Sedation for clipping

[Captain Lad]

My young horse has been terrified of clippers on his past 2 experience and the previous people who have attempted to clip him have twitched him - which I found pretty traumatizing to watch and I am sure is not helping him in the long run as he wasnt fully zoned out...

For those who require sedation to clip, has anyone had any positive experience with horses requiring less sedation each time and finally in a place accepting the clippers?

How much has it cost to have a vet come to sedate the horse for clipping?

Thanks

 

[Gloi]

My young horse has been terrified of clippers on his past 2 experience and the previous people who have attempted to clip him have twitched him - which I found pretty traumatizing to watch and I am sure is not helping him in the long run as he wasnt fully zoned out...

For those who require sedation to clip, has anyone had any positive experience with horses requiring less sedation each time and finally in a place accepting the clippers?

How much has it cost to have a vet come to sedate the horse for clipping?

Thanks

Hopefully you wouldn't need the vet to come and might find something like Domosedan that you put under the tongue enough.

 

[Captain Lad]

Hopefully you wouldn't need the vet to come and might find something like Domosedan that you put under the tongue enough.

Will look into this, thank you

 

[Northern Hare]

Another vote for Dormosedan, but it does need to be absorbed through the mucus membranes in the mouth - and not swallowed.

You could also do some desensitizing before you next attempt to have him clipped - perhaps by getting him accustomed to a small set of battery trimmers being held nearer and nearer to him.

I definitely found that my horse improved each time using Dormosedan. Like yours, my horse had been twitched to get him clipped. Plan ahead and choose a time when the yard is at its quietest so you're horse is as relaxed as possible.

 

[Surbie]

How much desensitisation work do you do with your horse between clipping sessions? It works for some.

eta: domosedan doesn't work on our RDA pony or my friend's cob, both need 1-2 shots of sedation and someonewho clips fast.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have had several horse who have gone from needing IV sedation for clipping to needing non .
This includes Blue the cob who went from needing IV with the vet staying with us while we did the legs ,to us being able to sit on a low mounting block to clip his legs with him untied .
So certainly horses can lose there fear, with clipping every three weeks and calmness from the handlers .
I also like to break the clipping over two days if I can when I am using oral sedation so I never tax their patience too much this is especially important when you first go over to clipping without sedation .
I would much rather do twenty minutes then leave them and come back to it .
You have to make effort to get there including tieing them or stabling them next to a calm horse who’s being clipped and running the clipper near them regularly.
You also get the other sort who always need sedation .

 

[Muddy unicorn]

Our old horse always needed full IV sedation to be clipped and a very fast clipper - domosedan had zero effect because as soon as he realised the clippers were coming out he was on high alert. It’s his only fault - he’s got brilliant ground manners, is perfect for the farrier, vet and dentist but clipping just terrifies him. We tried gradually desensitising him but never got to the point of being able to do a half decent clip so sedation was the lesser of two evils. Now he’s retired so he’s happily fluffy and unrugged all winter.

 

[OlderNotWiser]

I was told my horse needed sedation for clipping when I bought him. We got the vet to sedate him for his first clip and then used Sedalin (small dose) for the second and now he doesn’t need anything. Taking it slowly and using quiet clippers definitely helped too.

*edited for typo

 

[GypsGal1718]

At the start I would have the clippers in my hand and if he approached give a treat, repeat until very comfortable then progress to moving over body and legs in multiple sessions

 

[thommackintosh]

I have Harry sedated IV for clipping. I figure it's better all round for him not to experience fear (to the point of panic/danger) and for the clipping itself to be over and done in 45 mins. I leave it as late as possible to clip, and only need to do it once a winter mid-November. Sedation cost including call out fee is less than £100

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think when they are scared I would start with the tiniest clipper like a battery operated one even like an old electric toothbrush, and just expose them to it while you feed or give treats, then slowly get a louder more powerful one and just keep going, yes it takes time and patience but I've done a few like this and it has never failed each horse got better.

My Louis would be OK with most of his body clipped but his upper neck throat and face was a no and he would rear if i tried.

I just went as far as I could with regular clippers then bought a trimmer and just did a small bit every few days with food and praise.

I can now do most of him with big clippers the only bit he won't tolerate is under his chin and it is literally the last few inches towards his mouth, but I can do that bit with a trimmer easily now even without a head collar but it has taken years.

 

[eggs]

Dormosedan works out a bit cheaper than having a vet out to sedate but does need to be given at least 30 and preferable 45 minutes before you start to clip. It is best to squirt it under the tongue so that it does not get swallowed.

I would also work on desensitising as others have mentioned above.

I once had a mare who was good to clip but then the YO clipped her with very blunt blades one year and gave her a hiding when she objected (I wasn't at the yard at the time but heard about it from another livery). The next time when my friend tried to clip her (she had clipped her the year before the YO did such a bad job) my mare broke free and jumped the gate out of the yard. She was sedated for the next couple of years and I bought the quietest clippers I could find and after a couple of years she no longer needed sedating.