you could still get sedalin, I had a tube in my med kit for ages but chucked it as it was out of date, will ask the vet as it will no doubt work out much cheaper!

However, will try a twitch first as of course thats free he he!!!
 
Sedalin is ok if the horse is calm to start with - if mine sees the clippers box then there's no point giving the sedalin cos he turns into a complete tool & then it doesn't work!!!
 
Sedalin doesn't work on my tb, he's very good at fighting sedation! A few weeks ago I got some domosedan gel from vet (£31), this didn't work either, gave him the whole tube, made no difference! Only thing that works is iv sedation! He is a very stressy boy though! Find a twitch works well with him for clipping.
 
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Use quiet clippers and get the horse used to the noise, to be honest we had 80 racehorses to clip and I don't remember having to do much twitching, also unless you use the humane twitch you need a good person to hold the horse, as it can panic, and nasty accidents can happen.
Very few horses are so bad that they need a vet out. Sedalin takes different times for different horses, I start off with the recommended amount, and if that does not work after 30 mins, double up [ie a triple dose] . this obviously is not as per instructions, but I would rather do this than a complete knockout vet injection.
I use Wahl Moser clippers, slow but also quiet, and I have done four youngsters with no problems. the Competition blades to a very good job, which lasts longer than the normal blades, I got a package deal with two blades, which is handy in case one goes blunt in middle of the job!
There is a technique using the clipper noise as pressure / release, so that you are not rewarding the horse by switching off clippers when he is being reactive. It may take you quite a few session of training and no guarantees.
Most people clip in the stable, where the horse can feel under pressure, but this is not the best idea, tie him up outside or use the arena, where he will be happier.
 
You should spend money on buying a DVD produced by Michael Peace, he has very good results in getting horses to accept being clipped. You could twitch or get Sedalin from your vet, but Sedalin is a very light sedative and not a lot of use if your horse really doesn't like something. The best product is a gel called Dermosedan. It costs approx £40 from your vet. It works very fast and very, very well, giving the same sort of sedation a jab gives. However you HAVE to get it under their tongue. If you shoot it into their mouth it will have no effect at all. I gave it to my horse and within 15 minutes she was zonked and I really mean zonked.
 
I'm going to go for Sedalin (although it's called something else now) with my youngster. Allowing at least the stated 40 minutes for it to work, topping up if necessary before starting. Perhaps you could get others to clip their horses (only if they are well behaved mind!) outside your horse's stable while he's in there so that he can get used to the whole palava. I've been getting my boy used to it by using some quite hand held trimmers (again he is fine until they go up near his ears, but then they do sound like a bumble bee so you can't blame him really). A few treats at appropriate intervals also helps make it a pleasant experience!
 
had mine clipped this morning, this is his 3rd clip and he still has to have the vet out to do IV sedation. He gave him a rather large dose today and it was working within 2 mins!

I would rather sedate him and have him still than waste mine and his time fighting to be clipped. Had to have a twitch on for the fiddly bits round his head but worked a treat

He is improving each time, past two ocassions he has had to have a top up of domosedan or ACP injected 30 mins or so later.

Sedalin didnt do a thing to my horse when i tried that
 
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