Sedation for clipping

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Nikiolola

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My horse is scared of clippers. I didn't have him last winter but his old owner said she had him sedated to clip him and he was fine. I was going to ring the vet to sort out some sedation, but then somebody mentioned you can buy an oral paste which has a similar effect. Anybody have any experiance of this? Did it work and is it ok to use that instead of getting the vet, or is it better to get the vet out to do it properly?
 
Yes its called Sedalin gel, we use it on one of our ponies who has farrier issues and it does sedate her quite well. Don't know if it would work for you if your horse is that scared of being clipped? Think its more to take the edge off. Also why don't you try and de sensitise (sp) him with the clippers, it takes lots of time but is much better than having to sedate him every time especially if you intend to keep him.
Ask Patches she had great sucsess clipping her mare last year.
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My daughters pony who we bought in may and was told she had to be sedation for clipping is now showing off her chaser clip which we managed to do without any sedation, it did take alot of patience and over a month we introduced her to electric toothbrush, hairdryer, dog trimmers and finally cordless clippers (she didnt like any leads around her), she seemed happier when the clippers were on her than just holding them near her, her armpits are a little bit tufty but you can hardly noticed but we were just so chuffed that we managed to clip her.
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Have tried Sedalin for merlin who is bad with clippers and noises like clippers etc

No effect whatsoever, he was still dangerous. However it did calm him down when he had 3 days in his box after his hocks were medicated so it does work as such... just think that the terror over-rides the sedation.
 
We have to have the vet to sedate our pony he's just too terrified of the clippers, sedolin wont work if they are really bad but next year we are going to work REALLY hard on trying to get him used to them because the whole sedation and getting someone to clip him is quite pricey
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Why not try to do some desensitization work with your horse for a week or two instead of sedating him? Start with something like an electric toothbrush and work from there. Use the advance and retreat method. If the horse moves away from the sound keep moving with him. When he stands still switch them off as his reward and work from there.

Savannah's post will hopefully inspire you and you won't need the sedation at all. Quite honestly if any of our horses needed to be sedated for clipping they wouldn't be clipped.
 
I've just had my horse sedated for clipping, mane pulling and ear trimming. I'm not aware of anything else available that works as well if your horse is really terrified and quite dangerous.

I'd love to have not sedated him. But if you have the time to work on desensitising that's fine. Unfortunately I just don't and the time for clipping came round so fast that I had to bite the bullet and get it done.

Better that than have them all sweaty and uncomfortable during and after work.
 
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I've just had my horse sedated for clipping, mane pulling and ear trimming. I'm not aware of anything else available that works as well if your horse is really terrified and quite dangerous.

I'd love to have not sedated him. But if you have the time to work on desensitising that's fine. Unfortunately I just don't and the time for clipping came round so fast that I had to bite the bullet and get it done.
Yes I agree , would love not to sedate but he gets so hairy its not an option to not clip, will do it mid november so then will only be done once
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Better that than have them all sweaty and uncomfortable during and after work.

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Sedalin works okay but only really takes the edge off, i clip for a lot of people as well as my own and if they are that bad we go for full sedation, it's not worth the risk! The last time i heard someone say they could help my boy and do it without dope they were kicked quite badly and made him worse! So not worht the hassle!
 
Sedalin didn't work for mine, so i had a half clipped horse for a week. Vet did full sedation to finish it off so total cost of haircut almost £150.

Last year I bought a set of clippers for £150. Spent 5 days running them near her for 10 mins a time then did a full clip in the stable without being tied up with no sedation. It's amazing what a bit of patience can do. I think when you're paying someone else, they just want to fit as many in that day as possible and don't have the time to desensitise the horse. From the stories I used to hear about my horse being clipped, I was amazed at how easy it was.
 
I have spent the last 3 years trying to desensitise merlin to no avail, he has even been to Monty Roberts who had no joy either.

I can just about get the clippers on him running, they are very very quiet ones, but the minute you start to actually clip... WHAM he freaks out big time,. Its so quick as to be dangerous.

It seems to be the actual cutting that freaks him out. Its not the clippers as we have tried several different types, so now at a loss as to what to do.
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Have you tried IV sedation with your vet?

My horse used to be downright dangerous to clip (nearly killed 3 of us) so I got the vet out for IV sedation. That worked, then next time I used Sedalin and gradually reduced the amount I gave him each time. Now he just needs a bit of cotton wool in his ears to block out the sound!
 
I tried ACP and sedaline for my girl and still couldn't get the clippers near her, so had her properly sedated by the vet. Thought it was better than stressing her out
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Why not try to do some desensitization work with your horse for a week or two instead of sedating him? Start with something like an electric toothbrush and work from there. Use the advance and retreat method. If the horse moves away from the sound keep moving with him. When he stands still switch them off as his reward and work from there.

Savannah's post will hopefully inspire you and you won't need the sedation at all. Quite honestly if any of our horses needed to be sedated for clipping they wouldn't be clipped.

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I have tried several methods, but when a normally quiet and gentle horse turns nasty and wants to kill you because it so scared i draw the line at 1) putting him through being that uncomfortable 2) putting myself and whoever is clipping in danger
Much much safer & easier to accept that he wont be clipped and have him sedated and done in half an hour and a happy horse that can be competed all winter long!!
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