Help please.... Filly is petrified of scissors....

Kiristamm

Kiristamm

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As above really.

She is rising 3 yo. When I first got her she had quite grotty rain scald so I had to clip her and scissor her mane to get rid of the scabs. She wasn't impressed but stood for it.

She has settled in really well and working well in long lines and in-hand hacking, going up and down the horsebox ramp etc. so i decided to start to tidy her up so i can show her in-hand and... She went apes**t about the scissors.

So I did some ground work with her as during the meltdown/paddy she barged me, came back to the nice little well mannered horse she is.

I thought "OK, we can get used to scissors slowly." So a couple of days later iI thought I would be a good idea to groom her whilst holding the scissors in the other hand... apparantly not... She went loopy again and didn't want me to even touch her (Scissors tucked safely away at this point).

I think she is scared rather than being mischievous.

I worked with foals and youngstock for a few years and never came across this. An old horse had a big fear of plastic, and we did lots of desensitising etc but if she goes barmy with the scissors about, i don't want to stab her by mistake... She was beautifully behaved today and all appears to be forgotton...

Any ideas?
 
She needs to understand that Scissors=good.

So I would start by keeping them an arms away from her and snipping, whilst rewarding her good behaviour. Look closely at her body language and when she is relaxed enough, bring them closer and closer. Until eventually you can lay them on her neck. Make sure you give lots of praise so she assiocates the sight and sound of the scissors as a good thing.

Good luck
 
She needs to understand that Scissors=good.

So I would start by keeping them an arms away from her and snipping, whilst rewarding her good behaviour. Look closely at her body language and when she is relaxed enough, bring them closer and closer. Until eventually you can lay them on her neck. Make sure you give lots of praise so she assiocates the sight and sound of the scissors as a good thing.
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I agree and this and would be my iniatial go to plan and it is what I tried to do but i got results I have not seen before.

she did not calm down at all but bared teeth and tried to lunge and just became more agitated. She went into attack mode I didn't make any noise with them or bring them towards her... (Back to ground work, moving her around and reminding that her behaviour is in appropriate... but it got the desired effect to her, the scissors went away). :(:(

Hence why I am slightly at a loss:confused:.. I haven't had mares since i worked at the stud 5 years ago, but what i do remember is that if you make them cross, you do more harm than good and they don't forget easily.
 
I would suggest you use a different tool, there are plenty of trimming combs. I had a fabulous Mare. Her only No No, was if you tried to pull her mane or tail. You would get one tiny yank, and she would try to tread all over you. She was absolutely not going to allow it. Even brushing mud out of her mane, she would be suspicious, and I use to say to her "hey, i'm not pulling it ".

I would leave her alone for a good while and just use a comb. Then try a solo comb.
 
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You have to be careful you don't praise her behaviour by removing scissors if she reacts, to be honest, I would not worry too much, just concentrate on pulling her mane with a comb, and clipping her.
I only use scissors to tidy up round fetlocks and to to cut plaits out, so it is not a big deal, but she may need bandages or something requiring scissors, so yes do a bit of work, but maybe when she is a bit tired after exercise.
 
Hmm in that case, I would put her feed bowl down in the stable and then about meter away I would place the scissors on the floor. She will have to go near them if she wants her food. They will also be in eyeline at all times. But without the worry of a human bringing them near her. Obviously don't leave her alone and keep watch. Once she has eaten I would remove the scissors.
 
I was going to say use food also, but if at all possible you want to begin leaving the scissors in view at a distance where shes not responding, then bring them closer to her even by just an inch at a time. Don't expect her to be totally happy with the scissors in one session, it probably needs to be done over a few weeks by the soubds of it. There is no point using food while des freaking as you're obviously rewarding the negative association. Treat her when she's calm. I've no idea if this has made sense.
 
I always use the lickit pots for distractions with youngsters - the first time they are clipped/trimmed/shod etc. We only ever use them like that. The horses go into a kind of trance! I call it a humane twitch!
 
So, she is scared at seeing the scissors? Not the noise or anything?

Now, I’m totally in favour of all the desensitising suggestions above but if she doesn’t like the look can you get a pair in a different colour/material and use those for a bit?

I mean often they are smarter than we think but I’m not sure a filly will know that a metal snippy pair are the same thing as e.g. a yellow-plastic handled pair unless you start using them…
 
To be honest I am not really worrying about her apperance at the moment but more about "What do I do if she needs to be poulticed". Until now I hadn't thought of the number of reasons you need scissors with horses. :(

I like the idea of the scissors on the floor near food. I am going to borrow a pair of round nosed kids scissors from school so the aren't so pointy!

Thanks guys! I was starting to feel a bit dejected about the whole thing..
 
If its the noise rather than the sight..

When I introduce clipping to noise sensitive horses I have the radio on very loud whilst I start, and graudally turn in down as they get used to the sound.
 
Harvey is also scared of scissors. I like the radio idea so will have to try that as he did let me neaten his clip the other day using very small, quiet trimmers while i had music playing and he had to be sedated to clip (admittedly trimmers were much quieter but still pleased with the reaction.)
 
I'd be tempted to put some sponge in her ears to test if it's the noise and not object itself. Just a dish sponge cut in 2 and lightly stuffed in each ear is a quick way of testing, then just make snipping noises out of sight behind your back. If no reaction then you know you just need to desensitize her to the noise:D
 
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