Quiet clippers for a nervous horse? Or which to avoid?

F

FleabittenT

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 September 2009
Messages
646
Visit site
My mare is incredibly nervous around clippers. Can anyone recommend the quietest pair you have found, or the really noisy ones to avoid please?

Not bothered if cordless or not, just quiet as possible!

I've spend the last 10 days de-sensitising her with my battery trimmers. If I'm in the stable, they're on! She's getting better, I can run them down her legs & body now, but still not keen from her withers up. Would rather not clip but she's getting so sweaty now, and it's only October :o

Any recommendations (or tips on clipping a nervy horse) would be much appreciated :)
 
TBH I would maybe consider sedating your horse if its getting urgent to clip. Even if you try the sedalin gel if not keen on the full injections. In reality clipping is a risky exercise and with a nervious horse things can go wrong. I need to sedate my horse (sensitive chesnut mare) and no amount of desensitising has worked for her.
 
Can't really comment on which clippers although I think Heineger are quite noisy. Lister ones may be quieter and I think that generally cordless ones tend to be quieter but don't quote me on that.

However, my boy was very nervous of the clippers when I first got him and I started off pretty much like you did but with my OH's head clippers (old pair I hasten to add!). I started off by giving him a haynet, running them all over him and then turning them on from a fair distance away. Gradually got closer and actually managed to clip most of the underside of his neck in one session with the head trimmers. I did this for 2-3 sessions (taking off a bit more each time - think bib extending into a chaser clip) and on the third session, I turned on the big clippers whilst the little ones were still running which seemed to fool him. I then clipped the rest of him with the big clippers no problem.

He can still be a bit funny for the first 10 mins or so and some areas are definitely off limits - i.e. his 'man bits' so he normally sports a pair of big fluffy knickers for most of the winter :-) Anyway, this is what worked for me so just thought I would share.

Good luck!
 
I have the Moser Avalon clippers, they are cordless and very quiet, I honestly think I wouldn't be able to clip one of mine with anything else.
As to clipping nervous horses, I just take my time and try not to restrict their movement much - I tend to clip Mabel (the scary pants) whilst walking around, the cordless option comes in very handy. I've noticed that if I take the flight option away completely, the horse just simply explodes upwards, which makes clipping impossible.
 
I have Heineger and they are noisy and heavy!! My horse hates them and so do I! :mad: I used my pals Lister clippers and he was like a different horse and only attempted to kick me in the head once rather than the 10 + times with the Heinegers... DO NOT BUY HEINEGER lol
 
I use a set of Wahl Stable Pro clippers. I've had them more than 10 years though so I don't know if they are still available. They are two thirds the size of standard clippers and consequently MUCH quieter - more like a noisy electric toothbrush! They will do a full clip but obviously with a narrower blade it would take quite a bit longer, but since I never did more than a lowish trace clip, they were perfect for me. I recommend switching on any clippers behind you back as that helps to muffle the noise as they start and helps prevent the horse spooking.
 
I have some moser clippers which are really quiet, but although they say they are suitable for a full body clip, i find they get hot very quickly and I usually clip in three stages with a good half hour inbetween each session so they can cool down. I've had them about 5 years now and they've been great for clipping my horse a couple of times a year but I not sure they would be man enough to do lots of horses.
 
Thanks all, much appreciated :)

I will look at the Moser clippers now. Fatpiggy, I'll look at the Wahl ones too, I don't plan to do a full clip so a smaller blade wouldn't be a big problem.

Thanks Martlin, that's very true of my young mare. I bought her as a project last spring, she's not had the best start & protested at a lot of things - hose on her legs, mane pulling etc. If I tie her up, she just explodes upwards. Letting her keep her feet moving is a compromise & definately the best way with her. She's improving every day.

Thanks too, Taffyhorse, good to hear it worked for you!

Ossy, if I have to sedate her I will, but I would rather at least try to work through the issue first. Without putting either of us a too much risk, at least.

Will definately avoid Heinegers at any rate! ;)
 
I have a pair of Heinegers and a pair of Moser Avalons!

I actually quite like my Heinigers and use them on any horses on the yard that are good to clip. They are a good basic clipper and easy to tension etc.

I use the Moser's on my sec D who HATES being clipped - these are the only clippers I can use on him and he just about tolerates them. As others have mentioned, I clip him not tied up so that if he moves I can quietly follow him and just keep the clippers on his body so that he knows that I will not stop! I take it very slowly, giving him a lot of breaks with various treats/bribes, and manage a low trace with these clippers in less than 2hrs. I have had him sedated in the past but he still fought it through the sedation - especially as it took the vet 5 attempts at getting the needle in!! Sedalin does help but just watch out as the kick reflex can still be there!

The Moser blades are small and the clip is not quite as close as bigger clippers but certainly stand up to the job. Having said that my Welsh does not have a hugely thick coat, so couldn't comment on a denser coat.
 
I bought a set of blades that cut closer than the set that came with my mosers, so you can get a close cut but I seem to get a bit of a liney finish for a couple of days!
 
I'd really recommend, for you safety and hers, getting her sedated by a vet.
Mine will NOT in any way, shape or form let clippers near her unless she's fully sedated. We've not, and wouldn't recommend twitching as it can sometimes make the matter worse. Your mare doesn't sound as bad as Sunny, but you'd be surprised how one minute they're not too happy and the next they're jumping out of their skin doing everything they can to get away from them.

We have Lister Star clippers and they're pretty quiet, although Sunny still finds them terrifying!! Also, she finds little battery powered clippers that are SUPER quiet a 'danger' too. And with her working through the problem in NOT an option, the ore she hears them the worse she gets.

Perhaps trying horse earplugs would help your mare? If she's not fussy with her ears that is. Or if she's not too bad some tit bits or a hay net with her favorite treats/ hard feed? The last resort for would would probably be the vet, I'd rather pay a bit of money to have her sedated than to have the vet coming out for something far worse because she was so frighted, or to have a traumatized horse for life. I really hope you'll be able to get her clipped one way or the other, hopefully not with too much restraining.

It's not nice having a hot and sweaty horse!

Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top