Clipping help

[J_sarahd]

So, that time of year again! Pony’s first clip of the year is imminent and he’s always been a bit tricky. Despite the fact he’s hogged, he’s quite a worried boy and I need something to take the edge off. He doesn’t stand still and will often resort to squishing either handler or clipper.

We have resorted to twitching him and that works a treat. But I hate twitching him (and I know people will shout at me for doing so!)

Is there anything on the market or any tips/tricks to make it easier? He’s fab with body, it’s just top of neck and face that he hates. I would just not clip his face, but it gets so fluffy that it looks stupid if I don’t and he gets really sweaty under bridle and head collars.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Ear plugs.

 

[Merry neddy man]

Take the clippers with you every time you go to the stables switch them on and artificially run them up and down his neck doing its couple of times everyday for 5 minutes might desensitise him ready for the real thing.

 

[Upthecreek]

You said it yourself - “it’s that time of year again!“ The problem with horses that are dodgy to clip is that it’s not done often enough for them to get used to it. If you only hopped on and rode two or three times a year you’d probably expect pony to throw some shapes and be a bit of a twit. Same with clipping. If he’s just funny about head and face I would use really quiet cordless clippers and see if that helps. I would however be running clippers near him very regularly until he ignores them. One of mine was terrible to have his legs clipped and he has gone from literally trying to kick my head off to standing like a rock without a head collar on to have them done. It’s taken time and patience to get there though.