Clipping a filly who hates it!

[HGFarm]

Sometimes they are just ticklish, and when the clippers vibrate on their leg bones, they dont like it. Are you clipping her legs with her standing there, or are you picking each leg up to clip them? I pick them up and just have patience and hold them if she starts jumping around. She will figure out it's easier to stand there. Just be calm and persistant- she will probably outgrow it. Also, make sure your blades are not hot, or dull. Are you doing her legs last? Perhaps she is tired of standing there by then? Try waiting and doing them the next day when she has not been standing there for a while.

This is a young horse who just still is new at this- sorry but I do NOT agree with doping them up as an exchange for training them to stand and behave. In addition- you never know when an animal is going to have a reaction to the drugs- regardless of how 'safe' they are- and you end up with a dead horse or a horrible emergency on your hands. There is no substitute for training and patience.

 

[paintcrzy2001]

Yes she is young and does better each time, We have tried waiting a day or two and as soon as you go towards her legs buddy it is on. The meds are not abused and I can tell you that she is clipped maybe 3 times a year and is done under vetrinary advice and reccomendations, twitching has NEVER worked, holding a leg has NEVER worked, and yes I am very patient until she becomes aggressive, then we medicate.

 

[KGminiaturehorses]

I went through this same thing with my filly when she was a yearling! But I have a trick that really works well for me.

When im ready to clip legs, I get on one knee or however is most comfotable and I put my hand around the lower leg. If the horse im clipping decides it wants to raise its leg and be a pain, I make my grip on the leg with my hand much tighter to where its uncomfortable but not painful. I do this until the foot is back on the floor. After about 30 minutes of repeating this process with the horse, they usually get the idea of "oh, if I just stand her and relax I wont get my leg squeezed!" I clipped three today and did this for all, and it was successful.

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Do you think a paste like Calm-Ex or Quiet-Ex would work as well as a sedative?

 

[paintcrzy2001]

KG I think next time we clip I am going legs first thing and I will try that as soon as I am not prego myself, LOL!

Four~ Quietex totally did not work for our filly.

Just make sure your horse is well observed for awhile after any type of sedatives normally they only work for a short period of time.

 

[blueprintminis]

No flames from me. Young ones eventually learn to stand still, but why fight them. I have been using the dormosedan on my yearlings with great results. They stand quietly, the job gets done much more quickly, and eventually they learn that standing still for the clippers for at least MOST of their bodies is not a bad thing. It is also a lot safer for both me and the horses if there isn't all the kicking and rearing up. I have been using the same tube for the past few weeks as it only requires one tiny notch of medicine. The plunger has a locking mechanism so you can't give them too much. Just be sure to wait the entire 30 minutes for full effect. I've found it lasts at least an hour if not longer. Of course, I will do the head, ears, lower legs when the effects are at their maximum. Anybody else out there tried this? I guess it would work for those that won't stand for the farrier either.

I will most likely get flamed for this but after spending a year of trying to train my yearling mini (who is half shetland so he is high strung to start with) I called my vet and got the dormosedan gel. My vet figured out the right dose for him and gave me a bunch of small syringes to pull the smaller amount from the big syringe it comes in. Squirt the gel inside his lower lip and 30 minutes later I can clip his head and legs with no fear of getting a hoof to the head. I did try all the training techniques my trainer and I could think of, heck I even hobbled him after I lunged him and he just would just rear and strike at me with both front feet.

Good luck!

 

[griggsmel]

No flames from me. Young ones eventually learn to stand still, but why fight them. I have been using the dormosedan on my yearlings with great results. They stand quietly, the job gets done much more quickly, and eventually they learn that standing still for the clippers for at least MOST of their bodies is not a bad thing. It is also a lot safer for both me and the horses if there isn't all the kicking and rearing up. I have been using the same tube for the past few weeks as it only requires one tiny notch of medicine. The plunger has a locking mechanism so you can't give them too much. Just be sure to wait the entire 30 minutes for full effect. I've found it lasts at least an hour if not longer. Of course, I will do the head, ears, lower legs when the effects are at their maximum. Anybody else out there tried this? I guess it would work for those that won't stand for the farrier either.

I've used the gel for a large horse just for her ears and we did have to wait 60 minutes, but it worked wonderfully. She lets us clip everything else without sedation, and we've tried to do the training route (she's 4), but nothing has worked and it was about 6 months before we tried the gel. Made things so much less stressful. Just be careful not to get the gel on yourself, wear gloves, because it will sedate you, too.....

 

[HGFarm]

I wouldn't say there are SOME that you would not need to resort to drugs to get the job done, but to use that INSTEAD of training from the beginning is uncalled for. Obviously an aged horse that has been worked with for a long time is probably not going to change their habits easily. or some have been abused, eared down, etc... and made head shy. I had one of these and there was no way to get her ears done. We had to unbuckle the bridle and put it on that way as there was NO way anyone would ever touch the top of her head. And this was done by a previous owner's trainer. Nice job. NOT