Clipping

[rebs]

I have a 16.1hh irish thoroughbred who has always been terrified of being clipped. I watched the Michael Peace video and have got him to the point where he is calm with the clippers being run all over his body, but he still freaks out when you try to actually clip him. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any suggestions?

I've rung up Michael Peace but they said he would need to come out to work with the horse which would cost £400

 

[Tempi]

probably not what you want to hear but i have to have my horse fully sedated to be clipped out as she freaks out totally - the woman who clips her for me thinks she was probably clipped with hot blades at some point in her life before i got her

 

[pottamus]

When you say you have got him ok with the clippers being run all over his body...do you mean they are on when you do this? Do you have quiet clippers or are they older noisy ones...this can make a difference sometimes.
Have you ever managed to clip any off him at all and if so, did you sedate or something?

 

[rebs]

I can run them all over him with them turned on - I got some battery powered ones that are very quiet and low vibration. I managed to give him a bib clip last year with a set of trimmers, but when we got the clippers out to take more hair off he freaked. I tried Sedalin with him one year, but it just made him worse. He was still petrified but couldn't control what he was doing and I ended up getting badly bitten.

 

[AmyMay]

I would say that if you can run the clippers over him with the clippers on - then you can clip him.

How confidently do you handle him?? Sometimes they can just start taking p*ss.

My mare used to be notoriously bad to clip - verging on dangerous, and so we used to fully sedate her. However this was getting very expensive - so I bought my own clippers and spent a summer working with her to get her used to them etc.

She's now perfectly behaved.

 

[rebs]

I'm very confident with him and I've owned him for 8 years so am used to him. He is very well bahaved and well-mannered in all other respects. I'm not sure if its the change in sound of the clippers when they start to clip the hair or if he's just very sensitive skinned and doesn't like the feel of them once they start clipping.

 

[nomini]

My mare is fine with the clippers on, but is also funny about actually being clipped with them. Have managed to full clip her this year, dosed her up with some ACP and got my friend to stand by her head and talk to her - she was still figity (sp?) especially around the stifle area etc. but was just firm with her and in the end she gave in fighting. Sorry probs not much help to you, you've probs already tried it but maybe have someone standing at your horse's head talking to him and comforting him.

 

[Emm]

My old ned used to seriously freak out when clipped !!! He would go berserk even if you stood holding them on the other side of the stable door (not switched on !!). I had him sedated to clip once and he managed to kick the clippers out from my hand !!! He really was naughty !! Maybe if you could run the clippers outside his stable a few times a day he would get used to the noise and then gradullay introduce them to him ? I hope that you get it resolved. Emm.

 

[serena2005]

run the clippers over him every day, if hes fine with that then thats good, so when hes standing there relaxed clip the tiniest part then stop. praise like crazy, and do the same the next day. he might be patchy for a while but it might work.

try giving him a haynet. or someone standing there with carrots, or a small feed.

maybe dont shave to the skin, hold the clippers just off his skin and dont actually touch him, you might be able to get some hair off that way.

 

[lottie1990]

Mine and my moms horse danny, is sooooo nervous of the clippers, where he has been too dangerous. My mom tried tieng him up, putting cotton wool in his ears, wrappnig a towel around his eyes and clipping, she manged to, but he at first ran forward and back alot but i know its sounds cruel, but when he knocked his muzzle on the wall it made him stand, but i just think its better to jsut get your vet to give the man injection, they just go to sleep, well there awake but dont know whats gonig on, and you just gotta clip as fast as you can.
Theres no point risking yourself or your horse getting hurt if your only going to clip once a year, so jsut getting the vet i think is the safest.

 

[Marnie]

My mare was terrible to clip, the first tiome we switched the clippers on, she reared, bringing a foot down and nearly braining the person holding her, and the other foot and broke her hand!

We sedated her to start off with, and you only had a short time to get as much hair off as possible. We worked and worked with her and the clippers, clipped others outside her stable - at first she would hide at the back, then gradually come forward. We can now do a full clip, including hogging her and doing her head without sedation. One person holds her with a bucket of redi-grass or similar while another clips her. I am not around when she is done as I get really nervous and she can tell and starts to play up, but if I am not there, she is fine. The only bits we can't do are around her teats and her legs - she is prone to feather mite and her legs seem really sensitive.

Guess I am just trying to say that it can be done, but it does take time and if you are nervous in anyway, the horse will pick up on it!

Good luck, I know exactly what it is like!

Jen

 

[Dougie]

okay gonna sound harsh but....decent nose twotch and a massive neck twitch???

 

[_daisy_]

my mare is like this.I can run the clippers all over her and she doesnt bat an eyelid, but when i come to clip her she turns into the devil. There is no way i can clip her with just a twitch. She has to be fully sedated by the vet and even then completed doped up to the eyeballs (they give her an elephants size doze!) she knows what she can do to get out of it. One of the last times I clipped her under sedation she managhed to kick me in the middle of my chest! She is very dangerous. Ive put it down to the fact that she is so sensitive it really irritates her the vibrating etc.
I hope you can persevere with yours, i couldnt as she is horrendous, thank god shes retired now.

 

[flyingfeet]

Buy the Monty Roberts Fix Up DVD

There is a great section there on desensitising your horse to clipping.

Also you need to put some time in training (although sounds like you are), quite a few people start with the intention of clipping on day one and wonder why their horse freaks