MARK’S PHYSCOLOGY AND METHODS OF CLIPPING ARE BASED ON THE ONE VERY SIMPLE FACT.  CLIPPING DOES NOT HURT THE HORSE.

IT THEREFORE FOLLOWS THAT ONCE HE HAS BEEN CLIPPED ONCE AND IT  HAS NOT HURT, THE FOLLOWING TIME IT WILL BE EASIER. Horse training is based on repetition – you can teach a horse to do virtually anything by repetition.  Repetition is not difficult ... it is doing the first time that is often tricky.

MARK ACCEPTS THAT HE IS SELDOM THE FIRST PERSON TO APPROACH THE HORSE WITH A SET OF CLIPPERS.  IN THE IDEAL WORLD WHERE HE IS HE FINDS THE FOUR YEAR OLD VIRGIN IS INVARIBLY CALM AND TRUSTING OF THIS NEW CHALLENGE TO HIS BRAVERY.

IN THE REAL WORLD MARK IS ONLY CALLED IN WHEN THE HORSE HAS BEEN LABELLED “KILLER HORSE”,  “DANGEROUS” OR “TOTALLY INSANE”.

MARK APPROACHES THE PROBLEM AS HE DOES ALL HORSE PROBLEMS – HE LOOKS AT IT FROM THE ANIMALS POINT OF VIEW.

THE HORSE’S INSTINCTS ARE ALL TO DO WITH FLIGHT.

WHEN ENCOUNTERING ANYTHING NEW OR DIFFERENT ... RUN AWAY.  (THE SPECIES HAS ONLY SURVIVED BECAUSE OF THESE INSTINCTS).

SO HE IS WORRIED BY THIS NEW CHALLANGE.

HIS FEARS ARE CONFIRMED WHEN HIS OWNER/CLIPPER IS PUMPING ADRENALIN AT A FURIOUS PACE.  HE IS FAR MORE ADEPT AT SENSING ADRENALIN THAN WE ARE (REMEMBER IN THE HERD IF ONE IS SPOOKED AND RUNS ... THEY ALL DO. THEY  MAY NOT KNOW WHAT HAS SPOOKED THEIR MATE BUT IF HE IS AFRAID I AM CERTAINLY NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES).

SO HIS INSTINCTS ARE SAYING RUN AND HIS CLIPPER IS SAYING NO.

CLIPPERS INVARIABLY SUMMON MORE HELPERS, SO HORSE IS VERY SOON IN THIS SCENARIO.

He is worried.  He has never had four or five people in his stable before but he has now and whats more they are all pumping adrenalin.  (the twitch holder, the leg holder up, the tit-bit feeder are all afraid and therefore make the problem worse).

He assumes the thing they are all afraid of is this new buzzy-clipper thing and if it is bad enough to frighten them it must be terrible, so he is going to run away any way he can (over, under or through anyone that gets in his way).

Mark accepts that horses are alive and therefore there are variations in their reactions to situations but he starts from the premise that all  of this apparently aggressive behaviour is actually stemming from fear.

As his starting point he always goes into the box with the horse by himself.  (He sends owner off to make tea).  This seems to enable the horse to form a relationship very quickly with mark.  Because there is no adrenalin  flowing by the time the tea is made the horse is accepting the clippers ... within half an hour he is standing in the middle of the stable, untied, whilst mark works around his back legs and belly.

Usually by the time the first clip is finished the owner will be invited in to run the clippers over the horse, who will be completely accepting, because guess what – it does not hurt!

Marks ultimate aim is that within two or three clips the horse will be so accepting that the owner/clipper will be able to do the job themselves.  Thus mark’s claim to be the man who does not clip the quiet ones is borne out.

Ring mark on 07930151562 to discuss your clipping problem.  Remember this, whatever your problem with a horse one thing is certain.  Mark has met it before and overcome it,