Tips for a horse that won't let the clippers near!

[Javabb94]

Tried to clip Java this morning.

Did not go well.... Let him stand with a Haynet and to start with just turned the clippers on without putting them near him. He started snorting and prancing. He then seemed to settle but went mental again and was starting to lift his front legs off the floor.....

He wasn't sweating up he just wasn't playing ball. We turned them off and he let us touch him with them on his nose and shoulders but on and no way..

He urgently needs done as doing hunter trials on Sunday and was very warm and sweaty after the last one. But today was first time I had someone to do it (don't have my own clippers)

Rang vets about some Sedalin but at £21 a tube it's expensive and vet said if he was that upset it may not work...


Any tips?? I don't think he has ever been clipped before- I haven't needed to before, this is the first year I have had him where the work I'm doing has warranted a clip.

 

[Kat]

If it is that important to get him done this week I would get the vet out to sedate him. Oral sedation is unpredictable and you don't have time to experiment

 

[Pinkvboots]

If it is that important to get him done this week I would get the vet out to sedate him. Oral sedation is unpredictable and you don't have time to experiment

Agree with this you wont have any time to get him used to them

 

[longdog]

If it is that important to get him done this week I would get the vet out to sedate him. Oral sedation is unpredictable and you don't have time to experiment

Agree with this for short term fix, but to desensitise you need to start having buzzing things near him to slowly acclimatise him to the noise. Start with an electric toothbrush or similar &build up from there. It will take time, but hopefully it will work

 

[Santa_Claus]

Did you try a twitch? Some people hate them but they can be the ideal solution for some horses.

 

[asmp]

If you have time - to get him used to the buzzing, place electric toothbrush in a bucket with his feed in another bucket in top

 

[Elsbells]

We did my yard buddy's mare last year, she's 14 years old a 16h shire x mare and would never allow anyone to clip her but we did.

We put my mare in the stable, stood the to be clipped mare outside on a longish rope so she didn't feel trapped. I held a bucket of pony nuts and played with them both "one for you" then "one for you" and whistled, chatted and sang! It looked totally crazy but it worked! It's worh a try if nothing else but for the fun of it.

We are doing it again next week.........oh gawd.

 

[Javabb94]

If it is that important to get him done this week I would get the vet out to sedate him. Oral sedation is unpredictable and you don't have time to experiment

Agree with this you wont have any time to get him used to them

Agree with this for short term fix, but to desensitise you need to start having buzzing things near him to slowly acclimatise him to the noise. Start with an electric toothbrush or similar &build up from there. It will take time, but hopefully it will work

Thanks - unfortunately don't have the money to spend on a vet visit for clipping at the minute! My other horse is under expensive vet treatment otherwise would have been doable! Thanks for the suggestion though

Did you try a twitch? Some people hate them but they can be the ideal solution for some horses.

I'm trying a twitch tomorrow as a last resort - if not will have to leave him!

If you have time - to get him used to the buzzing, place electric toothbrush in a bucket with his feed in another bucket in top

Yeah I think this is the route I will take just get him used to it - it's funny as he doesn't mind the dentist electric rasp which is pretty noisy!

We did my yard buddy's mare last year, she's 14 years old a 16h shire x mare and would never allow anyone to clip her but we did.

We put my mare in the stable, stood the to be clipped mare outside on a longish rope so she didn't feel trapped. I held a bucket of pony nuts and played with them both "one for you" then "one for you" and whistled, chatted and sang! It looked totally crazy but it worked! It's worh a try if nothing else but for the fun of it.

We are doing it again next week.........oh gawd.

Haha - good luck! We tried tempting him near with hay which worked then he reversed rapidly!

 

[TarrSteps]

It's Thursday. . .

Try the twitch but if that doesn't work then it's vet and proper drugs. The problem with the twitch is keeping it on for the duration of a full clip, including tricky bits, is pretty hard core. I've used it successfully but ideally you use it to get started and for the dangerous parts and slack off for the easy sections.

And then yes, for the future, desensitisation. Be warned though, there are lots of horses that just don't like the process and always need some sort of restraint.

