Clipping the unclippable horse

[sandsarita]

this is not a discussion about whether or not a horse should be clipped. With the classes my mares shows and at the level she is at she must be clipped

and I will also preface this by saying I have never had a horse I can’t clip and have been able to get all my other horses to clip without a twitch even if it was required when I bought them

when I bought the mare as a 3yo from a very respectable trainer and breeder she had never been shown and we were told they had never been able to clip her and to be careful. Well she got hurt and was put behind. She does not react violently but is scared and goes into evasion mode.

I worked with her extensively and got to where I can clip bott eggs from her body and do her legs. Usually holding s leg up. Either the one I am clipping or the opposite.

On occasion I can work it up to her face and do a bit on her jaw. That is it.

First time i braised her I couldn’t do forelock. Got it braided down but couldn’t get the pull through up there and then couldn’t cut the yarn out. Went 2 days showing with the tails down the center of her face.

Now or I can do the forelock and can cut a bridle path with scissors but have to be very slow and gentle

under vets direction we heavily sedated her to try and get her clipped before going cross county for huge show. Ended up giving 1.5ml of dorm iv plus twitch and still couldn’t touch her. Both trainers help

any ideas to help her out

[CindyCRNA]

I’m at a loss. Dorm gel has always worked.

[onthebit]

Quite a few years ago I bought a jumper that I was told very directly you couldn’t clip. I thought his previous connections must surely be exaggerating when they told me in great detail how averse he was to being clipped. I walked into my tackroom to get my clippers, and then I walked up to him with the (not turned on or even plugged in) clippers in my hand he freaked out and almost went over backwards in the cross ties. He had been standing there with a droopy lower lip half asleep. I couldn’t get near him with clippers in my hand, even when they weren’t turned on.

I ended up clicker training him and then using the clicker training to work him through his clipping phobia. He got to where he would sleep while being clipped. When I saw his former owners at a show and told them I could clip the horse they didn’t believe me. When I took them to the barns and did a mini clipping demonstration on him they were literally awe struck. It took some time and certainly wasn’t a 1 or 2 day fix, but the clicker training worked.

[Toblersmom]

If you are really serious about being able to clip this horse, you need to go back to square one. Actually, you’ll need to go back farther than that because what you’ve done so far has emphasized to her that clipping is super scary business and she’s going to be physically or chemically restrained when the clippers come out (yes, picking up a leg in this context is a form of restraint). You may need to go back so far that you just have running clippers several feet away from her while she eats, carry clippers that aren’t running with you any time you are working with her (if she can even tolerate that and be truly relaxed in their presence). The key is going to be to never, ever, present the clippers to her in a way that she is not relaxed or does not relax with a few moment’s time, and then you reward her when she is relaxed. You can be old-school no-treats reward with verbal praise, a pat, and removal of the stressor. You can use clicker training. You can do a combo with verbal rewards and treats but no clicker. Regardless of the reward system, if you push her so hard that she shows any more stress than picking her head up and taking a half step with one foot (and after she does that she reconsiders and relaxes again), you’ve pushed her too hard. You may need to start off with two people, one operating the clippers far, far away, one near her to praise and reward when she is quiet and relaxed. It may take MONTHS given how ingrained this fear response is (who knows, though, maybe it’ll click faster for her). You will NOT be able to do anything remotely like a proper clip job during this training period. You may not even be able to spend as much time as you would like doing training under saddle, because you will be spending that time training her to tolerate clippers. If being clipped is truly as vital to her show career as you believe it to be, look at like you would an injury.

If she had a tendon injury you would take the time off showing and riding to give her time to recover, right? And spend the time doing the wraps and physical therapy she needs so that she was physically sound? So that she can have many more comfortable years going forward with you in the ring, free of pain from an injury? Or are you going to manage it with stopgap pain killers and the minimum rest and PT you can get away with to get her back in the ring as fast as possible to grab a couple ribbons, until it flares up and she’s in pain again, then repeat as many times as you can get away with?

[alibi_18]

My mare was a little unsure about the clipper sound but really afraid of the cord!!!

I’ve had to re-trained a few but the worse was my Miss Mare… She was rearing, stricking with front legs… overall dangerous!

Drugs, ears plugs and a cordless clipper later, she now clips perfectly without drugs, ear plugs! I usually clip her while she eats in her stall… untied.

