mini leg clipping help!!
hi everyone!
i’m slightly scared to post online asking for horse advice, but i’m genuinely at a loss. my belgian says he’ll be my reference if anyone is concerned about my horse experience
my friend, who my horse lives with, has mini horses. long story short, one was pregnant when she arrived and the other was a registered stallion with show history so she likes to bring him to local shows and hopes the baby will follow in his footsteps. he’s done a few this summer and has done well
the baby, pictured with his mommy at maybe a week old, was born 4/20/25, and i’m pretty sure his medicine hat marking is actually just a permanent dunce cap. i’ve been around him since he was born and he’s an absolute love bug and is generally pretty unfazed by things. except clippers and scissors by his legs
clippers on his face? cool. body? whatever. between his butt cheeks? encouraged. clippers or scissors near his legs/feet? immediate jail.
picking his feet is totally fine. he’ll let you pick them up and even let you brush his leg hair with the hoof brush if you want. but the second he realizes scissors are touching his legs or hears clippers near his feet, he loses it. he will try to bite, and he has also figured out that if i’m holding a front leg, he can kick my hand with his back foot
i’ve tried holding his legs, not holding them, cross ties, a single tie, in hand, treats, working at liberty, etc. and we’re just at a loss. i’ve dealt with plenty of horses who didn’t want to hold their feet up, but other than a casual cleanup trim, i’ve never had to clip leg/foot hair for cosmetic purposes
so i’m coming to the internet horse people because apparently my draft loving ass is not equipped for these tiny, squirmy mini hellions vs a pair of scissors
how would you approach desensitizing him to scissors/clippers around his legs and feet? he’s never been nicked or stabbed, but i hate that this so stressful for him when he’s overall unbothered otherwise. is it his age? his jewels? hidden parasites in his brain? little man syndrome? i don’t know and i’m tired of this grandpa please help us!!