 

[philamena]

Agree re sedating as you need it done sharpish. Better than setting up a negative pattern as you're in a rush. Ahead of next time, some proper desensitisation will probably help. Work on the basis of gradual exposure, and NOT turning the clippers off when the horse starts to react. It's our natural reaction if we think they're getting scared, but this actually only teaches them that reacting causes it to go away. Use cordless clippers. Take them somewhere safe and with space on a longish rope (a school is ideal), put the clippers on, put the clippers close to them where they'll just about start to resist or react, keep clippers there by following calmly and quietly to maintain the same closeness, the second the horse chills out and stops reacting THEN switch the clippers off. Reward, take a few moments, do it again, calmly keeping the clippers going and at the same distance from the horse until the second they relax, at which point you switch off. Keep doing this over and over and the horse will let you closer, until eventually the horse lets you run the clippers on them. Mine used to go through the roof until I did this. Now I can clip most of her except her very ticklish stomach area which will possibly always take drugs as she isn't scared, she just clearly hates the sensation with a special mareish passion

 

[rebmw]

I went to a Monty Roberts demo a few years back and he claimed that de-sensitizing horses with a hairdryer works.
Never had to try it myself but might be worth a go?!

 

[toomanyhorses26]

I know it sound ridiculous but my old boy was horrible to clip and allergic to sedation so I use to have a cordless pair ,tack him up and start from there so I was sittinbg on him Once they were actually on him he settled and was better - he only had a bib or low trace so it was all over pretty quick once we got going

 

[MileAMinute]

I know it sound ridiculous but my old boy was horrible to clip and allergic to sedation so I use to have a cordless pair ,tack him up and start from there so I was sittinbg on him Once they were actually on him he settled and was better - he only had a bib or low trace so it was all over pretty quick once we got going

You clipped him whilst sat on him?! You are one brave soul!

 

[cundlegreen]

I've clipped a lot of other peoples horses. I hate intravenous sedation, as the horse sweats, then you can't clip the coat anyway. Several things are worth trying. The horse may be better out of the stable as it feels trapped. Put cotton wool in the ears, and one that works well on real hard cases is a driving bridle with blinkers. I've used this on several unclippable horses with great success. Another thing I've found that works, is to clip back to front, ie, start mid section or on the quarters. Sometimes horses hate seeing the nasty buzzing thing coming near their head (hence the blinkers trick). I agree, the twitch has its place, but some horses feel trapped by it, and can have an extreme reaction after a while. I had one TB start to boil with me, and caught his owner with a front foot on top of her shoulder. Most horses, if clipped by an experienced calm person, soon settle to it. Good luck!!

 

[Javabb94]

I went to a Monty Roberts demo a few years back and he claimed that de-sensitizing horses with a hairdryer works.
Never had to try it myself but might be worth a go?!

Never thought of this actually! Thanks!

I know it sound ridiculous but my old boy was horrible to clip and allergic to sedation so I use to have a cordless pair ,tack him up and start from there so I was sittinbg on him Once they were actually on him he settled and was better - he only had a bib or low trace so it was all over pretty quick once we got going

I don't think I'm that brave!!!!

You clipped him whilst sat on him?! You are one brave soul!

I've clipped a lot of other peoples horses. I hate intravenous sedation, as the horse sweats, then you can't clip the coat anyway. Several things are worth trying. The horse may be better out of the stable as it feels trapped. Put cotton wool in the ears, and one that works well on real hard cases is a driving bridle with blinkers. I've used this on several unclippable horses with great success. Another thing I've found that works, is to clip back to front, ie, start mid section or on the quarters. Sometimes horses hate seeing the nasty buzzing thing coming near their head (hence the blinkers trick). I agree, the twitch has its place, but some horses feel trapped by it, and can have an extreme reaction after a while. I had one TB start to boil with me, and caught his owner with a front foot on top of her shoulder. Most horses, if clipped by an experienced calm person, soon settle to it. Good luck!!