First, I introduced this new clipper « as a brush » to begin with.
Is your horse afraid of brushes?
More than ofter, unconsciously, we present the clipper to the horse as if it was something special… waiting for a reaction. We don’t do that with brushes… and horses aren’t scared of them.
So I just put the clipper in my box and « brushed » her everyday with it without turning it on. It was just another tool.

Second, I lightly drugged her a few time to just brush her. I tied her in a place she is used to and I know she’s likes so she would have good experiences being drugged.
Again, more than often, horses do expect to be handled in unpleasant ways when drugged. We also bring them to spot they are not used to. The stall or their favorite cross tie spots are perfect places.

Third, I drug, I put ear plugs and I start brushing with a real brush in the hand closer the horse’s head, holding the clipper (and « brushing ») in the other hand.
I press the on button and keep on brushing with both hands the side/lower neck area.

Then I start clipping quietly while brushing with the real brush. One clipping strike, two brush strikes… Don’t go fast. Do as if the horse was good with it. Good pressure on the hide and slow strikes. If she starts fussing, keep the clipper pressed on her. As much as it is safe, keep the clipper pressing on her (on the side) so she « win » by moving. Everytime you remove the clipper because she reacts, she wins. You only remove the pressure when she is calm.

Make sure the blades are freakin’ sharp!!! You don’t want the hair to be pulled… it hurts!

This whole re-process took a few months for my mare. Some goes faster, some longer. Never rush anything.

[Palm_Beach]

OP, you need to train the horse to accept the clippers using desensitizing methods. onthebit’s post was good.

[ElementFarm]

all the training and desensitizing ideas are good.
But in the meantime, better living through chemistry.

Dorm might not be the right choice here. I have a huge hanno gelding that is also a nightmare to clip. 1.5-2x the normal amount of Dorm + Torb cocktail can only get me a blanket clip, and he still tried to stomp on me when doing his legs. But different horses react differently to drugs, and ours might just metabolize the dorm too well. Talk to your vet, and try an ace + ? cocktail, or what they use to do sutures on a really tough horse. My boy was able to be clipped with a different cocktail, and an increased amount. Some vets won’t believe you when you explain Horsie blows through it THAT fast. But you could clip in conjunction with a farm call… .they can see if your mare is still fighting, and give more or something else. A professional vet should be willing to work with you.

[Nestor]

I would definitely work through it WITH sedation. I have seen that method work very well, to the point that the horse no longer needs sedation in the future. So I’m not sure why folks see it as a negative? The horse is calm, the process gets done, you rinse and repeat, and in time they need no sedation.

[Denali6298]

@Nestor

I would definitely work through it WITH sedation. I have seen that method work very well, to the point that the horse no longer needs sedation in the future. So I’m not sure why folks see it as a negative? The horse is calm, the process gets done, you rinse and repeat, and in time they need no sedation.

This is what I did for one horse. First few times I would ace her and eventually she didn’t care and would stand quietly for it without chemical intervention. My current horse is not a fan but she also will never do anything where it’s “required” and I can put a bonnet on her to cover her ear tufts.

[sorrelfilly721]

I had a couple that were dangerous. One would rear and land on you if you weren’t careful and the other would try to strike the clippers out of your hand. The first was the worst. I hung the running clippers on the wall a few feet from where I was grooming her. At first, she could not stand for me to touch her with my hand when she could hear the clippers running. Eventually she allowed me to touch and brush her body and then eventually her face while the clippers were hanging on the wall running. That took about a month. I then “brushed” her body with the body of the clippers until she would tolerate it calmly. Another while. Next, I asked her to touch the body of the clippers with her nose and then I rewarded her with a treat. Eventually, if she saw the clippers running, she would touch them with her nose. I started the actual clipping on her shoulder. If she would calmly allow me to touch her, I would treat. It took overall about 6 months, but I was eventually able to clip her just about everywhere.

[downen]

I’m going to preface this by saying that this solution might not work for everyone, but I’ve had it work for two with clipper issues. My tactic is to clip them loose in the stall. I know this sounds crazy, but I had a QH that the previous owners used to sedate to do his ears, and my old ancient boy who just thought clippers where the devil. I took both boys very slow and careful, and I think giving them the freedom to move away when they felt uncomfortable helped in the process. It took a lot of patience and many treats, but I was able to clip my QH’s ears with no restraints (he has since passed away), and my old guy has a mane and tail trim for probably the first time in his 35+ years. Best of luck to you!

