Sedation v twitching for clipping?

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moodles

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Hi
My horse is thin skinned, ultra sensitive and stroppy so consequently hates being clipped 😦

He has got worse over past few years - used to just protest about tummy/elbows and tickly places. I bought some Wolseley trimmers last year as he has quite a fine coat and only doing a chaser clip. He was better with these the first time but now won't tolerate these either.

I spoke to vet about sedation with the gel under the tongue but I'm a bit worried about the timing as he said it would take about an hour to work then you had about an hours clipping time. He also sweated heavily when sedated IV for vet procedure so worried if he sweats I won't get the clippers through his coat.

I have clipped him today but had to twitch him virtually the whole time. Gave him a break part way through , but he was still twitched for about 40 minutes. Is this a problem? He certainly doesn't seem bothered as goes very sleepy and not stressy or at all headshy afterwards.

Interested to hear people's experiences of using gel sedation and whether people think twitching is acceptable.

Thanks
 
I've never had to do either to clip but have used Domosedan prior to IV injections on a needle phobic. It works well but tbh if twitching is working for you and he's comfortable with it I'd stick with it. We have to twitch the big man for needles too and it works a treat. Some don't respond at all but if they do and it's not stressful then I'd prefer it over administering sedation. The other issue with sedating is that if they decide to fight it and panic they can lose the plot big time. Sedation isn't always the easy answer some people think it is! Sounds like you've got a way which works well for him.
 
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If you twitch it should be for ten minutes only then have a break and massage the nose before twitching again, otherwise you risk damage to the nose tissue due to oxygen starvation, so 40 minutes is way too long. Regarding sedation, this does make them sweat but I have not had a serious problem with being able to clip. Are you stopping every ten minutes or so to let the clippers cool down? This may be his problem if not. This would also give you time to take the twich off for a bit.
 
I'm not adverse to twitching on a limited basis as explained by Wagtail - I sedated my thin skinned and tremendously reactive TB with Domosden gel, it worked for a while (although he sweated up spectacularly!) but the clipper got the job done
 
I twitch a sensitive cob for the last 10 - 15 mins. I've not had a problem - nor have I seen any evidence to suggest there is a 10 minute limit. If you keep taking the twitch off and putting it on you'll bruise the nose, upset the horse and impair the effect. That said - 40 mins does seem to me to be on the long side though and I would want to be working on other options. Can you clip for 10 - 15 mins then stop and come back 24 hours later? We had one that would take a week to clip fully - but we would do just a little bit each day keeping it under his tolerance so he never got stressed or upset. Over time he accepted longer and longer periods until we could do all of him over 2 days. But we never quite got it down to one session.
 
Twitching works through the body's reaction to pain - horse can't cope and shuts down. 40minutes for a non-essential activity seems entirely excessive, and could (not will, but could) potentially damage the horse permanently too. For a few seconds, e.g. to administer meds in an emergency is one thing, but for clipping - wouldn't be comfortable with that.

Shay's idea about doing a bit at a time sounds very sensible. I assume you've done all the usual desensitising things too?
 
I've used Dormosedan for clipping. It took about 35-45 minutes to work and gave about 45 minutes of clipping time. Not too much sweating but I had given mine a really good bath the day before so the hair came off quite easily.
 
I'm another one who says an absolute no to twitching... I personally think it's cruel... occasionally you might have to be cruel to be kind (e.g. Horse needs something doing this second for the good of its health and sedation is not available) but that's not clipping. I use it sedation -- it has actually helped train my youngster who is a bit of a diva. We give her a bit then let her wake up whilst she is being clipped and she has now got the message that the evil buzzing machine doesn't hurt... I get this won't work for your boy but making an unpleasant experience more unpleasant seems counter productive to me.
 
Twitching doesn't work on all horses. I always twitch with just my hand to start off and you can see quite quickly if a horse doesn't like it or goes dopey. My mare doesn't like it so I wouldn't twitch her. However, I had a cob here that I used to twitch for clipping and he absolutely loved it. He would present his nose each time to have it reapplied after each break. He was a horse that would double barrel you in a heartbeat if he didn't want you to do something. He would just go off to lala land as soon as the twitch was applied. But as I say, some horses don't like it, and it doesn't work on some horses either. You just have to know what you're doing.
 
