Dormosedan didnt work....CLIPPING NIGHTMARE amongst other things

Champion1969

Champion1969

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I am at the end of my tether with this mare, I have in the past tried desensitising her, will not have any of it I.V worked but cost me a fortune as she needed the vet to stay and keep topping her up. Dont really know why I thought id try Dormsedan, money I suppose?
Shes a BIG powerful bargy 15'2 Irish Cob. Is there anything else I can try before I get shut as I cant carry on like this, I cant even school her without her turning into a bucking bronco. She is however amazing to hack hunt and cross country and she is a dream to ride outside an arena and she is stunning. But after my accident and being left weak an unable to ride for a long time its making me consider things? She is currently on part loan at my yard so im in no rush. Any advie will be gratefully appreiated
 
Champion1969 said:
I am at the end of my tether with this mare, I have in the past tried desensitising her, will not have any of it I.V worked but cost me a fortune as she needed the vet to stay and keep topping her up. Dont really know why I thought id try Dormsedan, money I suppose?
Shes a BIG powerful bargy 15'2 Irish Cob. Is there anything else I can try before I get shut as I cant carry on like this, I cant even school her without her turning into a bucking bronco. She is however amazing to hack hunt and cross country and she is a dream to ride outside an arena and she is stunning. But after my accident and being left weak an unable to ride for a long time its making me consider things? She is currently on part loan at my yard so im in no rush. Any advie will be gratefully appreiated
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I'm sure there is the odd horse for which domosedan gel doesn't work for (and maybe yours is one of them), but are you sure you administered it correctly?
It has to be done very precisely - under the tongue so it is absorbed - if the accidently swallow it, it won't work!

I have a horse that sound very much like yours to clip. She is horrific. However I can get 20-30 mins of sufficient sedation on domosedan to get a chaser/blanket clip off her. There was one time it didn't have any effect on her and I can only assume I got the administration wrong - had it been my first time using it I might have assumed the drug didn't work
 
ihatework said:
I'm sure there is the odd horse for which domosedan gel doesn't work for (and maybe yours is one of them), but are you sure you administered it correctly?
It has to be done very precisely - under the tongue so it is absorbed - if the accidently swallow it, it won't work!

I have a horse that sound very much like yours to clip. She is horrific. However I can get 20-30 mins of sufficient sedation on domosedan to get a chaser/blanket clip off her. There was one time it didn't have any effect on her and I can only assume I got the administration wrong - had it been my first time using it I might have assumed the drug didn't work
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Absolutley, she was sweating and gurning like something at a rave. then as soon as they are switched on shes up in the air and kicking out, even twitched her but still nothing. The lady who came to do it wouldnt too dangerous :(
 
Buy some hand held clippers and just use those. This obviously stresses her out a lot and why put yourself/someone else and her in danger.

As an aside have you ever used small andis ones rather than the large chainsaw type things I don't use myself cause of the noise
 
If Domosedan really doesn't work for her (ditto ihatework - are you SURE you did it correctly?) then it is absolutely not worth trying to clip a horse like this unless she is properly sedated by a vet. It is far too dangerous for the person trying to clip. I've seen some horses with serious clipping phobias desensitised beautifully with a lot of work, but none of them were anywhere near as dangerous as the horse you describe.
 
Even the noise of scissors when she cant see the freaks her out. So not sure had held clippers will work. Infact just googling them as I've never seen them before?
 
Honestly just IV the horse then.
I do one IV in January and have the lot off, with the vet topping up every 10 minutes.

FWIW mine I tried to desensitise using the tiny hand trimmers and also an electric toothbrush. No way .. Pinned herself in a corner striking out with front feet!
Ironically she will let the dentist do her teeth with a power tool without a flicker, go figure! However she won't have a buzzing equilibrium massage pad on her!
 
Have you tried someone standing with treats or a lickit? Failing that, have you tried twitching? If you twitch you should keep it on no more than ten minutes at a time with five minute breaks. It usually works for cob types, but can make some finer breeds worse.
 
Yup we twitched her as well. Think I need a good chat with my vet tomorrow. I was just trying to save money but looks like this is the only way :(

Thanks Guys x
 
Have you tried ear plugs? It's amazing how many horses merely don't like the noise! Stuff her ears full of cotton wool if you don't want to buy earplugs just to try her out.

The amount of times a wad of wool has saved my skin at work is unreal! Stuff it in and hold onto the head until they stop trying to shake it out then they forget they are there.
 
We use relaquine . Administer to horse once it's been off the grass for a few hours, give paste and leave well alone for at least an hour. I've administered and pottered around and it didn't work. Next time left the stable area, Poo picked and it then worked a treat. Just another cheaper option ?
 
I had one that was downright dangerous to clip, he became more and more hysterical the more I tried to desensitise him domasedan only worked well after at least an hour and a half of leaving him alone and even then we had him hobbled just in case... Got half way through the clip before he came round and had to have him iv'd with top up regularly... It was easier, safer and less stressful for all involved, he was never done to be pretty, just functional with two of us on him with wireless clippers.
I just waited till he absolutely needed clipping around Dec Jan time and got it done..
 
she has a lot of bad associations with clippers, which gets worse everytime you use them.
You need to spend months desensitising her - and by that I mean you start of by just having the clippers near her, by her feed bucket, brushing her with them (and if that's too much, just near her/use clippers strapped to a broom handle), in an open space so she is choosing to come near them rather than you forcing it on her in a small space, then the same but with them turned on, and the use of a broom handle again to give you space shape while they are rubbed all over her.
 
Twitching by itself is enough to give bad associations without the clippers...

Do you need to clip at this time of year?
 
A year or so ago there was a really interesting thread about feeding a horse marij*ana to keep it calm. Owner had tried everything .....
Apparently it is very common in South Africa for treating horses with African Horse Sickness.

It attracted a lot of flak at the time, but hey, must needs.
 
You need to use IV sedation it's just not safe otherwise .
You need to have the clippers on everyday to try to get the horse used to it .
I had a horse once who we could not get near with the clippers IV sedation was only partly successful.
It was a problem horse and when I thought about it the horse was just plain bad mannered and that why such a smart horse was so cheap.
It was an indulged homebred it barged it reared it napped it was naughty to groom.
I gave it a hard time lots work zero tolerance of bad manners keep her out on a bare paddock on her own no fuss or cuddles and we got through it .
We came to the next winter season and although not great to clip it was doable with two people and a twitch a few years on we did not even tie her up to clip .
Some horses can get through this .
It sounds like you have other problems as well it's summer run the clipper in the stable with her every day you have time before winter to try to settle her down .
But the riding issues ,is it only in the school the horse is naughty ?
 
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