[giddyupgirl]

My horse does not like clippers at all! they aced and twitched him last time and he still reared and ran down the barn! I tried the rest of the show season to et him use to it and I finally just used sissors to do his muzzle and touch up his ears the best I could. he did not like the razor either!

I would like to try showmanship as well this year but I know we will have clipping issues and great turnout is a must.

Anyone have any ideas???
Thanks

[Quick2Skip01]

Well to expose him to the clippers there are several things you can do. We attempted hanging the clippers over the feed bucket during feeding time. At first we had them turned off just so her used to them. After she got used to them being there we turned 'em on. This got her used to them, but she still did not like having her ears clipped.

A friend of ours uses Nair to remove the hair out of the ears, but it is a messy thing to do, and if your horse doesn't like having his ears touched it might not work out well. We tried this out too, but the mare had those white warts from flies in her ears and she hated having her ears touched.

I had different dun mare, who wouldn't stand to be clipped even with a twitch on. She would fight no matter what if we tried to clip her with the twitch. Before this I worked for months to attempt getting her used to clippers, I worked with her everyday. It got to the point where the vet had to tranq her, and even with her tranqued she still had to have a twitch on so I could clip.

That mare's show career did not last long, it got too expensive to have her tranqued the day before a show.

Some horses do better with the small pocket clippers too, and for others they don't like those at all. Maybe you could find a pair of really quiet clippers? (he might just not like the noise)

If you have already tried slowly getting him used to them, maybe the Nair thing will work. I have seen some horses turn out really nice with the Nair. (Nair is really stinky... yuck )

Best of luck!

[Horsefeathers3]

I know there is this one kind of "clipper" that isn't electronic and you can buy them at a tack store for $5. They are a small, red plastic thing and they have a roller-type thing at the end to roll across the horse's muzzle for the whiskers.

What kind of clippers do you use for his muzzle and ears? I just use a small, cordless clipper. What I do for horses using it the first time or for horses that don't like them is
1. Show them the clipper while it is OFF. Let him get used to just seeing it; at a distance, and up close.
2. Once he is past that (don't rush him through it though) rub it on his muzzle while it is OFF. Rub it on his muzzle, face, body, wherever until he is fine with the clippers touching his body. It also might clue you in if he is just afraid of the noise, or if it is the clippers themselves that bother him.
3. Show him the clippers ON. Again, show them to him at a distance, and up close. Rub the handle part (obvisously not the blade part!) on your arm, to show him that it's OK.
4. Put the clippers while they are ON on his muzzle, or wherever he accepts them. Don't just jump into clipping, let him feel the vibration first. Once he accepts them touching him, try to go ahead and clip his muzzle.
ALSO, my filly hates being "in" somewhere while being clipped. If there is any way to have your gelding outside on a lead while being clipped, it might make him feel less closed in.

Don't rush any of the above steps! If you have to, work for a few days doing each step, until he is ready to progress onto the next.

[chiligirl05]

I agree...make sure you take your time. Dont try and rush things or you have to start all over. I know i am working on this will all of you horses right now. I want to make sure that they will get use to them before the showing season.

Good Luck and please keep us updated.

[Shotgun93]

Rub the horse with the clippers - if he moves away, stay with him until he stops moving, take the clippers away and pet him.
Turn the clippers on and rub him with the clippers - if he moves, stay with him until he stops moving, take the clippers away and pet him.
Touch him with the clippers and clip a small area - if he moves, stay with him until he stops moving....same idea.

[giddyupgirl]

Thank you all for your tips. I will start tomorrow with just grooming and showing him the clippers and go slow from there.
Last year after he had such a fit at each show time while the others horses got clipped i put him in the stall by them so he could see that it was ok.
They are the type of horse that just stands there and you can clip the ears, face anywhere and they do not care.
but of course if you looked in his direction.......he would look away!

He is a great guy and I think he was abused before because when he first came to our barn he was afraid if you raised you hand any where near his face. even to put the bridle on.

thanks everyone!
I will let you know how it goes.

[chiligirl05]

Good Luck...please let us know how it goes.

[oldhag]

If he won't let you clip him even with a twitch, you've very little chance of getting him quiet enough to do his ears regularly.

