Clipping help please

bexcy-bee

bexcy-bee

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Rough background, have been clipping since I was about 8 (with help from mum to start with), have always clipped my own, whether youngsters that haven't seen clippers before or older horses that are used to it. I think I'm quite good when it comes to nervous types, take it very slow etc.

However, today I clipped my share horse and she was a complete cow! Started off really well, standing as still as a statue, perfect behaved, did one side of her neck and body. Got to her back end and she suddenly started kicking out. Thought maybe it was ticklish, or something, so slowed down and went to do her tummy and other side, but she just flipped, started biting (and got hold of me!!), kicking out at me, spinning etc. Owner then got hold of her front leg to see if that would help, but she kept trying to go up. She wasn't scared at all. We put a muzzle on her after she bit me, and luckily I was wearing a hat, as she then started head butting me. Thought maybe she was getting bored, so put her back, clipped other pony with no proba and got her back out. Immediately started with the same behaviour again, but after 5 mins, she just stopped it and stood still for me to do it again. Got so good at the end that we took muzzle off and fed her hay, and she put her ears back every now and then and I stopped, she calmed down and started again fine.

I don't really want to twitch her as didn't want her to associate it with pain or restraint, but I'm at a complete loss of what to do/ what made her flip! Clippers are cordless so nothing to do with cord touching her!

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Bexcy-bee x
 
Any chance she could have been in season when you clipped her? Reason I ask is that my mare is super sensitive down her sides when in season and as weather has been mild of late she is still coming in regularly. My mare is mot mareish in the slightest but can get very very touchy if I groom her a bit too vigorously or flick with the whip a bit too firmly. Just a thought
 
With my old boy, we had a time period in which we could clip him and then he'd lose all sense after that- about 15 minutes, maybe 20. Once he'd lost it and started kicking out and spinning we just stopped and brushed him off and came back the next day to try again. I think the vibrations of the clippers made him much more sensitive as the clip went on until it got too much and he lost it...
 
WinkingWillow said:
Any chance she could have been in season when you clipped her? Reason I ask is that my mare is super sensitive down her sides when in season and as weather has been mild of late she is still coming in regularly. My mare is mot mareish in the slightest but can get very very touchy if I groom her a bit too vigorously or flick with the whip a bit too firmly. Just a thought
Click to expand...

This was my first thought too, some mares can be very reactive when in season.
 
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