Work paying off ?

[iknowmyvalue]

Big win on the clipping front tonight. last year Pepsi wasn’t great to clip. Not dangerous, but very worried and fidgety, especially around head/legs/belly. Ended up sedating him just to make everyone’s life easier and less stressful.

we’ve been doing little bits of work with it here and there, and ramped it up the last few weeks ready for the winter. I decided to clip him today to give myself a chance to do it over a few days/week if necessary and to see if our work had paid off (and if it hadn’t and we had to abandon ship he wouldn’t look so bad since his winter coat isn’t fully through!)

Apparently it has paid off, because he let me clip almost all of him just stood in the yard with leadrope on the floor. I’m just so pleased because he’s so much easier to manage in the winter clipped, and it’s just so nice if it doesn’t need to be a massive stress and drama. he even let me clip almost his whole face with the big clippers! Only issue was clipping the bridle path because he kept flicking his ears into the clippers and scaring himself ? (but I can do that with scissors so no problems)

Photo of the handsome boy with his shiny post-clip coat ?

 

[Carrottom]

Smart shiny horse, well done!

 

[ponynutz]

Well done - how smart he looks!

 

[Bernster]

Ah well done. I’ve failed in that dept, and Bertie will need sedating again this year. Autumn came upon me a bit quick. He’s a little better but not to the point where I can get them near him but he was very scared so I might be starting from a worse point than you. What did you do, would you mind sharing please?

 

[southerncomfort]

Ah well done. I’ve failed in that dept, and Bertie will need sedating again this year. Autumn came upon me a bit quick. He’s a little better but not to the point where I can get them near him but he was very scared so I might be starting from a worse point than you. What did you do, would you mind sharing please?

Ditto this!

All I've managed to do with my boy is take off his longer belly hairs and beard with small dog clippers! ?

 

[iknowmyvalue]

Ah well done. I’ve failed in that dept, and Bertie will need sedating again this year. Autumn came upon me a bit quick. He’s a little better but not to the point where I can get them near him but he was very scared so I might be starting from a worse point than you. What did you do, would you mind sharing please?

Of course. I did a lot with clipper noises on YouTube, then one of the clipper apps on the phone that make it vibrate too. Just a lot of following him around with it, then taking it away when he stopped moving. Then running it over him, and doing the same thing.

Since it was on my phone, I did it for about 5-10mins a day every time I was down there. Then moved up to little clippers and did the same (without blades on so they didn’t cut any hair). Then a few sessions with big clippers

I also did a fair amount of groundwork with him, working with noises and “strange” things touching him all over (plastic bag on a stick, different fabrics, vibrating phone, electric toothbrush etc.)

I think it helps that he trusts me a lot more in general now, he didn’t even used to let me touch/brush his ears, but he’s absolutely fine with that now. He did have one or two moments during the clip where he got overwhelmed, but I’ve found with him that the most important thing is that he doesn’t feel trapped. So I let him move his feet, just keep the clippers on/near him, then turn them off when he stops. Then give him a minute and a pat, take him back to the middle of the yard and start again. Also making sure I don’t push him and just carry on when he’s being good, actually remember to stop and give him a break to reward him, especially if he lets me clip a “difficult” area.

Means it took 1.5hrs to do a full clip on a short coat, but worth it. And hopefully now he’s had a good experience he’ll keep improving!

when we started, the first time I turned on the clipper sounds on YouTube he shot backwards and went vertical if I tried to keep hold of him, so properly terrified!

 

[Annagain]

Lots of repetition and incremental clipping helped with Archie. He was 9 when I got him and had to be sedated to be clipped. We did little bits of leg trimming, working up his legs then onto his neck and round his girth doing tiny bits more each time. By the time he was 23 we managed a whole Irish clip with no sedation, by which point he didn't really need it . Still can't do a bridle path even with scissors though. I gave up trying unless he was sedated after a few years. I could hold a chunk in my hand but the second he heard the snipping noise he'd throw me across the yard.

 

[Pippity]

Blue did great with clipping this time round. I was even able to do her ears with the big clippers!

Unfortunately there was a significant failure by the numpty on the other end of the blades. It was only once I'd turned her out that I noticed the massive hairy patch I'd missed, and that's not getting into all the wobbly lines! Ah, well, this time of year, she'll be hairy again by next weekend.



Edit: The real turning point for her no longer being worried by clippers was a massage pad, of all things! Something that made a bit of noise, that vibrated, but that she really enjoyed. I also invested in a really quiet pair of clippers - Liveryman Harmony. I now only really use them for hogging and legs, and can use the Heiniger Xplorers for the rest of it. She's far better if I approach her with the clippers already running, rather than turning them on by her.

I clip her loose in her stable, so she can step away for a few minutes when she's had enough. She's still not great with legs and needs someone to distract her, which is why they aren't clipped at the moment.

 

[Bernster]

Thx for that. I have had some success with the phone app thingy and even managed to touch him with it. Have gone backwards a little with actual clippers (no blades on) - I think I need to do it more regularly and more often to really make progress.