Clipping..

[Lifeofapiebaldcob]

Hi has anyone got any tips... had my horse 10 years and he’s totally fine to clip everywhere except his legs. As soon as I get below the knee he kicks off. Usually ok with a twitch on however this last time the twitch did nothing and he was bordering on being dangerous.

His legs aren’t sore, there’s no scabs ect that I can see and I can easily get to his skin. he’s clipped every couple of months all year round so they never get chance to be hairy (he’s a cob) however id like to be able to make it a good experience for him... he snoozes when I’m clipping his body!

Someone suggested giving him a calmer beforehand but I’ve never given one before so I’m not sure which one would be best?

Thanks ? it’ll be January when I clip again so I’m gonna try and get him used to them being on his legs and go from there ? he’s happy to let me brush his legs, pig oil them ect, it’s just the clippers!

 

[tatty_v]

Mine doesn’t tolerate the clippers on his legs either so I’ve given up trying and just scissor! I think he just finds it uncomfortable/tickly.

 

[MummyEms]

You need to only stop when he's standing still. Never retreat away when he's moving or being silly. Use an electric toothbrush on his legs whilst he's eating for a few days. He'll get used to that. Once he's happy with that let someone feed him his favourite things whilst you do the legs. Still always remember to only stop the clippers and only move away once he's still.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

If your using big heavy duty clippers try a small trimmer type to start with he may well tolerate them then quite often they then are ok with the bigger ones over time, one of my horses used to rear if I tried the big clippers on his face,so I just used the trimmers on it a few times and fed him some treats whilst doing so, I can now clip most of his face with the big ones without even a head collar on.

 

[Rosie'smum]

Mine used to be a pain with clipping feathers, borderline dangerous with it and has broken clippers by knocking them out of my hand. Only thing that has worked was clicker and lots of treats. Bribery is the way to winning over a cob. Try to keep there when they left there legs up and click treat every time they dont. Mine generally dislikes the front of the cannon bones being done. Shes fine for back legs now but still has issues with fronts which I think is now in her head as the clippers only have to be near before she starts twitching. Managed to get it to just her left front that has the issues now.

Hope this helps.

Oh and I use liveryman harmony. Anything that vibrates less and isnt noisy