Is twitching cruel?

Is twitching (of the upper lip) cruel?

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the only way I could Jab my girl - After 4 years and hours of trying things, what worked:

I walk in, I grab nose and twitch - 10 seconds to calm down - vet walks in, Jab, done. We both walk out and she gets a big dinner and cue a happy mare!

30 seconds - rather than 1 hr of strenuous fighting - I know which one is more cruel.
 
Its not cruel and at times necessary for some horses.
I use it on one of mine for iv injections,as she wont stand and rears without it.
She doesnt object to it going on and its off within a couple of minutes keeping all parties safe.
 
I have no problem with twitching and can see circumstances when I would find it quite useful. Unfortunately it has no effect on my horse at all, apart from to make him cross!
 
babymare said:
ummmm ive seen term"its useful" omg thats sad - been there seen the worse but useful ffs never -prepares self lol :) xx
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Twitching is 'useful'; that is, 'used for a purpose' for example vet treatment, or as a form of restraint to ensure human safety. If done correctly, it doesn't cause any harm, and will actually be in the horse's interests in terms of the vet treatment, or clipping or whatever that is being done.
Very few people indulge in recreational twitching just for fun. :p
S :D
 
Quite shocked that people would go to such lengths just to pull a bleeding mane. sedation??? Just use a solo comb, may not look 'quite' as good but uhm... vanity over happiness of horse??? Madness. Appologies for daft words before, first and last time i use my phone to post on here!
 
Twitching as far i understand is a device that causes enough pain to eventually release natural endorphines so he relaxes?
No i wouldnt use it on my horse - i would rather him be sedated for treatment he finds stressful
 
Somethingorother- if u saw my horse when trying to have mane pulled you'd realise twitching is needed! If I go near him with anything he completely flips! Whether it be a comb, solo comb or even scissors! At the end of the day safety comes first. Not all horses stand still for mane pulling!
 
I'm not saying they do. I'm saying why would you be willing to put your horse through the stress just for the sake of a short 'pretty' mane. Not surprised they don't like it. Fair enough some are thick skinned but it's still yanking out chunks of hair by the roots. Don't understand why people do to their horses what they wouldn't have done to themselves.

And don't get me wrong, i've pulled manes on horses that aren't bothered by it and just stand munching hay. But on the ones that don't like it, i leave it, or take my time gently with some scissors, or do it bit by bit over a week with scissors. Think with some of them once they don't like it they get to know the back combing sensation and that's why the comb doesn't work much better for some. I wouldn't twitch or sedate to tidy up a bloody mane, have more fun things to be doing with the horse than to bother about that. Rant over.
 
I have to twitch mine for the vet to get near him for jabs or vet to sedate him for the dentist! He wouldn't get his jabs or teeth done without it! He rear, slams you & vet/dentist around the stable without a care for them or himself so its safer all round. Angel to clip or shoe though.

He's had 2 freak accidents which made him worse with vets, plus a trainee vet gave him his first jabs, he jumped & trainee then did the same - left syringe flapping in neck as he ran around the stable. Convinced its all down to that his vet & stranger phobia.
 
I do understand where you're coming from. My tb was in racing for 6 years and obviously had his mane pulled frequently and with no messing about! Due to this he absolutely hates it! Who could blame him! He's a very sensitive boy. Its taken me over 3 years to clip him with just patience, 3 years to get creams etc on legs as he was blistered and 2 years with an equissage! I perservere loads with him but his mane is one thing he can't tolerate! I do it once a year so yes it's down to his ankles at the mo but I have to get the length off for the summer as he sweats and it bothers him. He won't even let me plait it!
 
Sorry, using phone! I figure either twitching or sedation once a year is ok for mane pulling considering we've worked through clipping, injections and dentist cold turkey!!
 
I twitch horses when I need to. That might be more frequently than some are happy with. The big gelding did have some major issues with vet visits when i first got him, a nose twitch isn't hugely effective on him but a neck twitch works for long enough to get a needle in.

The new pony is completely phobic about anything to do with her neck, I don't know what has happened in her past to cause this but to deal with it I Sedalin her over an hour before the vet is due and as soon as the vet arrives I get a nose twitch on her - otherwise we would never get near her with a needle.

I don't think it is cruel as long as it is done with care, I have a selection of home made with baler twine and a metal humane twitch (useless on pony - it doesn't go small enough)
 
I think its cruel and never have it done to any of my horses. Its been done in the past to my horses by the vet or for freezemarking etc. but always done badly and never works. Wrapping something so tightly round a horse lip cannot be pleasant for the horse, no matter how well its done. Horrid, outdated method.
 
darkhorse123 said:
Twitching as far i understand is a device that causes enough pain to eventually release natural endorphines so he relaxes?
No i wouldnt use it on my horse - i would rather him be sedated for treatment he finds stressful
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My horse is such a nobber that we have to twitch him so the vet can get near enough to sedate him.....

He will happily accept the twitch ....the alternative is a dangerous stressed frantic horse flinging himself around the yard with the vet hanging off him.....he is very scared of injections.
 
The vet used a twitch on my horse when he was having Liverpool treatment for sarcoids. The alternative was sedation which he really hated - even with a mild dose he used to panic as it wore off and ended up hurting himself. So, yes, used correctly I don't have a problem with it.
 
Itwitch when the need arises - far better to get something unpleasent done with the horse feeling calm and under the spell of endorphins than to fight to get something doen.

I always sedate for the first few clips so that the horse has a comfortable experience and generally after that they are fine with maybe a twitch for finishing off the ears and very tickly places.

I had one youngster that got really dangerous when a needle was presented, put the twitch on and he stood like a lamb.

Only thing to watch is that some horses can totally flip after about 10 - 15 mins with the twitch on. Have eight stitches in my head when a horse I was clipping freaked, reared up and spun around and a hoof clipped me on the head.

Usually preceeded by a groaning noise before flipping.
 
babymare said:
hulla why does it make him cross and why do you need to use it :0 x
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The vet and I tried it when we had to nerve block him and he was having none of it. In the end we had to abandon the nerve blocks and the vet had to make a best guess diagonsis (which luckily turned out ok).
The idea as I understand it is that it releases endorphines in most horses which have a calming effect on their behaviour. Mine is one of the exceptions and he is just cross because he doesn't like it! A vet told me that horses with habits such as box walking and weaving are less susceptable to twitching, but mine has none of these.
I would twitch to clip if it would do any good, but I have to get him doped instead.
 
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