Gia - session 196 - clipping!

 Since it was pouring rain today, I decided to take an opportunity to work on some grooming stuff with Gia, specifically, clipping.

Since the last time I clipped her, my old, cordless clippers actually died on me, so I had to purchase new ones.  They are MUCH quieter, so I was hoping this would make a difference with Gia today, and it definitely did!

I started with her legs and feet, while Danielle held her, and she could have cared less.  When I moved on to her face and muzzle, she was a bit more tense.  I started by just bringing the clippers towards her, and then touching her with the same hand that held the clippers.  She was a little nervous at first, but within minutes, she relaxed and lowered her head.  I was able to slowly clip her entire jawline and muzzle with pretty much no problems.  She jerked once or twice, but quickly relaxed each time.

Moving on to her bridle path, she was definitely more nervous about that.  She raised her head up very high as soon as I lifted the clippers above her, and she was not very interested in lowering her head.  After a little time, she did lower her head a little, so at that point I pulled the clippers away, and decided to twitch her for the rest of it.

Once twitched, she was very good for me to clip her bridle path, and didn't really move at all.  So, I decided, while she was already twitched, I would go ahead and clip her ears lightly.  She was no worse for her ears than she was for her bridle path.  I've had many horses that start out needing a twitch for their ears, and eventually, they end up falling asleep while I clip them.  Hopefully, Gia will get there too one day!

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