A lively Table Topic discussion on Equine Behavioral Abnormalities was held at the 2009 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in Las Vegas, Nev. Andy Anderson, DVM, and David Hayes, DVM, moderated.

The following is a report from Anderson:

I threw my twitch away a long time ago, so we discussed pros and cons of using a twitch on a horse. People had questions about how to block a horse without a twitch and how to pass a tube without a twitch.

So many people get hurt by horses that are twitched. Why? Because there’s no reward for a twitched horse. No matter how good the horse is trying to be there’s no way to tell him he’s a good boy. That twitch is either on or off. That’s the down side