do you think twitching horses is cruel?

Yes I do think its cruel... I am aware of the science behind it but I always say "would you stay still if someone had hold of your hair?" people usually go quiet after that.
 
I used to work as an equine nurse and frequently neck twitched. I would rather do this rather than a nose or ear twitch - and find a similar result is achieved.
 
shysmum said:
recent long thread on this - but imho, no, sometimes it's essential for safety and has it's place.
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This.

Better a twitched horse than a dead one, or a dead handler.

Little scenario here, horses with blood pumping out of a cut leg, won't let anyone get near it, are you going to stand there and say "There, there itsy bitsy oogle woogle ums, we won't squeeze your nosey wosey because it is cruel" and faff about while his blood pools around his feet? Or slip a twitch on, get some pressure on the bleed and save his life?

Can anyone who said 'Yes it is cruel" honestly say that if push came to shove they would not allow a twitch to be used if no other method of restraint worked?
 
AprilBlue said:
yeah i agree with you shysmum but only if it is used by the right person who knows how to use it
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It is something that everyone who handles horses should be competent doing, whether they agree with it or not, or whether they ever intend using it.
 
it has its place - worked with my beast rather than sedating him he was having to be sedated so often it was becoming a risk so we tried twitching at it worked - horse was calm and me and the vet were still in one piece
 
Enfys said:
Little scenario here, horses with blood pumping out of a cut leg, won't let anyone get near it, are you going to stand there and say "There, there itsy bitsy oogle woogle ums, we won't squeeze your nosey wosey because it is cruel" and faff about while his blood pools around his feet? Or slip a twitch on, get some pressure on the bleed and save his life?
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But surely if your horse is trained correctly you shouldn't need to twitch? ;) :D

Don't mind twitching when necessary. As long as you don't try it with my little chestnut, unless you have very good life insurance!
 
Enfys said:
I am going to take that wink at face value :) and slide on out of this thread because I think I've had this argument before.:)
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Sorry enfys, I was joking. It just seems to be a recurring theme on the forum at the moment,if your horse isn't 100% perfect in every way, at every possible occasion, then it must be because you've trained it wrong! :p
 
rhino said:
Sorry enfys, I was joking. It just seems to be a recurring theme on the forum at the moment,if your horse isn't 100% perfect in every way, at every possible occasion, then it must be because you've trained it wrong! :p
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I know you were :) :D and as for the rest of it, yep, you are right. :)
 
A vital bit of kit and very useful. The only worrying bit is if the person holding it hasn't a clue and lets go.

I have several, one with a very short handle on it so it can be tucked into the headcollar and a horse can be handled single handed, ideal for clipping a tricky horse, and another one with a very long handle.

My vet makes very safe user friendly twitches with a short length of hosepipe as the handle, so if someone lets go there is no handle being whipped round her head.
 
When I owned my last horse in Germany, he was twitched on the nose when he needed to be clipped. I didn't like it but now owning a South American horse who doesn't like his ears being touched because that's how they twitch them over there, I would go for the nose rather than the ears if I ever had to do it again (hopefully not)
 
it causes endorphins (happy relaxing thingys) to be released into the bloodstream, after about a minute, and the horse simply goes into another world. Then as the twitch is held, someone else can do what's necessary. As soon as it's released, back comes the horse none the worse for wear.

BUT a twitch must only be used by someone who knows exactly what they are doing.
 
The twitch is an essential peice of kit (in the real world, where I live and work). However, please learn to use it properly. And NEVER ear twitch - that is cruel.
 
After once offering to hold a friends horse for the vet to take some blood as she was running late, and resulting in me and the vet being slammed against a wall pretty damn hard, yes I would twitch.
We did, and got the blood easily once twitched.

Had a whopping bruise on my back and bum for days after though :D
 
Out of interest, for those who twitch what is the maximum amount of time you would leave the twitch on for?

I use one on my boy for clipping his legs and ears - rest of body he is fine with. I only leave it on for 20 minutes tops.
 
Personally i wont leave it on for longer than 5 mins unless its an emergency situation that needs sorted immediately , if its going to take much longer than that id have the horse sedated by domosedan gel
 
Not some thing I would do unless needed but yes I will twitch if needed, normally the nose as I find it works best and is easier to hold. Normally for medical treatment, last I can remember was a cut near his eye about a year ago that he didnt want cleaning, safest for me and him if he has one on and job done in a minuite or two.
 
I don't like twitching, but agree that it has its place. I don't agree with twitching for things like the farrier or clipping, as I often feel like people do this because they are too lazy to get the horse used to having their feet held up for a long time or too the noise of the clippers. And before anyone jumps on me, I know that this isn't always the case - I'm just saying that it does happen, and it shouldn't! MOST horses (note I say most, not all) will get used to these things if people take time to work with them and get used to them quietly.
But for things like emergency vet treatment, or when horses are in pain and simply won't or can't co-operate, then yes it can be necessary!
 
^^^^^^^^This.

I have know horses who would calm down just from having their nose rubbed in exactly the right place. In fact I've got one now. We clipped her feather of recently to deal with malanders and salanders, sister clipped, I rubbed the nose. She is a well-mannered horse but she didn't really enjoy the experience, I'm sure, if not painful, it certainly wasn't comfortable for her but she stood completely still if I rubbed her nose, in the right way/place.
 
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