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About: Types of Restraints

1/8/2018

2 Comments

 
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   Daily we handle our horses. Grooming them, riding them and loving on them. Sometimes, we need to do something with our horses that they aren't particularly fond of, like clipping, delivering medication, or leading them on a windy day. When those situations occur using a restraint technique can ensure both yours and your horse's safety. Below are an overview of the most common restraints. These restraints can very in severity and are to be used with caution and understanding. Being too firm with your horse can cause them to fear you and the situation, which no one wants. If you are wanting to practice any of these techniques look to your instructor or barn manager for assistance. 

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Chain Over the Nose

   This is a common way to restrain a horse. You can use this technique when handling the horse for the vet or when leading your horse around when they are feeling fresh. Yanking on the lead rope when you have a chain can be very severe and hurt your horse's delicate nose bone, so be careful.

Lip Chain

   A lip chain can be a difficult restraint for your horse to accept, it is an unique place for your horse to feel an object. The pressure of the chain affects both the gums and the underside of the upper lip. This pressure should be gradual and steady, DO NOT yank on the lead rope! Otherwise you can cause the horse severe pain and bleeding. 
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Lip Twitch

   There are three different kinds of lip twitches. The chain one you see to the left, a rope twitch and a homemade bailing twine twitch. The chain is the safest to use because the chain links will only twist so tightly together. With a rope or twine it is easy to twist too tightly and cause your horse to lose circulation if left on for too long. 

Skin Twitch

   A skin twitch is a simple distraction technique to get your horse's attention on something else besides what you are trying to accomplish. Depending on your hand strength this is a safe restraint that is difficult to overdo.
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Ear Twitch

   Some horses can be sensitive with their ears so using an ear twitch requires you to be aware of your horse's feelings. The last thing you would want to do is create ear issues with a horse that didn't have them before. This technique is commonly used when clipping their ears and bridle path since you need to work in that area.

Picking Up a Leg

   This is the easiest and least intrusive restraint. If you are needing to work on a certain leg and they won't stand still, having someone simply pick up the opposite leg can allow you to finish your task.
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Chemical

   There are many many different chemical drugs that can be used in a wide variety of situations. Determining what is the best to use in a particular situation is best left to your experienced barn manager or trainer. Administering a drug incorrectly can cause extreme repercussions that can be detrimental to your horse's health.
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How To: Clip the Ears & Whiskers

10/13/2016

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   Clipping the ears and whiskers are the simplest forms of clipping that can really make your horse look sharp and show ready. Also, have clipped ears helps a horse be more accepting of earplugs because the hair isn't irritating. There are many different types of clippers that you could use for this. I recommend a pair of clippers meant for horses! These clippers have removable blades that allow for fresh new blades that offer a smoother shave and also allow the blades to be sharpened. A good starter set of clippers are the Andis or an advanced set that I love are the Wahl clippers.

Ears

   Clipping ears can be done one of two ways. You can either trim just the edges and hair that sticks outside of the ear, or you can remove everything from the inside of the ear as well. Normally, for horse shows you would clip out all of the hair. This just looks the sharpest, as you can see in the image below. To do this you want to use a #30 blade. This length is WAY too short to use anywhere else on your horse!
   Trimming the ears can be disliked by many horses. It is important that you move slowly, gently and take your time. However, you also need to stay determined and wait your horse out if they object. Once they realize you aren't going to hurt them most horses give in and let you clip their ears without argument. Sometimes a horse can have had a bad experience that you are unaware of that will make clipping their ears a real struggle. This is definitely where patience and fairness come in to play. Never get frustrated with your horse and act out emotionally. This will only make them afraid and tell them that clipping is a bad thing. In the video watch how gently I handle my horse's ears. And like with anything for horses, the more you do it the more they get better at accepting what you are doing. 
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Whiskers

   Clipping whiskers is probably the easiest thing to clip and the most accepted area by horses. Make sure you are using the same #30 blades you used to trim up the ears. Again, this length of blade should only ever be used on the ears and whiskers! It is way too short for the whole body.
   When clipping the nose, make sure to clip under the bottom lip and the insides of the nostrils. There also can be some long stray hairs that go pretty high up the nose. Getting all of these little hairs helps your horse look their best. Even though most horses are well behaved for getting their whiskers trimmed I will always use my non clipping hand to hold on to their halter to help steady any sudden movements.
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How To: Clip the Bridle Path

9/13/2016

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   What is a bridle path? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like, a path for the bridle. Clipping this area just helps keep your horse looking sharp and allows your bridle to fit neatly on your horse. 

   To determine where your bridle path should be, start directly behind your horse's ears. Don't be fooled by where your horse's halter sits and think that's where your bridle path should be. It's called a bridle path because you are supposed to measure where the bridle would be. 
   So, start behind the ears and then use two fingers to estimate how long your bridle path should be. You really only want it be big enough for the headstall of the bridle. 

   Unless you are way taller than the horse you will be clipping grab a stool. Clipping the bridle path is not something that your horse should be resistant to but just in case, you don't want to be in the middle of a clipping pass to have your horse lift their head up on you. Goodbye forelock!
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   If your horse's old bridle path is waaaaayyy too long, like 5 fingers instead of 2, that has started to grow out, don't just reclip everything because that's what was done before. Endure the mohawk for a little while and let that hair grow out.

   As always if you have any questions feel free to contact me or leave a comment!
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