Sedation for clipping?

minesadouble

minesadouble

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Anyone else got a horse that has to be sedated for clipping? We bought my daughter's 14.2 in Spring of this year and were advised by her owners that she needs to be sedated intravenously for clipping.
She's 18 and has always been a jumping pony so I would imagine that this is a long-term problem. I don't know whether it is worth a try giving her some sedalin and seeing how we get on before calling the vet.
Also whenever I have had a horse sedated in the past - only one really old T.B. was sedated for Liverpool Cream application - it has sweated quite profusely so how will this work? Do you just have to clip extra quickly or is there a more modern sedative which does no cause sweating?
 
My last horse had to be sedated for clipping - every time I had a conversation with the vet when I would tell them he needed a lot and they would not give him enough....
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But once he was sedated then he was great, as long as the person clipping was pretty quick and didnt faff around
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He was a SF so never grew a huge coat, but never had a problem with him sweating a lot when he was sedated - I guess it depends on the individual horse though.

Personally I would really advise strongly against trying with Sedalin, if the previous owners specifically told you the pony needs proper vet sedation then almost certainly they would have tried Sedalin themselves!
 
Thanks for that. Previous owners hadn't tried Sedalin - I made a point of asking when we bought her! May still give it a go when I clip the others but won't push it if she gets really upset - it's not worth it at that age.
 
How odd! You would have thought they would have wanted to save themselves a vet call out fee every time if nothing else
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Anyway, sounds like a plan
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No - this is the first winter we have had her. Previous owners said she has to be twitched for mane pulling but we managed without a twitch so may be an optiojn for clipping. I just hate the idea of getting her half clipped and having to admit defeat!!
 
My mare needs sedating for clipping (generally twice as she fights the first and comes out of it in about 15 mins!).

She sweats alot so i have to get someone else to clip her who is alot faster than me. Some times she doesn't get all the way up between her back legs as it gets just too sweaty.
 
my pony rears up, spins and loses all his manners once you turn the clippers on. He does not respect your personal space and will crush you against the stable etc to get away from the killer clippers. Whack a twitch round his lip and hes a saint
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May aswell give it a go.
 
The YM at my yard will not clip without the horse being sedated (she had a bad accident and has heard of many more so says it's just not worth the risk).

Last year, my horse was sedated for the first clip and then for the second one we tried just using some sedalin. He was ok, until we got to his belly (he's ticklish there anyway) and then started getting a bit antsy so we decided it wasn't worth carrying on, so the vet came and gave him a little sedation so we could finish off.

TBH, if you are in any doubt, I would get the vet to come and sedate your horse, it really isn't worth the risk. I have heard of some really nasty accidents whilst clipping and if it means spending some extra ££ to avoid this, I'd rather do that, than spend lots more £££ dealing with any injuries that might occur.
 
Just a warning that accidents can still happen under sedation. My mare kicked my yard owner in the head under heavy sedation when she was being clipped, ended up with 2 weeks in hospital and a rebuilt eye socket. She was incredibly lucky in that you can't even tell that she had been kicked and made a remarkably recovery.

I haven't clipped her since although am considering it this year as she gets so incredibly hairy - but will just go for a chaser clip that won't take me anywhere near her back legs, and will be done under sedation.
 
We have the vet out to sedate Toto , he is brill for everything else but he only has to hear some clippers and he turns into a raving loon
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, the vet said sedolin wouldn't work on him because he's too bad so its easier and kinder to fully sedate , they can still kick out though so be carefull although he never has , he never sweats and is dopey enough for a full clip and is usually ok to turn out after an hour or so
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, the only downside is the price , so I wait till late October then rug up well and we get away with doing it once
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I sedate my horse for clipping, more for his sake than mine, I like to do a full clip as he stays competing over the winter, I have never had a problem with the vet sedating and he doesn't sweat at all so I can take my time, however I do recommend doing the head pretty soon after sedation so it has full effect. As to other methods I have tried sedalin a couple of times at a pretty high dose and it didn't work at all, he is quite good with a twitch but as a full clip takes 45mins-1hour I don't feel it is fair to twitch him for that long so I fork out for the vets to sedate usually only twice over the winter
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I have the vet out for my boy. He is out on loan and as part of the contract I have stipulated the vet is to come out and sedate him. He is also extremely well rugged up lol to try to only ensure one or two clips a winter lol. We tried Sedazine several times, ended in tears all round. x
 
My mare thinks clippers are the devils own work and without sedation you wouldnt get near her. I use sedolin, 5ml dose 20 mins before the "evil" clipper lady appears. My girlie snorts at the meer sight of her, but is dopey enough to stand (polos in pocket to keep her focused on me ;o) ) THen voila, 40 mins later, lovely blanket clip. We've chickened on doing the legs as my girlie just will not let you. ANyhoo, she has feathers so I've grown to love them...mud clinkers and all !
 
Try the Wahl cordless clippers - Donks is evil to clip - attacks you but we have gone from half a tube of sedalin and a twitch to a quarter of a tube, most I think she spat out and the twitch being removed after five mins and she lets me clip her without a second thought now with these clippers - no cord and very quiet - I also always start on the off side as she is calmer for some reason. Good luck
 
I used to have a major problem clipping my horse; enough sedation caused excessive sweating. I too got cordless clippers and worked on the problem that way; now I can do a full clip with my noisy Hauptners, so have a set of hardly used Laube Lazer cordless looking for work!
 
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