She let me touch her with the clippers!

[caitlin95uk]

Last year we attempted to clip my 5yr old welsh x new forest, and lets just say she didnt like it very much and no instrument involved could stop her (e.g sedalin, twitch, cross tied)
all she would do is rear, kick out try to bite, and pull you away, and she is very strong, so after managing to do a line on one side -.- we gave up and thats how she stayes all winter.
So this year, we all thought, she would never let us clip her without sedation, and so instead of having all that hassle just to leave it, but last week i took up some small clippers, we started the sound and let her have a treat to show it wasnt going to hurt her, i then tied her up, stood the other side of the fence, so she couldnt kick, and i went for it, put it on her shoulder and let her feel the vibrations, well she went crazy, she shook her head, kicked out once, but she kicked the fence, and most likely hurt herself and decided she wouldnt do that again, and then she relaxed, and in that split second, she would let me touch her everywhere ( except the top of neck/head/ears part, which i dont mind as i knew she would be sensitive there.) and she didnt even batter an eyelid, i then jumped over the fence and again she was fine, we touched her with it everywhere, and took a little section of hair out on her tummy, as her pproblem last time was she hated the way the clippers took the hair off. i did this for a few days and the next day after i brang out the clippers prepared for a fight and nope, fell asleep and let me touch her everywhere and im very very very happy to say that we will most likely be able to clip cassey this year

 

[Izzwizz]

Thats really good - well done!! I had a horse who was scared to be clipped. Just keep doing a little at a time and as the trust builds up so does the confidence. I found the worse thing you can do is try and pin them down. Horses will only let you do things if they trust you and it takes time and patience. Sol eventually let me do her all over but was always very sensitive around her ears and face. We found the Wahl small clippers did the trick there. Another tip is to make sure your horse is clean, bathed if possible, so that the hair is grease free and the clippers will glide easily through. You may already know that though.

 

[McNally]

Wow well done- last year i clipped my previously unclippable horse for the first time. I worked on de-sensitizing him to clippers over the year and was able to clip with no sedative, no-one holding him and even clipped his head alone!

Its such a lovely feeling to stand back and look at your perfectly clipped horse and know that not only did you clip it but you got them to accept being clipped!!

Bit like being a horse whisperer lol x

 

[comet&joe]

whoop whoop