twitches

Like a lot of these things they can have their place - and in the right hands do no harm.

I personally only use it as a last resort - and only ever the nose, never the ears.
 
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Like a lot of these things they can have their place - and in the right hands do no harm.

I personally only use it as a last resort - and only ever the nose, never the ears.

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The vet twitched my horses ear once and it made him head shy for ages, he hated it.

I only use a twitch on his nose for clipping and main pulling, as he can be abit dangerous!!
 
I have and do use one when necessary.

The humane one would never work on my old lad, as an old fashioned string one doesn't work on him!!

Providing they are used correctly they can work with great effect.
 
I don't like them, i used to work at a yard where they were used a lot, string ones that were left on much longer than the ten minutes your supposed to and some of the ponies got cut noses from them being too tight. Saying that i can accept people using them for short periods but it upsets me when i see people yanking on them and hurting their horses, i think sometimes they are used as standard for things like clipping rather than bothering to train the horse to be used to the clippers.
 
Yes, someone once tried to twitch Amy on her ear to rasp her teeth. I told them to shove it where the sun doens't shine and took her home.

If it's that bad their ear needs doing - then in my book they should be sedated.
 
i use my hand to twitch Archie when i am clipping his head. Hopefully i wont have to next time round tho, well in the winter! He'd never been clipped before, so it just helped chill him out a bit.

Andrew (trainer) has neck twitched him for me when ive been getting on in busy arenas, as he can b*gger off bronking when hes in a busy place and im trying to mount. He dosent any more tho, so we dont do it anymore.
 
Ive made my own as I dont like the humane ones. Ive got an extra long handle on mine, just in case.

I think twitches, if used correctly, are OK and have their place. But if used incorrectly with unknowledgable handler then they can cause lots of damage.

I would only ever twitch the nose, most definitley not ears.
 
I got one of those humane twitches for use when clipping chloe's legs - unfortunately it's too small for her huge muzzle...
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We've used homemade ones in the past, but to be honest I've managed to do her last 2 clips without twitching her, and I'd rather not use one.
My friend's horse has a nasty scar on his ear where he was twitched in the past, and it's took a lot of desensitising (over 15 years!) to get him to accept clippers now, and he's still very headshy
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Yes i agree with everyone i think under the right circumstances they can be effective. I only use mine to clip Inkys legs as he is very sensitive on them. He is very small so i have to kneel down ( i know but its the only way ) to do them and dont want him jumping all over the place, he'd end up on my knee
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I have never heard of them being used it anywhere else. How do you ear twitch and how on earth do you do a neck twitch? ( not interested because id like to do it just curious as i cant imagine how!! )
 
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how on earth do you do a neck twitch?

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Just be pinching and twisting a piece of the flesh on the neck.

As for the ear - well you put the rope around the ear and twist - just like the nose. Or you do it by hand. Both are not acceptable in my opinion.
 
I use them - homemade one (half a broken snaffle & thick rope). I only use one for very specific things; removing stitches, clipping heads (although Bob can now be done without) and ocassionally shoeing Bob as he acts the arse when he gets bored
 
I use my own, again broom handle and rope to twitch P when clipping his head and with any of the others who are difficult. With P it take 5 minutes hassle free to do it rather than half an hour of fighting
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Have used neck twitch on Stallions before - didnt realise it was a twitch though, just thought it was an effective way of getting them to behave! God how stupid am I?

I thought ear twitching was illegal?
 
ear twitching should be illegal! someone did it to my horse before i got him and its taken me 3 years just to be able to stroke them! i can get his bridle on properly now tho! i think nose twitching is acceptable in the right situation, if solos been naughty i hold his muzzle nd he immediately freezes, without me actually putting any pressure on.
 
I think ear twitching is illegal. Saw a lovely mare go through the sales that had been ear twitched. Mede a lovely mess of her otherwise beautiful face. Poor thing. It looked horrible
 
In my experience the humane ones are useless, they manage to slip out of them. Would rather use an old fasioned home made one, get the job done quickly and without stress or injury. I only have to twitch to clip her ears and she is so good with the twitch I can do it on my own. Oh and usually have to neck twitch to give her injection. I use it as a last resort but when all else fails I would rather just twitch and get it done quickly.
 
I'd rather see a horse nose or neck twitched in a sensible controlled situation by someone who knows what they are doing then put a horse and handler at risk of a serious accident. I have a twitch (well saussage boot with attached bailing twine) which I will use if I feel a situation warrents it but equally I would hate to see a twitch used unnecessarily or in the wrong hands.
 
I bought a humane one, easier than fiddling with string, but I think the nose is meant to go in the curved bits...this doesn't work so I end up using the arms which works brilliantly.
Goota use for pulling (cutting with solocomb and thinners) mane on BL and these past fews days for bathing a cut on the eye of sisters mare, never on for more than about 5mins so no probs.
Only use it as a last resort though.
 
We used one on my gelding on his top lip, may not be the nicest thing but it beats having him land on my when he keeps rearing up
 
When our pony fractured a leg whilst on loan, the vet twitched her prior to injecting with acp (she is very difficult to handle). Vet then decided as she was standing quietly with twitch not to bother with acp and just to carry on with treatment. To cut a long story short our poor little girl was twitched for over 40 minutes. Her muzzle was swollen afterwards for days, and it left a scar. When my own vet saw it and heard the story he told a vet student who was with him to take a good look at the scar and said that in his opinion to do this was nothing short of abuse! However, in the past we did twitch her for short periods for things like injections. In the right hands a twitch is fine but certainly need to be used with care.
 
As with everything, used properly they have their place.

Twitching ears is totally different thatn twitching noses - completely different effect and all sort of complications. I suspect most people who do it are actually using the ear as a hand hold/restraint, which is pretty scary considering the sensitivity and fragility of the ear.

I never liked the clamp-style "hands free" twitches. They either fell off and/or turned into guided missiles. I had a hands free twitch with a loop that attached to the halter instead.

All that said, I never use them anymore. They were very common in my youth but new methods of chemical restraint have displaced them for many of the original necessary reasons. As far as for everyday restraint purposes I find a neck twitch works well, is easier and more comfortable for all concerned, and is relatively risk free. If I need more control and a greater endorphin response I find a lip string works much more effectively and humanely.
 
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