Update on restraining a horse: Thank you HHOers!

[Lou_Lou123]

I posted at the weekend about ideas for restraining a mare who needed a serious amount of dressing on her leg. I was dreading changing the dressing today as OH was not around, so me and another girl had to do it. My friend neck-twitched the mare and she stood still from start to finish, didn't flinch once. I was amazed as she has been stamping, barging, kicking out and generally throwing her weight around. So thanks to all who replied! I really couldn't believe the difference, I have heard of people neck twitching with little effect before so had never really thought much of it, but with this mare it worked a treat.

 

[JanetGeorge]

Good news! We use neck twitching a lot (much kinder than a nose twitch) and it's often enough to distract a horse from the problem area.

 

[Penniless]

Glad we could be of assistance to you.

 

[Nari]

Can someone please explain/show neck twitching to me? My ID is now so needleshy that Im seriously considering using Sedalin next time he needs his flu jab as there's a very real risk of someone getting hurt. But I'm not sure even that will work, it's months away & I'm already dreading it!

 

[TarrSteps]

I did describe it generally in the OPs other thread. If you need a bit more description, feel free to PM.

I think it's an essential skill, far more so than using a nose twitch or a lip chain which, while effective in certain situations, aren't always practical for quick/everyday use and are much trickier to do well and safely. I've often used it to restrain a horse just for a few minutes or even while walking - very few horses object and it can make the difference between smoothing the situation over, teaching the horse to accept what you're doing in the long run, or potentially losing control and making the situation worse.

 

[humblepie]

Really glad it worked for you.

 

[Nari]

Oh I'll go & have a look, should have thought of that

. It's got to be worth a play around with to see how he takes it, I hate putting Sedalin in him for something so minor I'm running out of things to try. He was needleshy but controllable before his hospital stay, now he's almost impossible to restrain & it's difficult to get the vet near him. It wasn't the hospital's fault & against the odds he's alive & well but it's left me with a real problem.

 

[Zebedee]

We flu jab our (very) needleshy horse over the stable door using a dipper of mix to get his head over. Vet then stands behind ehoever is holding the feed, leans over stable door & jabs in chest. If horse does notice all he does is shoot backwards so totally safe.

 

[Nari]

Unfortunately he won't fall for that one, he isn't a greedy horse & the mere sight of the vet is enough to make him suspicious. The might get the needle in (I wouldn't bet on it though) but there's no way they'd get the vaccine in.

 

[sally2]

Neck twitching is ok when there are two of you but if you are on your own i have found the humane twitch on the lip to be best.