How does twitching work?

[Wagtail]

Question should read: How do you think a twitch works?

When I first encountered twitching a horse (on the top lip) I was completely horrified. However, in my many years with horses I have come to view it as a rarely used but effective tool which I personally believe is very humane. I'll come to why I believe this after a few respondents have voted. Please also comment on whether you think it is cruel and or how you think that it works. And why it doesn't work at all on a small percentage of horses. In fact, it can make things worse.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I can't vote on my phone but I regularly twitch horses for various things - scoping, pulling manes and the likes. Skin twitches for most things, nose twitch for some. I have only had one horse go mad with a nose twitch and it was not pleasant! Mad cow that she was!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have known horses who would quieten down in stressful situations if the handler rubbed their muzzle (nose) in a particular way. I have no objections whatsoever to using a nose-twitch on those horses which respond well to it. My vet uses one sometimes, it can be as effective as sedation without the recovery time.
I would never condone the use of ear/gum twitch as I do not believe that they work in the same way and are in fact just cruel.

 

[ThePiebaldMoomin]

I hate it personally my poor mare came from an abusive background but she had to be twitched twice via the top lip since I've owned her, and that was to clip her legs. She used to strike out and get fairly dangerous because she had very bad mud fever and I assume was painful for her. Now that I clip her myself I'd rather she look like an idiot with parts not clipped than ever have to twitch her again. She is a very very calm horse and never puts a foot wrong so don't have any real need to have to twitch her again.

 

[touchstone]

I've voted for it releases endorphins as this is what I'd always been told.

That doesn't explain why a duct tape twitch will work on some horses though, so who knows?!

 

[HashRouge]

I was taught that it releases endorphins too, but I'm not sure how true this is. I've never tried using a humane twitch - we used to use one of the wooden ones with twine on the end at work when we were clipping ears/ round eyes on fidgety horses. I'm not convinced that it causes no pain and I do wonder if that's just one of those things we've told ourselves for so long that we now believe it. Some horses respond very badly to the twitch - as Wagtail says in the OP sometimes it really does make things worse. I'm very interested to hear what some experienced posters say on this. I used to feel uncomfortable twitching at work but used to view it as the lesser of two evils - i.e. better a twitched nose for a little while than clippers in the eye!

 

[TwyfordM]

I think it must be uncomfortable/unpleasant on some level. My mare reacts fairly violently when you start putting the twitch on but is fine once its all done and although it doesn't chill her out completely it calms her down enough to do most things. Its an effective tool if used only when needed and for the shortest time possible. Better of two evils when my mare is throwing herself violently around.

 

[View]

I know one horse where it really did make matters worse, but our lad did become calmer when the twitch came out. We owned him for many years, and he had to be clipped but disliked his flanks being done (never did work out why). After a few years, just putting the loop around his top lip had and holding it with my hand had the desired effect.

If endorphins aren't released, why does neck twitching work? Works really well on one horse and trust me, if it caused him discomfort he would not be backwards in coming forwards to let me know.

I really want to know more about the science behind this.

 

[Annagain]

I'm really torn on this. My boy, who is the sort to throw himself around at the slightest discomfort reacts to it really well. There's no way he'd be distracted by pain, or think "well they've got me now, I'll give up" so there must be some sort of science happening. However, getting it on him in the first place is the issue - we've given up and got him sedated the last few times - so I think it must cause pain for him to not want it on in the first place.

 

[PorkChop]

I was always told it releases endorphins as well!

I use a twitch fairly regularly, especially for clipping heads - I would rather twitch than them move and give caught by the clippers tbh.

I also find it useful for keeping them still for the Vet for example.

 

[Rollin]

It can be used in a cruel way, i.e. too tight and with aggression. My Scottish vet told me to apply the twitch and slowly tighten it but also to leave it place for five mins to take effect before starting work on the horse.

I used it recently for a mare who is a nightmare to inject with antibiotic, which as you know is high volume and takes time to inject.

 

[WandaMare]

I wouldn't use on a horse who gets frightened and keeps fighting the twitch and is obviously distressed. I had a pony who was quite naughty when having any type of treatment and he used to calm down very well with a twitch. Even if I just held his lip up with my hand without using a twitch he would calm down in a matter of minutes, so I do believe it has some biological effect rather than just being a way to restrain them physically.

 

[chillipup]

I think using a twitch works, (on some horses) because more than one thing happens. When the twitch is first applied, (to the nose) I'm sure discomfort and/or pain is felt by the horse and I guess, how some people think, it may well distract the horse temporarily as it's wondering what the hell is going on.

However, this discomfort or pain can cause a different horse to react violently. Some horses, just like people, may respond very differently to experiencing the same stimuli/stimulus?, especially if they've never had it done before or have had a bad experience previously, or the twitch isn't being used properly.

I've also been led to believe that endorphins are released whilst a twitch is being used but it doesn't happen immediately. I understand it can take some 2-5 minutes for endorphins to physically affect the horse and for the horse to show signs, (becoming more relaxed, drowsy) and that the length of time endorphins are actually in play as a pain killer, is only about 10 minutes or so.

I think it can be a useful tool in certain circumstances but only when carried out by an experienced person. I've never used one personally but have witnessed the calming influence it can have on a horse. Sorry, would go for first box but wanted to tick that it does cause discomfort/pain too.

 

[QueenDee_]

Not wishing to interrupt the thread OP, but to those that have responded, what type twitch are you using? The newer 'metal tong' type, or the older fashioned string loop on the end of a stick? (or a different one!)

 

[pennyturner]

I have often seen horses get themselves into a predicament (stuck over a fence, jumped a partition etc), and immediately stop fighting. It's the same as a zebra in the clutches of a lion - it knows the game is up, and all the fight goes out of it, whilst the rest of the herd gets clean away - so this is a successful strategy for the species.
If I had to guess, I'd say a twitch mimics this effect.