Crikey! I would never twitch for that long! Just sedate the horse and as soon as they are under go for the head neck and elbows both sides before they start sweating. Even if it is a rough clip there its gets the hair off before the sweat and you can tidy it up later.

I only ever twitch as a last resort when doing heads. If it's a youngster that won't be seen on the track for a while and they don't want their head done I leave it. It's purely cosmetic. But if they are running they will get done properly. I won't send anything out with anything less than a perfect clip.
 
Twitch. You can loosen it or take off when not necessary. I dont believe in giving unnecessary drugs to horses. But once theyr sedated theres no 'unsedating' - you arent giving them a chance to be good.
 
Thanks for all the responses, opinion seems quite divided on twitching. Just to clarify, I didn't twitch for 40mins continuously but in two 15/20 min sessions with a 15 min break in between to give him a rest from the twitch and let clipper blades cool. He was perfectly happy to be twitched again but I was questioning whether he should be twitched for that long.

I have tried 3 different types of clipper plus trimmers and none have really been any better. I do clip my other horse without a problem so don't think my clippers or technique are that bad.

He's not in the least bit scared of the clippers but dislikes the sensation and skin ripples and fidgeting rapidly escalates into barging and squashing me against the wall. He also has an evil cowkick! Not sure clipping over a few days would work any better for him as I may manage 5 mins on neck and shoulders but tummy and elbows are no go zones. I suppose I was thinking that yesterday it was all done in 40 mins and he was back in stable munching hay totally relaxed, rather than annoying him over a number of days.

I think I will try the gel sedation next time and hope the sweating isn't a problem.

Thanks once again for the feedback.
 
I'm happy to twitch to clip if it's needed for a small part (had one who hated his ears done so I twitched for that) I'd never twitch for a whole clip though.
The gel sed is fantastic stuff. I was amazed how good it is.
 
I have twitched to clip. I would do so again. A horse I used to twitch to clip would only need the twitch for a short time. You could gradually loosen it off and finish him without it.
 
Dolly is very good to clip, until you get below her hocks/knees. Unfortunately I need to take her feather off semi regularly, so I use a twitch. If I didn’t, she would kill me. I used to get her sedated to do it, but I now use a twitch. She doesn’t seem to mind it, and to be honest, I feel at her age (24), 15 mins with the twitch is better than putting drugs into her.
 
moodles said:
Hi
My horse is thin skinned, ultra sensitive and stroppy so consequently hates being clipped ��

He has got worse over past few years - used to just protest about tummy/elbows and tickly places. I bought some Wolseley trimmers last year as he has quite a fine coat and only doing a chaser clip. He was better with these the first time but now won't tolerate these either.

I spoke to vet about sedation with the gel under the tongue but I'm a bit worried about the timing as he said it would take about an hour to work then you had about an hours clipping time. He also sweated heavily when sedated IV for vet procedure so worried if he sweats I won't get the clippers through his coat.

I have clipped him today but had to twitch him virtually the whole time. Gave him a break part way through , but he was still twitched for about 40 minutes. Is this a problem? He certainly doesn't seem bothered as goes very sleepy and not stressy or at all headshy afterwards.

Interested to hear people's experiences of using gel sedation and whether people think twitching is acceptable.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I prefer to use ACP or sedaline, I am interested in trying Domosedan Gel as I have heard good things about it. Twitching I would use as a last resort for maybe round the head and chest area. The last time I clipped the boy I had the vet sedate him to do a sheath clean and then I quickly clipped him before the sedative ran out. I have to sedate him as he is scared despite being stood next to his mum etc on may occasions, but can do his freeze mark ok but anywhere underneath him the clippers would go flying and he would lash out so not worth my safety.

So killed two birds with one stone.
 
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I managed to clip my batshit crazy Irish draught by tying him up next to his best buddy while his buddy was clipped . Then turned the clippers on Bob . Bob was oblivious to the fact that his mate was high as a kite on ACP and in a few hours was going to wonder what exactly happened at that party and what barsteward shaved off his eyebrows (and for that matter ,everything back as far as his tail) Bob stood like a lamb.
 
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