Clipping.....HELP!!

[horsegirl]

Well I showed him the clippers last night, not switched on, didn't touch him with them just let him look and sniff them and he went nuts. Lunging at me with teeth bared and ears back and continued to do so every time he saw me even after I put them away. What do I do now?

 

[WallisM]

Am in the same boat as you ! My horse isn't being nasty just frightened, The worst thing is I started clipping and can't do any more as he is that scared. I sedated him that didn't work so got to give him more on Sat if that don't work got to get vet for intervenus injection to get the job finished.
Do you really need to clip him ?
You could try sedation but like mine it might not work.
Good luck
x

 

[horsegirl]

It's awful he is normally so lovely, I think he was attacking the clippers and not me and I hope he was still doing it becasue he thought I still had them and not that he was trying to attack me.

He doesn't really need to be clipped but he is getting a bit sweaty with the work he is doing and he will need to be clipped at some point if we ever want to hunt/compete so I would be happy if it takes us months to get him to that stage. Even if I could just give him a bib clip that would be great but when I can't even show him the clippers without fear of being attacked I don't really know what to do. He has been sedated in the past for clipping (previous owner) but it took 2 attempts and even them he was still kicking and then we will still have the same problem every year.

 

[neigh]

Has he ever shown signs of aggression like this in any other circumstances? This is real extreme behaviour, is he an old horse that might have had a previously bad experience? If so, I would either not clip him or get him sedated by the vet. If he is young and its his first experience, then its worth perservering, just keep taking them in, or show them to him out of the stable, sometimes, they are better when they are tied up outdoors or in a bigger area. I pillar anything that could be a bit tricky, and stops them turning round. Good luck

 

[the watcher]

try everything slowly since you aren't in a rush. When he is chilled in the stable, just turn them on and run for a minute, nowhere near him..do this as many times as it takes for him to ignore them.
Find something else buzzy but quiet (oh dear, can see where this might go..) such as an electic toothbrush/razor and switch that on around him, don't pay any attention to him...
Get him used to plenty of background noise, have a radio on in the stable when doing stuff with him..you can do this stuff for months until eventualy you can build up to touching him lightly with the toothbrush/razor to get him used to the vibrations and do that again for as long as it takes for him to not get stressed.

It is all about desesitising your horse, but without fuss so that he accepts in time that the noisy buzzy thing is no big deal, try not to react if he shies away.

this could take a year but really is the way forward and far better than sedating IMO

 

[dieseldog]

My horse used to do this, and now I can clip him no problems at all. I tied him up with a haynet, turned the clippers on and stood out of reach, and waited and waited, he did his usual I'm going to kick, bite lunge at you, blah blah blah, and then he got bored and tired as basically he is quite lazy and started eating the hay, it took probably 15 mins for him to give up, and I managed to clip a bit of him. That was last winter, this winter he stamped his front foot once and that was it - now hunter clipped with most of his face done, just tied up in a headcollar with me by myself. I've probably clipped him about 4 times now with no hassle, and the trying to kick you phase got shorter and shorter each time.

I think my horses problem was that he was just being an arse. It might me worth a try, just make sure you stand out of reach and see what happens

 

[horsegirl]

He is 11 and I think from the reaction he must have had a bad experience. He doesn't seem bothered by the noise, a number of people have clipped in the yard while he is in his stable and he doesn't seem to bothered. I am just a bit worried about handling him if he is going to keep lunging at me. He has never been aggressive before at all. I knew he wasn't going to like it but I didn't expect the reaction I got.

 

[the watcher]

If he can handle clipping going on nearby him then it is less likely he is frightened and is just being difficult, I would still try with switiching them on around him..or get somebody else to do it who won't take any nonsense, he is probably sensing that you have concerns and playing on that

 

[WallisM]

Well all you have to think about is your own safety ! That is why am gonna try more sedation then if no good get vet.
My horse is big and powerful am not risking getting injured. So just be careful, Oh and I always clip my my riding had on. Best to be safe than sorry.

 

[horsegirl]

I know, if I had to clip him this winter then it would have to be sedation.

I hope he has forgotten about it when I go there today.

 

[Ashf]

I have to be honest, I don't agree with drugging to clip a horse.

He is very scared of them obviously and feels that they are dangerous and violate his space. He was drugged the last time and this won't alay his fears, just make him even more fearful of them.

He needs to see them as no threat, and so you will have to desensitise him.

If it were me, I'd get a set of very quiet trimmers (like the Liveryman elements), and as the other have said, just wander around the stables with them on for a while, before moving closer to him, and eventually taking a crafty clip and see how he goes.

Its not going to be a 5 minute job by the sounds, but you should be able to get past this with a bit of sensitive handling and patience.

 

[nicnag]

I agree with Stencilbum, I clip a lot of horses over the winter but I 'd really rather try and work through it than use a sedative. If I had to I'd rather use sedalin than ACP as I beleive they are generally calmer with it but it is so dependant on the horse and with such a extreme reaction even sedated he could be a danger to both you and himself.