[Haas Horse Farm]

The use of a twitch is only as good as the skill of the person using the twitch. Some horses can be twitched and it works perfectly while others will totally freak out at the site of one because someone had used one incorrectly previously.

I am hesitant to say more on this as a twitch is never a one size fits all and there are many versions of it... so just to say in the right hands and on the right horse it is the perfect tool.

[Varisha]

I have one mare that you can't twitch and expect a calm horse. She just simply explodes and becomes this monster I don't reconize as my horse. Now if I just stand at her head and let her rest her muzzel against my stomach then she will stand for almost anything the vet and farrier needs to do. If it's something a bit intrusive then a light seditive is used along with me standing with her.

I do prefer training over twitch and twitch over seditive when possible...

[PoochtheMighty]

I much prefer not to use one. we only used one on my horse once in 6 years... because he was pretty well trained and tolerant. But on horses who are NOT trained and tolerant, sometimes it is the safest and least traumatic way of getting something done.

[Beeks]

I much prefer not to use one. we only used one on my horse once in 6 years... because he was pretty well trained and tolerant.

Just out of curiosity...how much training and tolerance does it take, to get a horse to stand quiet while a vet jams a 6 inch needle into their abdomen to take a stomach fluid sample?

Twitches...like spurs, used properly...let me say that again....PROPERLY, are useful aids that should not be shied away from, if their use is recommended.

[dustyboy1209]

[quote=buck1173;2938987]

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.
quote]


I would hand twitch, but when I am doing something like pulling a horse's mane, that hates to have his mane pulled, then I can't exactly do both, lol.

[Berlunz]

Almost every horse I have seen twitched looks the same. They look like they are high lol. If done properly it shouldnt hurt them at all, and sometimes it really just distracts them. With my horse I can grab his lip and hand twitch and he just becomes so occupied with getting his lip back that he does not pay attention to the other things. Try it on yourself, grab your upper lip, pull it out and pinch at the base by your teeth, at best there is a mild discomfort but it you hold it long enough it also makes your lip feel funny and kinda tingly, even a little numb. Its a good distraction really.

[horselover1113]

I do not believe in twitching. I think it is cruel!! I once leased a horse that the owner twitched to trim him ect... I never had to twitch him once the horse was a perfect angel. The same thing with my horse the lady I bought him from said he had to be twitched. I did not even attempt to twitch him. He stood right there and did not put one hoof out of place. Now I'll admit some horses absolutely have to be twitched but I would not do it unless I absolutely had to. Twitching would be a last result.

[Haas Horse Farm]

[quote=dustyboy1209;2941669]

Originally Posted by buck1173

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.
quote]


I would hand twitch, but when I am doing something like pulling a horse's mane, that hates to have his mane pulled, then I can't exactly do both, lol.

They have a twitch that has a snap on the end of the rope which you wrap around them to hold it taught and then snap to the halter. This allows you to twitch the horse and be hands free.