Clipping issues

We’re well into clipping season and it can be so stressful when your horse really doesn’t like being clipped. There are several things we can do to help our horses feel better about the situation.

Firstly we need to understand that this is not “rude” behaviour, the horse is either fearful, anticipating discomfort, or both. Clippers are loud and weird, it is logical for a horse to be frightened about them coming near their body. Something that very few people consider, is that clipping might actual be uncomfortable or painful for some horses. If your horse has soreness and tension in their body, something strongly vibrating against that area isn’t going to feel good. You also get this issue a lot with horses who have skin problems, their skin is likely already sore and sensitive so having clippers run over them, and possibly pulling scabs off, is not going to be pleasant. Bear this in mind when your horse is protesting.

If your horse finds clipping difficult, aim for taking off the least amount of hair you need to, this isn’t the time to be superficial at the expense of your horse’s emotional well-being. He doesn’t care if his face and ears are left fluffy, his friends will like him just the same.

The best way to get a horse comfortable with clippers is to start conditioning positive associations. Have the horse at a comfortable distance and give them a tasty feed while the clippers are turned on or another horse is being clipped. Once they’re okay with this you can gradually move the clippers closer until the horse seems relaxed, comfortable and happy to eat with them close by. You can then use positive reinforcement/clicker training to start creating positive associations with the clipping process.

If we have a fearful horse and we try to use negative reinforcement/pressure and release we are not going to be training positive associations. When we use the method of only turning the clippers off when the horse steps towards them or is still, we are literally using the scary thing going away (the clippers) as a relief. We don’t want the horse to be looking to make the clippers stop, we want the horse to start seeing the clippers as something nice and positive. This is not going to happen using this method, while it may get compliance, any eventual relaxation you may get has come through the realisation that the scary thing is not going away until they comply. That is definitely not a positive experience.

Many years ago when I didn’t have a clue about learning theory in horses, I inadvertently used classical conditioning when introducing my horse Dan to clippers. My friend clipped a very tiny strip off his neck and chest, he was so worried and jumpy so I just kept shoving pony nuts into his mouth the whole time. The next time we came to clip him he stood like a rock completely unbothered and I couldn’t understand why. I’d just paired something really pleasant (pony nuts) with something that to him was a new stimulus (being clipped), he had no previous negative associations and I guess he just thought, wow this is actually great, clippers mean lots of delicious food. I can now clip him completely at liberty, he doesn’t care at all.

Please have some empathy and take your time when clipping your horse. It is not worth damaging your relationship when you can help them feel so much better with time and patience. It is also worth noting that many horse’s clipping fear stems from how their clipping experiences have gone in the past. We can create negative associations just as easily as positive ones, so if a horse associates being clipped with being frightened, pressured, growled at, shouted at and twitched then they are going to continue to feel awful about them next time.

If you need to clip your horse urgently for health reasons and they are extremely fearful, or you know it is going to be sore for them, it is best just to get them sedated so it is less stressful for everyone then you can work on training for the next time. 🐴