It's either expensive sedation or take up something other than showing.

No other competion requires the horse to be shaved within an inch of its life.

And other events mean you'll have to work on your riding ablity more.

[kantakay]

A story about clippers, every horse is different but maybe something I tried would work for you.

My old gelding was TERRIFIED of clippers, at 17h he was very intimidating when he exploded. He would spaz out, go straight up, run backwards, and just wanted away.

First I tried the old clicker/clipper training, stand outside his stall, buzz them and drop a baby carrot in his food pan, meant we had a wall between us. This worked some, he'd jump back, but after a couple of weeks and bags and bags of carrots it was a little less violent. It wasn't my barn so I couldn't hang up clippers on 24/7 outside his stall (and obviously I didn't want to hang them in his stall in case he nosed them, hurt himself, and un ddi all my work).

So reaching a plateau there, I enlisted a friends help, a roundpen, and a lunge line, she held him, I would stand a bit away turn them on, he took off, I ducked, she let him run. When he slowed down, we lead him to the center and turned them on. He was a lazy boy and after just a few times elt me stand next to him and turn them on. Next lesson I stood right next to him and turned them on, then put them on his shoulder, then rubbed his neck, about a week later I could trim his bridlepath. He would always run the first time, but then would let me start at his shoulder and work up to bridlepath.

Fast forward 6 months, I dont have access to a roundpen now, I get a super quiet pair of clippers and a bottle of ace. I start out at 4ccs and keep upping, finally at 15ccs with a lip chain, I clip him totally. He is NOT out of it, he never dropped, he barely had his head dropped (I really think adrenaline was counter acting on the ace) but he took enough of the edge off that his trust of me overcame his fear and let me clip.

Every other week I clp him, slowly backing off the ace and making sure I NEVER catch him with the clippers. 2months later I can clip him with just a lead rope and no ace. He still jumped back the first time I turned them on, I would let him back, put the clippers down, and lead him forward again, then start clipping.

All in all it was 14 months from the first time he spazzed to the last, successful clip. I think in his case, he mentally decided it would be terrible and freaked out, giving him time and space and enough tranq to let him relax and realize I wasn't goign to kill him, and he was ok with it.

Or maybe I just buzzed the clippers at him enough that aftre a year he finally gave up and decided they weren't going to go away and he might as well get used to them

Char

[ilovebelle24]

You have to slowly get him used to them. Start with them off and just touch him on the neck (make sure the blade cover is on), rub them around and slowly work up towards his face. If he doesnt toss his head or try to bolt. Give him a treat, call him a good boy and call it a day. Do this each day and go further and further each day. Once he accepts them to be anywhere on his body OFF then you can turn them on. Start at the beginning though, keep them on his neck and SLOWLY work your way up. Is there a pair of quieter ones? Or is he afraid of the cord?

Since this process is going to take a long time, you may need to try a heavier bit of sedation. Dermosidine (sp) is only available from your veterinarian but a cc of it will really put them out. NOTICE!!!: do NOT use dermosidine (sp) LESS than 2 weeks prior to show. It is ILLEGAL. It MUST be used AT LEAST 2 weeks prior to show because it is stronger than just Ace.

Another suggestion: I have a horse that sounds a lot like yours. She used to litteraly pin is against a wall so that our feet had to be ON the wall pushing against her so we wouldnt get crushed. Now she lets me clip her everywhere but her ears (which we need a twitch for) and her nose without any form of sedation. There may still be spots that your horse wont let you touch even with the heavy sedation. Belle will never let me clip her nose because of the harsh way she was branded (they pierced gums under her top lip with metal into the shape of the letters then rollered on ink. THey didnt sedate her for this and it wasnt a good brander so he wasnt quick and precise, her tatoo is blurred. I didnt own her when this happened) Anyways, what I do with her nose is they have these little purple horse nose trimmers in most tack shops. You can just buy them, they are disposable after one use. They are like a razor but they are SO much less harsh that a razor. The single blade has plastic and a plastic comb type thing on either side so you dont have to worrk about cutting them at all and I assume it hurts less.

So I hope that helped Good luck!