[Roxi&Bingo]

OKay....I see where you are all coming from, I might have overreacted a bit but it just super bothered me seeing Roxi in pain like she was. She kept making horrible noises so I put my feelings before the vet's saftey. not a samrt thing....

[Sheza_Angel]

It sometimes is the best choice. Depends on the situation at hand. It seems better than sedation in the long run.

[shenanigans]

Nose & ear twitching has more to do with nerves then endorphins, shoulder twitch with your hand works dandy but you must know how & where to apply it correctly.

I have used twitches before, prefer to use my hand on the lip and avoid ear twitches as much as possible.
Its easy for people to abuse twitching a horse either by lack of experience & knowledge or lack of care.
Its really a common sense issue & dependant on each individual horse. My ottb mare could never be ear twitched, she was ear twitched so harshly in the gate she has issues, but a lip twitch is not an issue with her at all. My gelding couldnt care less so its rarely needed or effective lol!

[sarahhowen]

Used in the correct hands and on a receptive horse, twitch's can be great, used incorrectly they can be very detrimental as I have found in my mare, Unfortunately Maria is very cautious any time you go near the top lip area, upon closer inspection, she actually has scars running down the side of her lip, exactly where a twitch would go, this has an effect on her every day of her life as she is wary of you going near the area, she is getting better and we use de-sensitization techniques on it each day which are helping her, on the other hand when its time for my other mare to have her booster jabs she turns into a montser and tries to kill the vet, generally using a twitch on her then means that the vet can do the injection safey and with minimal (or less) stress to the mare.
I will stress that we have never used a twitch on Maria, it was her previous owners....

[Circle C]

On the track we use lip chains a lot....

As far as my own horses.. I don't twitch unless I have to. My two I have now I can clip all olver and do anything with, so I don't have to worry about it. But, if I'm trying to get something done & they are being a rear end, then yeah, I'll twitch. I just use an aluminum pair with two handles that you squeeze over the top lip.

[farmeress]

Originally Posted by Lindsayanne

I'd rather do *something* than get myself in a dangerous situation.

And I'd rather twitch than sedate

[lvmypnt]

Originally Posted by Chester

I personally think that twitching is more of a brick on the toe effect.

Have a sore finger, drop a brick on your toe, see which one you notice more.

I prefer to use a skin twitch applied to the neck. No chance of harm that way.

Chester-

I asked you about this a while ago and have since tried it on Della (for the dreaded de-wormer) and it didnt seem to work. I must be doing something wrong. Would you happen to have a video or picture of exactly where and how do do this?

[buck1173]

I'd personally rather quickly twitch and work efficiently than sedate, if its appropriate for the situation.

Ideally, I train rather than twitch, but its just not always possible in an emergency. I don't personally own a twitch, I hand twitch the neck or lip. I have used a chain twitch, I've seen but never used a humane one.

My vet has a twitch policy, whenever working w/ needles and joints or on hind legs, a twitch is used. Forehead tapping is also used. Its her policy and I respect it. I don't want anyone to get hurt when I need their help, and even the most docile horse can react instinctively.

I don't know much about ear twitching, I've seen it done only once by someone inept, so the idea leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I think if someone went to ear twitch any of my horses I'd break their arms... but again, I admit to being ignorant on ear twitching and perhaps its a great humane and efficient tool for someone out there.

[sirius-dressage]

When we thought Lucky had gutteral pouch disease, we had to do a nasal scope on both nostrils. He needed to be sedated and lip twitched in order to get him to stand to be scoped. It worked better than just sedating, because he was still objecting to the scope even with a lot of drugs. It had to be done...he is just too big and strong and we needed to restrain him because he needed the porcedure (as in, he could have died had we not confirmed that there was nothing going on in there).

I'd prefer not to twitch for unnecessary things...but if it's a matter of safety...I will use it. I do not like ear twitching...

I'm not sure about the pain thing on the twitch. It doesn't make sense that they will immediately chill out and become relaxed if it's just causing them more discomfort than whatever else is ailing them. If it was causing my gelding pain he'd move away in a heartbeat. I truly think it has some sort of effect mentally on them...releasing endorphins or not, I'm not sure.

[Beeks]

Here is a good link to help with why's and how's of twitching

http://http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=1872