 

[Wagtail]

Thanks, everyone. I do think it relates back to being a prey species and the body being merciful. I think it has a definite calming effect and also dulls pain. The reason I think it is (mostly) humane, is that I had a cob here for many years who could be a nasty little *** if he didn't like something. Clipping was one of those things. There is no way on earth that pony would have let me near him with a twitch if he was in the least bit hurt by it. In fact I had to apply it to him numerous times whilst I was clipping him, and he would hold his head out for it to be applied and then dose off whilst it was on. His reaction to anything he didn't like was to try and double barrel you. However, conversely, I have seen horses react violently both to having it applied and immediately it is taken off. This is a very small proportion of horses, and ones I would never try it on again. So for me, I think that some horses actually like it, others are not bothered, and a small proportion hate it. I have found the ones that seem to respond the best are heavier, cold blooded breeds. But that's just my experience; I'm sure there are exceptions.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

So most people have used a nose twitch - mostly string and pole. The metal humane things are useless.

But who uses skin twitches? The kind whereby grab and twist a clump of skin on the neck? I use this more frequently than a nose twitch and whilst it doesn't have the full effect of a nose twitch it does work well enough for most things I need done.

 

[Wagtail]

So most people have used a nose twitch - mostly string and pole. The metal humane things are useless.

But who uses skin twitches? The kind whereby grab and twist a clump of skin on the neck? I use this more frequently than a nose twitch and whilst it doesn't have the full effect of a nose twitch it does work well enough for most things I need done.

I have used one on request of the vet on several occasions. Works very well and easy to apply.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

But who uses skin twitches? The kind whereby grab and twist a clump of skin on the neck? I use this more frequently than a nose twitch and whilst it doesn't have the full effect of a nose twitch it does work well enough for most things I need done.

This is my 'go to' method first.

 

[wallflower]

I was always told that they worked by releasing endorphins too, so I kind of assumed that the endorphins were released following the initial discomfort of the application of the twitch.

 

[ester]

Thing is, pain releases endorphins so...

Saying that I only have to lightly grab F's nose for him to shut up and chill a bit. Usually just when I want to snap him out of him being a welsh nonsense.

 

[criso]

I've always been told it was endorphins - I'd like to see some proper research one way or the other - it can't be that difficult to measure endorphin levels before during and after.

I've had two it was used on that almost seem to go to sleep when it's applied which seems to support this view. Another it didn't work at all on and we were trying to nerve block for lameness so didn't want to sedate. I've actually seen just as good results with the metal twitches but they can be a bit more tricky to put on and get the tension right.

 

[View]

So most people have used a nose twitch - mostly string and pole. The metal humane things are useless.

But who uses skin twitches? The kind whereby grab and twist a clump of skin on the neck? I use this more frequently than a nose twitch and whilst it doesn't have the full effect of a nose twitch it does work well enough for most things I need done.

It's my go to - I find it works better at stopping a horse moving while we do something than holding a foreleg up.

 

[case895]

I am a little confused as to why there is a poll on how twitching works. Science is not a democracy. There was not a referendum on refraction.

 

[HashRouge]

I am a little confused as to why there is a poll on how twitching works. Science is not a democracy. There was not a referendum on refraction.

You'll notice the poll question is "How do you *think* a twitch works?". It's an opinion poll, but I'm sure you know that. In fact, if you've read the thread you'll notice that several people have wondered about the science and how exactly it all works. If you'd like to enlighten us I'm sure we'd all be delighted

 

[willhegofirst]

Always believed it releases endorphins, therefore causes pain, never liked them much only used one twice on current horse, once when being freeze marked, not too effective he still fought it, and just last week at the vets having his bladder scoped, when although well sedated he was still trying to kick the vet putting the probe up his penis, it did help that time though I think it was applied better as already sedated.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Not wishing to interrupt the thread OP, but to those that have responded, what type twitch are you using? The newer 'metal tong' type, or the older fashioned string loop on the end of a stick? (or a different one!)

The old fashioned type.

I have had a vet try to use the metal tong type but it kept falling off! If you choose your string carefully, make sure that it is soft and not too thin, it will not be particularly uncomfortable and certainly won't do any damage, unless, of course, it is left on too long.
One of the trickiest, most sensitive horses I have ever owned, a TBxWelsh D mare, settled as soon as you rubbed her nose, which was a damned good job, because if we had had to sedate her every time instead of twitching/rubbing, we would have been able to buy our own vet

 

[Spiritedly]

I'm another who was always told it works by releasing endorphins.
I've tried it on two of mine, one is completely needle phobic and when he needed sedation it worked in as much as he didn't fight quite so much but he still wasn't completely relaxed but when he needed to have eye drops it worked brilliantly. My mare who we tried to use it on used to belong to some of the more unscrupulous nomadic people and wouldn't even let us touch her lip to try it on her!...it's also took nearly two years before she was willing to let me 'play' with her ears but at 3 years still won't allow me to clip them

 

[hackneylass2]

Maybe its similar to 'hypnotising' chickens and lobsters?

All I know is that when I first got my mare, well over 30 years go! she was twitched on the nose for her first shoeing. The old Romany guy at the yard said it mimicks a horse being 'caught' by a predator and that horses won't try to get out of it because they know it would cause serious injury. I think there must be some other effect going on too because I've seen a lot of horses calmed almost to the point of snoozing whilst wearing a twitch. He did point out at length that the twitch needed to be secure without being tight and that any aggressive twisting of the twitch was wrong. 'Most osses ye can 'snitch' as he put it, some ye can't, so try it once'.

 

[ester]

So those who think it releases endorphins, have you ever considered what causes endorphins to be released?