Hairy pony that's terrified of clippers...

[SuperCoblet]

Our cob, Gypsy, is terrified of clippers, I mean, he won't even go near them turned off! We tried to clip him in November and we'd been working up to it with turning them on and off around him ect. To the point we could touch him when they were on. As soon as they touched his neck he was off in a flash, breaking the loop that was attached to the wall (somehow the string didn't break!) and wouldn't trust us for days. So we were back to stage one at a very late point in the year so we just had to get the vet out and sedate him! Poor lad but we can't afford to do this twice a year!
Dies anyone have any ideas for my super terrified pony?

 

[FleabittenT]

I feel for you, we were told our mare was 'unclippable' when we bought her. She was wild-eyed, rearing, dripping with sweat and pooing constantly at the sight or sound of the clippers

I spent a week with the clippers on whenever I was in her stable - not near her to begin with, just switched on in my hand while I pottered around, then in one hand while I groomed her with the other.

After this, gradually moved to placing clippers on the back of my hand while I moved my hand all over her body, then to running the clippers on her without actually clipping, and then finally to clipping her. The whole process took around 3 weeks.

She's genuinely now an angel to clip. I don't even tie her up now, she just stands and nods off. She's still a little fussy around her head, but is great everywhere else.

Liveryman Harmony clippers are great, quiet, cordless and lightweight, so you can take your time without your arm dropping off

I truly believe that patience and a bit of time to de-sensitise them is preferable to sedating any day of the week. 3 weeks of effort has been more than worth it to me.

I hope you find a solution for your lad

 

[jenni999]

Unfortunately some horses never get used to the clippers. I have managed to progress with mine from sheer terror 7 years ago to just a bit of grumpiness when I go near his tickly spots. You say the vet is too expensive. Have you tried Sedalin gel? It will help and will be cheaper as a tube will last 3 or 4 clips.

I twitch my boy to do his head, it doesn't hurt him (or he wouldn't let me do it) and it is a non-chemical answer. I'm sure there will be people on here who think I'm cruel using a twitch but as long as you are careful and don't leave it on for too long, it's fine.

 

[asmp]

Had this problem with one of our ponies once. I was advised to get him used to the vibration by feeding him in a bucket with an old battery toothbrush in another bucket underneath. The woman who advised this was studying for some horsemanship (can't remember what!) and one day she spent at least an hour going round and around the stable with the pony walking away from her and her cordless clippers until he finally gave up and let her clip him - she had more patience than me!

 

[itsmyparty]

Ours was also unclippable without sedation when we got him. We got the Michael Peace DVD and he's now not bothered in the slightest. Bl00dy miracle. Took about a fortnight of desensitisation. The only thing he is still not happy with is having his face clipped.

The gist is don't tie him up, desensitise outside on a rope so he can move away if he's worried. Reward by removing clippers if he stands still. Cordless clippers pretty essential for this really! You can get the DVD from Amazon for about £15 I think. It's already paid for itself for us.

 

[stilltrying]

I think for some – certainly mine – desensitising just does not work. I’ve tried EVERYTHING….bought some quiet battery powered ones and spent weeks and week just getting him used to the sound with them running on the yard, in my pocket, in my hand, grooming, when lunging….got to the point where I could run them over him when grooming but he was not happy about it and when I came to trying to actually clip him he was having none of it. He lashes out with his front feet/cow kicks and says very clearly “get away from me!”

I also tried the feed thing – put clippers (or my substitute – an old pair of OH’s beard trimmers!) in bucket and put another bucket over the top with feed in so bucket is vibrating = he ate the feed no problem.

So I thought I would try one step further and put the trimmers IN the bucket with some feed. J went straight to the bucket, ignored the feed, grabbed the trimmers and I watched in horror as they disappeared into his mouth…I tried to grab him but he ran to the back of the stable with his whole head vibrating, threw his head over the stable wall and spat the trimmers into the adjoining stable and went back and ate the feed. At this point I gave up – my horse is clearly smarter than me….

 

[miss_bird]

Mostly the same as everyone else, do not tie him up that will make him more alert to them as he cannot move away.
I tend to stand in a space with horse in head coler and lead rope, with a pair of cordless trimmers in my hand moving closer to the horse, the horse can still move away but only in a circle and never really getting any further away from me, leave on a good note each time e.g. when horse has stood still for a few minutes (reward with a handful of mix in a bucket) and start again from that point the next day, when you can run the trimmers all over him start again with the clippers (I always use cordless for obvious reason) and proceed as above yes it will take time but persisting now will pay off next winter.
When he is happy with them just bring them out once a week as a little reminder by next winter he should be so used to them that they should not be an issue.
Also for the face part i start by waiting until the horse is completely used to the trimmers then use them to trim any long hair under the jaw, this i do as often as possible so all the time the trimmers are becoming less of an issue

 

[LynnHenry]

Hello

 

[Tickles]

Loads of good replies on here about desensitisation. But, the other thing that springs to mind is that if you're talking about the cob in your sig and <little picture that goes near name, not sure what we call them> then I'd leave the fur on! You can always plait a main for coolness in the summer... cobs like Gypsy look great with feather

 

[LynnHenry]

Hello,

I work with a lot of horses with this kind of confidence issue and I would love to help you with Gypsey.

It is important that you make clipping a good experience for Gypsey. One way to do this is to make the clippers feel like a massage.

Build up his confidence slowly by introducing something smaller like an electric toothbrush or a hand held massager. This will help Gypsey get used to the feeling of a vibration on his skin and associate it with comfort.

Keep hold of Gypsey rather than tying him up and give him a length of line to allow him to drift. If you need to, keep him in an enclosed area so that he does not bolt away and any drifting is in walk. Move with him and use approach and retreat to build his confidence in you and the machine. When horses are afraid, their instinct is to run. Allowing your horse to drift will stop him from panicking.

If there is anything I have said that you are not sure about, please do let me know and I will be here to help!

Love Lynn x

 

[Dort]

I agree with all of the above especially if you are looking for a long term solution not just a quick fix. But two things I would suggest is firstly try to get your horse close to another horse which is totally chilled about being clipped nothing like learning from example. Secondly it may just be that your horse may be upset by the feeling of actually loosing their coat and so will have to do some niffty stroking infront of the clippers. I am sure this was the case of one famous horse could have been a young Red Rum or Milton.