twitching

Try de sensitising by running clippers every day at feed time, for many days, gradually build up her exposure. Build up from this to touching her with them, but take it slowly. Reward her for tolerating clippers on or next to her by turning them off. search this forum for tips on clipping nervous horses and you'll find lots of other good advice.
 
Hi Hessy12, the problem is i dont have any clippers and am having to pay someone to come in and clip for me so although your advice is very good i am unable to follow it , thanks anyway:)
 
Max I would twitch for is just a couple of mins. If you aren't able to spend time helping her get over her fear of the clippers then sedate her - you can't twitch a horse for the length of time it would take to clip them.
 
The best and safest option is sedation, a tube of Sedalin should be enough to get the job done without needing the vet. A twitch cannot be used for too long and if the horse is really bad, will not be effective or safe.
 
You can't twitch for a whole clip! The very maximum amount of time I twitch for is 5 minutes, but that is the absolute max.

You can only buy sedalin from the vets, but usually you can just go into the vets and buy it, without them needing to come out, if you tell them what it's for. If your horse is very stressed, then you may need something stronger than sedalin to clip, and your vet may need to be present.

I would suggest you do some work desensitising him first. If you don't have your own clippers, use a similar sounding thing, like a drill, or electric shaver.
 
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Firstly, agree with all that you can't twitch for a whole clip. Maybe just the head, but in my case I just wouldn't bother to clip that bit :) Secondly, you will only need a small amount of Sedalin an hour before you clip. Don't give her the whole tube :(!! Thirdly buy yourself some Pax as I swear by it, its simply super for calming them down. Finally desentitising is a must, agree a shaver or buy a small battery operated clipper for the sake of your horse. I simply stand beside and buzz with my voice....seriously it works!!
 
fburton said:
Isn't desensitizing the best and safest option? Or does the solution have to be the "quick fix" type?
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If a horse has had a bad experience it can take a long time to desensitise and they still have to cope with being clipped which may only happen once or twice a year. The last time I used sedalin on a horse I clipped for a neighbour, the vet was of the opinion that I would be lucky to get it done at all and expected a call for full sedation. However I got the job done calmly and the horse was not stressed by the experience, the next time he needed doing I gave him just a little and all went well, the following year he was as good as gold and still is, he needed to learn to trust and relax.
So if it helps get the horse relaxed and able to cope why is it wrong to use something to make everything safer and easier for all concerned.
 
be positive said:
If a horse has had a bad experience it can take a long time to desensitise and they still have to cope with being clipped which may only happen once or twice a year.
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Then that gives you at least a few months to desensitize, which should be plenty long enough if the horse has had a bad experience (which it must have had, by definition, if it reacts violently to clippers). In practice, it may take a series of short sessions over a few days.

The last time I used sedalin on a horse I clipped for a neighbour, the vet was of the opinion that I would be lucky to get it done at all and expected a call for full sedation. However I got the job done calmly and the horse was not stressed by the experience, the next time he needed doing I gave him just a little and all went well, the following year he was as good as gold and still is, he needed to learn to trust and relax.
So if it helps get the horse relaxed and able to cope why is it wrong to use something to make everything safer and easier for all concerned.
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I'm glad your horse learned to relax while being clipped. However, if one desensitizes, one wouldn't have to use sedation at all. Surely that must be better for the horse, as well as saving a few pennies?
 
I twitched today shot me down. I actually used my hand.

However I think what is importand is to understand how a twitch works, it releases endorphines but only for about 5 (although Toffee seems to be a good 8-10) minutes so twitching a horse for longer is actually pointless.

So I applied firm pressure on her nose as soon as she "chilled" I started her clip and released that pressure, I only did a neck. She doenst mind me running clippers all over, it was the hair flying about she hated, after three attempts of her rearing in my face I decided to twitch, however she was still very unhappy about what was going on as the effects of her endorphines ran off although I had to follow her around the stable quite a bit she stopped rearing and eventually settled with her hay. Proud mummy moment :) :)


We realise endorphines when we eat chocolate.


I dont have a problem with it, but please make sure you know what your doing and what twitching does.
 
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