Sedaline and clipping - help?

J

Jingleballs

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C has always been ok to clip - he isn't scared of the clippers but doesn't seem to like the sensation of it. Sometimes I can get a full body clip done with minimum fuss - other times I get half of it done and then he throws the toys out of the pram and I have to just leave him and finish it the next day.

I decided to clip off his feathers earlier this year - first time I did it he was fine with the fronts but a horror with the backs so friend twitched him for me while I finished them - unfortunately when you twitch him it only seems to work for 10 minutes max so I have to be super quick.

Second time he was much worse but I though that perhaps my small clippers were making it more difficult/uncomfortable so I bought a new set of heavy duty clippers.

These are much better and we can get a full body clip done in an hour (used to take about 3) but the legs are still a no no.

I did them last weekend and the amount of kicks and stamps I had to avoid was rediculous - he was even being naughtly when I was doing the fronts this time and me being smart decided to hold up one front leg while I clipped the other (he snatches his leg away when you go to clip it and with some force too - you should have heard the thud it made as his foot whacked of his tummy).

So I'm clipping away and holding the leg up and he just as calmly as you like lifted the other front leg too and fell down right on top of me - clippers went flying, I went into the mud and he got back up again and started smugly eating his hay net.

So twitching only works for a short time, bribing him with a molasses lick didn't work - he can simultaniously eat the lick and still be a brat.

Next step that I can think of is sedating. I've heard mixed views about sedaline and don't know much about it. Would this be enought to take the edge off? Pony is generally super chilled and looks sedated most of the time anyway so wonder if this might work?

Do I need the vet to come out to administer it or can I just buy it from them and how much does it generally cost?

Or are there any other options? If he was generally scared I'd spend a lot of time desensatising him and taking my time with it but he's not scared - he just doesn't like it!

Thanks in advance!
 
Not sure about Sedaline but a livery at our yard has a horse just like yours :) She clipped his legs last week, got the vet out to sedate him though.
 
sedalin can work. You have to give it to the horse while they are totally chilled. Eg dont start clipping and get the heart rate up then decide to adminster it... it wont work, theyl fight it. You start off with a small amount as it says on the tube and you can top this up after 40 mins if it doesnt work. You can just buy it from you vet over the counter. Ive tried it on 2 horses, ended up giving a whole tube and it still didnt work:rolleyes: I ended up getting the vet out to sedate properly Im afraid. hope you're ok btw:eek:
 
Domosdean (not sure of spelling) is much better than sedaline. You have to get it from the vet and has much better results. It has a similar effect to the vet coming out to sedate whereas sedaline isn't so good. Ring your vet and ask for advice. Good luck
 
I use Sedalin gel for a horse to relax him for shoeing. He has been to hell and back with laminitis and has got very upset by the whole shoeing lark now. So I just give him 1/3 tube (3mls) an hour before the farrier comes. He is 16.2hh shire x dales. It just chills him out and makes life better for both him and farrier. Used to use the paste but the gel is less messy to administer and seems to work better.
I think it would be ideal to help you clipping, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it if mine were worried. However all mine love it and stand with no head collars on pulling funny faces with the itchy bits :) !!
You will have to ask your vet for it and explain, but I can't see why not.
 
I agree with neversaynever - I usually have to get vet out to sedate to fully clip ours, but even that doesn't last long enough so end up finishing off another day with sedalin (usually nearly a full tube!)- but he can't suspect a thing or it won't work!!! The other week I decided to just take his neck & belly off & thought i'd try without vet. I had 2ml of sedalin left so he had that - took a slight edge off but he was still pratting about so I got the daughter to shovel carrots down his neck & we actually got it finished!! its worth a try with sedalin just give it plenty of time to work - I also believe vet has to have seen them in the last 6 months for them to just let you have it.
Good luck!! xx
 
Thanks all for the advise - I'd ideally not like to go down the route of getting the vet out to sedate - make clipping awfully expensive!

I'm hoping he'll get better with time although he's gotten a bit worse.

Will call the vet and get their advise and hopefully can get some sedaline to try with him - the fact that he doesn't get stressed might mean that it works for him as it's not like his heart rate is up.

NSN - was a bit sore after he collapsed on me - also had a nice bruise on the back of my hand from a kick but otherwise fine - not what I needed the day before a Hunter Trial though. I did fall out with him that day although he was not fussed by any of it as usual!
 
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