[sandsarita]

Thank you guys for the suggestions. Luckily my vet is very very willing to work with us. He is just in shock that she is this bad. Esp since he has clipped her pastern numerous times to ultrasound it. It took over a year to be able to do touch ups on body and legs. And that was with a lot of time as she was off for a year with fractured pastern, surgery, and working with tendon cut during surgery while getting out bone fragments. So I don’t think added desensitization will help when we got to a certain point going very slowly and just can’t make progress. Even though we made progress working with her head and braiding tools, scissors, and razor. I can make everything look good except for ears.

Plus I think her biggest reaction is to the vibration. The presence of the clippers doesn’t scare her, being on is ok. But touching her head is a huge no no if they are on. Off she doesn’t care anymore (used to though)

i will look up what she got when she had her teeth done and next big break have him sedate her where we don’t have to worry about drug testing at the shows.

This mare is is so dang calm most of the time but when she gets scared her 1300 lb plus body has a major flight instinct. She has never come st is to fight luckily. It’s just escape

[beau159]

@sandsarita

She does not react violently but is scared and goes into evasion mode.

First time i braided her I couldn’t do forelock. Got it braided down but couldn’t get the pull through up there and then couldn’t cut the yarn out. Went 2 days showing with the tails down the center of her face.

Now I can do the forelock and can cut a bridle path with scissors but have to be very slow and gentle

So I don’t think added desensitization will help when we got to a certain point going very slowly and just can’t make progress. Even though we made progress working with her head and braiding tools, scissors, and razor. I can make everything look good except for ears.

I guess you said it yourself = she is scared. To make a horse NOT be scared, they have to trust us. You teach them to trust you by doing desensitization.

Certainly, there are horses who have a very hard time with things like this. They are all different and some are more “quirky” than others. But overall, it sounds like you have a horse that is head shy in general and very distrusting of you working around her ears.

Yes, drugging/sedation is one way to go about it. However, that doesn’t always work either.

@sandsarita

This mare is is so dang calm most of the time but when she gets scared her 1300 lb plus body has a major flight instinct.

Desensitizing training, IMO, is even more important when you have a horse that has “major” flight instincts. You have to retrain their brain to think first, instead of going into flight mode. They aren’t thinking when they are in flight mode.

@sandsarita

Plus I think her biggest reaction is to the vibration. The presence of the clippers doesn’t scare her, being on is ok. But touching her head is a huge no no if they are on. Off she doesn’t care anymore (used to though)

It sounds like you HAVE made progress. It is just going to take more time to make more progress. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Keep at it. Approach and retreat.

[IPEsq]

@downen

I’m going to preface this by saying that this solution might not work for everyone, but I’ve had it work for two with clipper issues. My tactic is to clip them loose in the stall. I know this sounds crazy, but I had a QH that the previous owners used to sedate to do his ears, and my old ancient boy who just thought clippers where the devil. I took both boys very slow and careful, and I think giving them the freedom to move away when they felt uncomfortable helped in the process. It took a lot of patience and many treats, but I was able to clip my QH’s ears with no restraints (he has since passed away), and my old guy has a mane and tail trim for probably the first time in his 35+ years. Best of luck to you!

This works for me too. BUT, I would ALSO use the techniques others have mentioned. Lots of desensitization to the noise and vibration and whatever it is that in particular freaks them out–with you away from them somewhat at first. Again, with them lose in the stall. If they are too dangerous, they are loose in the stall and you are outside the stall running the clippers. Stalls with a window on the front can help with this part if they want to come investigate (you can touch them), but you have the door between you and their feet. They are also free to “flee” if they want away from the door when it’s too much. Then, frequent work trying to get a bit closer / actually clip some hairs with some drugs on board. I did this when my horse was laid up and needed to be sedated for ultrasounds, injections, etc. He started out striking you even with many drugs on board. By the time I considered it a success, I could clip various parts loose in his stall. That took, oh, better part of a year. Now, I can put him on the cross ties or whatever and he’s ok with it, but if any anxiety comes up, I go back to the stall to work on any new area. I am not sure he would be ok with a full body clip (haven’t needed to do one), but he’s at least at a place where that would be teachable without him killing me.

It does sound like you have made progress. I mean, you can clip something! Use those areas where she is comfortable to help you with the process.

[shayaalliard]

I had some luck using a cheapie spin brush toothbrush the introduce the noise and vibration in a smaller cheaper package.