Clipping The Horse Who Won't be Clipped

[Maythehorsebewithme]

This post is a long shot–is there a way to clip a horse without using electrical clippers?

My trainer has a horse that will not be clipped. She is a highly experienced horseperson and she has tried everything. Worked with him for months after she got him, trying to overcome his fear. Stills resists, and fights like a demon. Breaks through the heaviest drugs–we have come close to giving him enough to knock him off his feet, and he breaks through and comes up fighting. After much time and effort using the gentling or pharmaceutical approach, resorted to twitch and/or lip chain. He fights them off.

He is an OTTB. The vet says he has never seen anything like it–that most OTTBs are pretty ok with things being done with them, and/or improve with time. He did not believe the horse would break through the “cocktail” he prepared (and gave IV) until he saw it.

The horse has come perilously close to hurting someone or hurting himself. She wants to show him this summer and for his health’s sake he needs to be less furry.

I don’t even know if non-electrical clippers exist or would work, but it might be worth a try.

Thoughts?

[Sarah616]

There are manual clippers, and I remember seeing a video of a man clipping a horse with them but it sure looked like a hell of a lot of work.

[Sarah616]

Clipping, Egyptian style! | #PFKCLIP Do you think it's boring to clip your...

The video was easier to find than I thought it would be! I don’t know that it would do the best job, but it would get the hair off, I guess

[foggythistle]

Is there a reason the horse needs to be clipped? I get that it makes cleaning them easier and sweat marks easier to brush off but if he’s dangerous, it’s safer to play his game on this one.

I have known one, also an OTTB, who would blow through some pretty heavy duty cocktails when presented with clippers. You could set him off just by making a clipper noise outside his stall.

[AnastasiaBeaverhousen]

Does he hate the noise or the vibration?
If it’s noise you could try putting in ear plugs.

A fellow boarder had a horse who turned inside out when he heard clippers.
One day she put the clippers on his nose and then turned it on. He got a cheap thrill from them and after that he stopped fighting them.

You could also try using trimmers just on his fetlocks and see if he would have any problems with that.

You could also look up Warwick Schiller and see if has any videos.

Hope this helps

[NaturallyHappy]

I’m sure you’ve already tried this, but I had on I could not clip with those big Osters. I switched to the Andis AG’s and he’s fine with no sedation. I use two blades and swap them out before they get warm.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

She wants to show him this summer, temps have been in 90s, and for a TB he has quite a coat.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

He also fights earplugs. Have tried smaller, quieter clippers, same response.

Can’t believe he raced for 4 years and had 35 starts. Raced at Aqueduct in winter–they probably clipped him, no?

[sascha]

@Maythehorsebewithme

She wants to show him this summer and for his health’s sake he needs to be less furry.

This summer as in now or are you the opposite hemisphere and going into winter right now?

First - ALL my empathy. My horse had one (1!) power float in her life and that caused her to completely lose her shit over every mechanical buzzing sound on the planet - drills, clippers, toothbrushes (yes, I tried a frickin’ toothbrush as a starting point to get her over her fear.)

10 years later she can be clipped with small battery clippers and can ‘cope’ with a horse nearby getting clipped with any size of clippers in a safe place (her stall or her favourite grooming slot) as long as she is not tied (and she ties like a champ.) She will not get power floated again. Her first vet was absolutely adamant about that because he saw her break through her tranq after she’d just been perfect for a hand float because some other horse was getting a power float. That vet moved on to small animals ( ) so it’s been a bit of a struggle each year but I remain firm and eventually find someone to do her. Anyway, tangent over.

If you are in winter - blanket, blanket, blanket. Ride with a way heavier cooler (yes, cooler, not just a quarter sheet - just drape the whole thing over the saddle) than the temperature calls for and watch the hair start to fall out. Next autumn, start rain-sheeting and blanketing this horse far before any other horse, far before the horse really needs it. Keep the horse just this side of too hot (sweating) all winter. If you don’t cave and continue from beginning of autumn straight through winter, the horse will come through with a lovely short coat.

