Rescue mare striking out - help!

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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Bit long, sorry. Have had rescue gypsy cob mare since July. She has dreadful ragwort poisoning from her previous owners who, I think, were ignorant and neglectful rather than brutal since she's happy around people. I've spent the last 8 months getting her as well as she can possibly be and now she looks amazing and is good to come to call, lead, groom, spray with detangler, have her feet trimmed, have a rug on, not get silly when she's got a feed and even have her mane trimmed. BUT.... She has grown this mahoosive ugly beard and all it needs is trimming off. She is now ok about having under her chin scratched to the point where I can grab a handful of beard and pull quite hard on it. No reaction. But the minute you go near it with ANYTHING mechanical in your hand, all hell breaks loose. Solo comb, mane rake, tiny scissors, razor comb ... everything gets the same reaction. She starts to shake her head, more and more violently. Then she'll lash out with a front leg - she caught me again today. And with a wildly shaking head, there's no chance you can snip her beard off. I mean, you're talking 3 minutes work! I know she had a bad time when she had to have a liver flush that involved numbing injections in her neck followed by a surgical procedure to insert a drip but after today's performance she hadn't even broken a sweat and she happily tucked straight into her tea the minute it was over. Just bad manners and temper I think. I have tried being firm, kicking her back, squealing at her, yelling at her, holding her headcollar tightly, covering her eye, even feeding her treats every snip. I have tried everything. Has anyone had a similar experience or got any ideas? As I said, she's fine on everything else I have done with her. Because she is rescued, I have absolutely no idea what she has done in the past. She is 11/12yrs and we think has just popped babies all her life. Me and a very calm and brave friend managed to hack some hair off and now she looks like an accident in a Flymo factory. I have to win this battle with her, not because of the beard but because there may be other stuff lurking further down the line and I need to sort it now! H-E-L-P!!!!!!!!
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Would it be worth blindfolding her? We had a mare who was neurotic about injections, she was much better if she did not see the needle. We could cup a hand over her eye and stand between her and the vet, to do her chin would obviously need both eyes covering at once, just a thought.
 
Have you tried sedating her? If you build up sedation until she's aware but really dozy she'll still be aware of what's happening and thereforeremeber that you havent hurt her, but be relaxed enough to not strike out?
 
I don't know if it'll help...but can you break the process of whisker trimming down into tiny stages...she sounds quite keen on food
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so feed her by holding the bucket with the scissors in your hand so she can see them as she eats. Then put the bucket on the floor and try to hold them next to her neck or head (wherever she is happiest). Next step - open and shut them, next step have them under her chin while she eats...then one snip and big fuss....
You'll be 105yrs old by the time you get there...but it should be a permanent 'cure'...
S
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I rescued my mare when she was 2 - she had been very badly handled and had a lot of scar tissue round her head, shoulders and legs. You could put a headcollar on, pull her mane etc with no probs but if you tried to do anything round her face she went nuts and even reared at one point - she wasnt being nasty she was just scared.
At first I just started trimming the hairs on the underside of her neck and worked upwards until she got uncomfortable - I did this everyday and moved further along her face everyday. I gave her plenty of treats along the way which helped and always gave her a haynet to keep her occupied. It took two weeks to break her habits and teach her it was ok and she has been fine ever since tho I still can't clip her face with proper clippers I have to use human beard trimmers
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Also - have you tried getting someone to hold a leg up?
 
Said it before, say it again...this forum is amazing. Thanks guys. I thought about sedation Charlie - just with the oral paste - but I wasn't sure that it would make much of a difference plus I have to be incredibly wary about what goes in her mouth as it all goes through her liver and she only has a few % working liver left. But defo my plan B. My YO has also suggested homeopathic calming tabs. But for Plan A, I like Shilasdair's idea of holding her feed bowl with the scissors in my hand, then I could put it on a shavings bale and do snip snip scissor actions right next to her as she stuffs her face. Then it becomes real snip snips, even if just a few hairs. As you say S, I'll be 105 before it's sorted but it stays permanently sorted! Yorks, thanks but we tried covering just one eye as we worked from that side of her face but she shakes her head so violently that it's impossible and anyway it seems to be the FEEL of something different under her chin coz I can pull the hair with my fingers and there's no reaction but anything mechanical and she goes loopy, whether she can see what you're using or not. She is a little madam over this and when she lashed out in temper today and kicked me hard in the thigh I began to seriously wonder what she would taste like in a casserole! Regulo 5 I reckon, about 12 hours. Need a big roasting tray.
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I don't know if it'll help...but can you break the process of whisker trimming down into tiny stages...

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Wot she said
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Small steps, building up her trust. Thats working on the root problem. sedating her would be a short term fix to get it sorted but is only working on the symptom xx
 
you need to de - sensitize her make the bad things part of her daily routine chop a bit a day and reward her for it, dont worry about what it looks like perseverance will get you there in the end but it will take you a long time i have worked with rescue horses for years, it is really importent that you do not rise to her temper you wont win you have got to make it a nice experience for her kicking her and being violent towards her wont help you have got to remember she has prob been through all that before it sounds like you have come a long way with her all ready so just keep plugging at it calmly and your get there. i really would not advise blind folding her you need to make what is a really bad situation for her into a stress free one as much as possible blind folding her will really stress her out.
 
I agree with the sedation. My Welshy used to be downright dangerous to clip, mostly just bad manners more than anything else really. I gave up trying to desensitise him and had the vet come and sedate him. He wasn't flat out, just enough to see what was going on but stop him trying to kill us. That seemed to be enough to make him realise it wasnt too bad and he's been fine to clip ever since. Just takes the emotion out of the situation.
 
have you tried a razor? as in one you would shave your legs with but you can get horsey ones. she may not even notice that?
 
Popeye that's really calm and sensible advice - maybe I'd lost sight of that in the need to get that 'orrible beard off! HOWEVER!!!! Good news!!! May have it cracked and it took another livery's OH to point out the obvious! Nair depilatory cream! Might need a few tubes though! He he he he he he PMSL x
 
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