Ginger_ninja
Active Member
I've lurked on this forum for a while but never actual had the courage to make an account and post!
So, I've owned my horse for just over 18 months and have been through a lot of bad things with him. The first yard I went to he was beaten when I wasnt there, and when I moved him, the lovely daughter of the even lovlier YO decided to ram him up the bum with a broom until he was so frightened he bolted off, ripping off some shoes in the process. They then locked him in a stable, backed the trailer up to the door and rammed him on. This caused him to be terrified of stables up until a few months ago. My luck wasn't improving as in September of last year he damaged the Suspensory Ligament in his front right leg, putting him out of action until spring of this year. Now he's fighting fit, jumping and hacking and generally enjoying being a horse again (at last).
WELL, onto the actual point of this thread; he is so scared of clippers! But only sometimes hahaha. He stood in his stable nomming on some hay whilst the horse next door had a full body clip. Baring in mine he is in an indoor barn, and can easily see over the wall into the stables next door and behind him. Now, I was told by the girl who was clipping he was being a nosey park and gawping over the wall for the entire time it took to clip her horse, so he isn't scared by the noise!
I then decided to try an electric toothbrush to see if i could rub him all over with it while it was on, to get him used to feeling the vibrations. But before i could even move it from behind my back, he was rearing and throwing his weight around (he is 16hh and I'm only little so it wasnt the most fun i've ever had) at just the sound of it, even though it is a lot quieter than the clippers he was sat listening to!
I really don't know what to do because frankly I have no idea how he is going to react one day to the next, and I don't want to upset him by shoving an electric toothbrush at him when he's only just settled at the new yard! How can I desensitize him to something he'll be fine with one day and then be petrified of the next?
Suggestions welcome! Coffee and Carrot Cake for reading this far!
So, I've owned my horse for just over 18 months and have been through a lot of bad things with him. The first yard I went to he was beaten when I wasnt there, and when I moved him, the lovely daughter of the even lovlier YO decided to ram him up the bum with a broom until he was so frightened he bolted off, ripping off some shoes in the process. They then locked him in a stable, backed the trailer up to the door and rammed him on. This caused him to be terrified of stables up until a few months ago. My luck wasn't improving as in September of last year he damaged the Suspensory Ligament in his front right leg, putting him out of action until spring of this year. Now he's fighting fit, jumping and hacking and generally enjoying being a horse again (at last).
WELL, onto the actual point of this thread; he is so scared of clippers! But only sometimes hahaha. He stood in his stable nomming on some hay whilst the horse next door had a full body clip. Baring in mine he is in an indoor barn, and can easily see over the wall into the stables next door and behind him. Now, I was told by the girl who was clipping he was being a nosey park and gawping over the wall for the entire time it took to clip her horse, so he isn't scared by the noise!
I then decided to try an electric toothbrush to see if i could rub him all over with it while it was on, to get him used to feeling the vibrations. But before i could even move it from behind my back, he was rearing and throwing his weight around (he is 16hh and I'm only little so it wasnt the most fun i've ever had) at just the sound of it, even though it is a lot quieter than the clippers he was sat listening to!
I really don't know what to do because frankly I have no idea how he is going to react one day to the next, and I don't want to upset him by shoving an electric toothbrush at him when he's only just settled at the new yard! How can I desensitize him to something he'll be fine with one day and then be petrified of the next?
Suggestions welcome! Coffee and Carrot Cake for reading this far!
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