Note, there are people that will argue with you about the blanketing thing. Tell them it’s not their horse and you’re just trying a thing some crazy Canuck told you about that has worked for her can’t-be-clipped horse for 10 years. Do not listen to their ‘reason’ about daylight hours and yada yada. They’re wrong, but they don’t want to hear that and in all fairness, I didn’t believe it until I got desperate and tried it. Do be prepared for the horse to start shedding what little winter coat it gets about 2 months ahead of every other horse. But hey, it’s short and sleek and no big deal - not like woolly mammoth shedding that many unclipped horses go through in the spring.

If you’re in the same hemisphere as North America - those hand clippers someone posted a video of may be worth a shot. And that said, maybe some blood work before purchasing the clippers because pretty much no horse, especially a TB, in NA should be too woolly for showing right now in the middle of July.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

@sascha

If you’re in the same hemisphere as North America - those hand clippers someone posted a video of may be worth a shot. And that said, maybe some blood work before purchasing the clippers because pretty much no horse, especially a TB, in NA should be too woolly for showing right now in the middle of July.

Seriously thinking about the hand clippers.
Thanks for the thoughts about the blanketing.
His blood work is fine and he is actually not furry, but needs to be slick–showing in northern NJ, southern NY next month–hot!

[sascha]

You’re welcome.

Is the horse doing breed shows? I just can’t imagine a totally healthy horse having so much hair this time of year that it needs to be body clipped if not in the depths of Florida doing super heavy duty work.

[endlessclimb]

Clipping a healthy horse in the summer? That is new to me! He must have some kind of hair to even ask that question.

If she’s truly a good horseman and has tried everything, and he blows through drugs, I think you’re SOL, at least for this year. You can keep trying to work at it, but he sounds like he’s really devoted to this NOT happening to him.

[luvmyhackney]

There’s ways to do it but probably not considered very humane anymore. I wouldn’t bother putting the horse through it myself unless for a strong medical reason. Use some scissors, clean him up and move on.

For the long term, I would try clicker training and reintroducing the clippers very slowly.

[RhythmNCruise]

He shouldn’t need to be clipped this time of the year in the U.S. if he’s healthy.
If she’s showing this summer (as in…right now), I think I agree with the other poster that she’s SOL as far as clipping. It will take a lot of time and work if he’s to ever get over this (and he may not).

Can he be put under lights and blanketed to see if he’ll drop the coat on his own? It still may not work in time for showing so soon. And once you go down that road, it can screw up their shedding schedule if they come out from under the lights at some point.

PowerPac him maybe? I know people that used to suggest that, but that was long before people were more educated about parasite control.

[Zevida]

I know lots of horses that get clipped for the summer, including mine. In Northern California it is warm enough to cause sweating but early in the day and in the evening cool enough that you don’t want to hose them off. And when we do have those days in the 90s or 100s it’s nice that they are clipped so they aren’t soaked in sweat.

[endlessclimb]

I always err on the side of hosing - I just know how my non-hairy skin feels with dried sweat on it and it’s itchy!

New concept for me today! Clipping a summer coat!

[prudence]

We have been clipping our horse in early summer for years now. We live in a very hot area and he came from a cold one and has a light Cushings coat as well. We were told when we bought him he would not stand for fly spray or clipping. We tried clipping anyway and he ran over my daughter and broke her arm! He has never gotten used to it despite the use of various training methods, and we feel it’s important for his well-being to be shorn. So we clip him after he is sedated with 3 mg detomidine and 3 mg butorphanol IV. The clinic has a place we can plug clippers in, or this year a tech came out to the house and administered the sedatives. They are also available orally. No one gets hurt, he sleeps through it, and he’s cool for the summer.

[Roni4444]

I use about 1.5 to 2 ccs of ACE and have my husband stand by his head and it seems to work well!

[Maythehorsebewithme]

Thanks to everyone for their input. The hand clippers might be an option.

My trainer has used the drugs cited (and, I think, others) to no avail.

He is in a boarding barn, and heavily blanketed during the winter, but the barn owner will never go for keeping the lights on.

We will continue our efforts while working hard to keep him and everyone around him safe.

[Dbliron]

Have they tried blindfolding him? I have found that helpful in many difficult situations.