He was out of stable just on the yard - I loosely had hold of him next to his Haynet
Someone else suggested cotton wool - will also try with chaff ( does anything for chaff!) he is a quirky horse and nothing Is straightforward with him! Not anything!

We are having another go tomorrow

 

[Elsbells]

And don't forget to sing!

 

[Elsbells]

No honestly, lots of good tips here to try. Also, if you can borrow a clip savvy companion for him to stand with that'll help heaps.

 

[tilly_monster]

I clip one horse, that was a nightmare, the first time he was done he was beaten up by someone, so his second clip( my first clip on him) he wouldn't let me near him, we twitch him and he was okish with the quite clippers, but couldn't get near him with the normal clippers, it took me 8 hours with the little clippers, and me talking or singing to him, his second clip with me was a bit better, but he still won't let me near him with the normal clippers, it might be worth trying to see if you can get hold of some quite clippers, mine are for dog groom, you have to hold them up to your ear to hear if there on or not.

 

[Sol]

Last year I managed to do my lad on my own, with no sedation/twitching, for the first time. It took a bag of sugar, a lunge line, and lots of patience - though it didn't take all that long

Popped him in his stable, with the lunge line through tie up ring to my hand (alternatively you can go over the stable door to a helper), as a *just in case*, you can slacken it or take it up if things go wrong.
I then started with battery clippers, showed them to him (treat), and looked for him to move TOWARDS me while I held the clippers (treat for this). I then turned them on, and again, looked for him moving towards me, even if he just turned his head to look at me. treat! That way he was choosing to accept the clippers - I wasn't pushing them on him at all, they were just in my hand & he took the initiative to come fetch his fodder! Only once he was completely settled with coming to me for a treat did I put them closer to him, and if he stood still, I'd take them away/turn them off & treat.
Yes, it did involve a hell of a lot of treats, but it did the trick. Ideally I'd always have a helper too, just in case.

I even managed to clip half his face this way, which he absolutely detests - turns out the trick though was to go FAST not slow, as faffing made him more twitchy & annoyed.

Beware overheating the clippers too.... I think this may be part of why Dan hates clippers so much

 

[spottybotty]

Agree with this for short term fix, but to desensitise you need to start having buzzing things near him to slowly acclimatise him to the noise. Start with an electric toothbrush or similar &build up from there. It will take time, but hopefully it will work

I have used an electric toothbrush (old one of course) to desensitise to start with, just put it on near horse first and build up over time, then put on the body to get used to feel, then progess to smaller quiete clippers and then normal ones.

 

[samlg]

I personally don't like the sedation paste. If a horse is bad enough that it needs something more than a twitch I don't feel safety wise its worth not going the full hog with sedation. Yes it can be quite costly if the horse is a hairy mammoth but its better than someone being injured! Some horses don't react well with the twitch and makes them do dangerous spur of the moment things that can harm the holder/person clipping if not on the ball. I know getting the vet to sedate makes them sweat but if this has been done I start on the shoulder/neck and quickly work my way to the head while the horse is at its most sedated and it hasn't started to sweat at that point. Do its whole head then come back down, do legs if doing as probably the next problematic area then finish on the body. If they fight the sedation they will come round quicker but a lot less stressful for the horse this way.

 

[Javabb94]

We did it!!!!!

Left him in stable with Haynet turned the clippers on and waited until he was settled. Stroked him with clippers in hand and gradually got closer and eventually let us do a little strip, the decided he didn't like it so finished with a twitch - he stood rock still with the twitch

So glad we managed it!!

 

[LeannePip]

We did it!!!!!

Left him in stable with Haynet turned the clippers on and waited until he was settled. Stroked him with clippers in hand and gradually got closer and eventually let us do a little strip, the decided he didn't like it so finished with a twitch - he stood rock still with the twitch

So glad we managed it!!

Fab Well done!! Onwards and Upwards!!

 

[meesha]

brilliant well done ! you might find he is loads better next time .... Good luck for Sunday !

 

[toomanyhorses26]

yeah started the clip while I was sat on him Think he was so confused he forgot to kick off