Advice on a hypersensive TB please

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kellydonn

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Hi All,
Ive got an ultra sensitive TB who seems to be getting worse and worse in terms of ridden work. We have always been scrupulous in having saddle, back, teeth and general health checked and he has accupuncture from his vet every 6 weeks. he head shakes quite badly - with and without a bit and 3 or 4 times a ride will just plant himself and gaze off into the distance - have tried pretty much everything to correct this including ground work and just recently if you ask for a trot he just goes solid underneath you and refuses to do anything....luckily we have a very patient cob who takes over in these situations but sometimes he wont even take a lead from him.
He is very sensitive -- a fly landing can cause him to throw himself on the floor and well if he gets wet there is hell to pay. when he starts off on a ride he looks all happy and relaxed going forward nicely and the planting usually starts about 10 minutes in.
So does anyone have any experience of this type of horse - oh if you hadnt guessed he is an ex racehorse ! and has anyone overcome problems like these ? I sometimes feel like he is just not comfortable in his skin ! what would you do ? Im not sure whether I should invest any more money in him as such nothing has ever seemed to work but Im very open to ideas. it would be so nice to just have a normal ride
thanks in advance Kx
 
http://www.bef.co.uk/downloads/Headshaking%20EQUINE%20FORUM%202012.pdf

It sounds like classic case of neurological changes, the symptoms of which begin with head shaking. I attended a lecture by Prof Knottenbolt on the subject, he is pioneering surgery to basically deaden the overactive nerves which cause mini electric shocks to the horse and are exceedingly painful. Suggest you contact him or give his paper to your own vets?
 
How long have you owned him for out of interest? Has the problem always been there and has it got worse or better or stayed the same?

I am interested in the replies to your post, we also have a sensitive tb but she doesnt sound as bad as yours.
It was the part about him getting wet that reminded me of our tb most, if she gets wet and comes in to the stable (whether she has been wearing a turnout rug or not) she goes barmy, rubbing herself against the walls and trying to dry herself off, rolling etc. She can be quite frantic about it.

She is backed and broken now (is 4 yrs old and never raced or trained to race), we have also been through a 'planting' phase and when we tried to ride through it it turned into rearing. She does seem to be over this now though, touch wood.

But to handle she doesnt like being poked and prodded or touched, she will tolerate brushing (grooming) but not with your hand only brushes, although with time this is improving as the trusts us more. Injuries can be very hard to deal with as you ar touching her and she doesnt like it.

I just assumed it was a trust issue, as the longer we have had her the easier she has become with us. But there are some similarities with your horse. Good luck in finding thr answers x
 
Hi, we have had him 5 years in total, he has always been quirky but the head shaking started about a year ago and is much worse now, we also long rein him regually. he seems a bit happier doing this but still head shakes. it would be worth reading the paper by Derek Knottenberg that was posted in reply to my thread as it is extremely interesting and My horse shows pretty much every symptom listed. As to the rain your mare sounds even more reactive than my boy who runs about like a mad thing until he is back in the stable and dried off by towel ..he pretty much always has some sort of rug on whether it be fly sheet or rain sheet except for a few days this time of year and spring. we thought his hypersensitivity may be partly due to the fact he was cut late as he also shows quite a lot of stallion tendancies
however the paper by Knottenberg makes so much sense. Im going to email him and oprint the paper for my vet
Kx
p.s when we first got him he did head shake a little but then stopped, he wd occasionally would plant too but never for long and with a bit of encouragement would go forward again.
 
We had a TbxWelshD who became more and more sensetive over time. She became too dangerous to ride and was quite likely to throw herself under a car while out and about :eek: We stopped feeding all cereal and sugar and she became a changed animal, much calmer, much happier and more able to tolerate getting wet. She appeared to be almost psychotic prior to the major diet changes and would gaze skywards, looking at airoplanes and clouds! She always had problems with regulating her own temperature and we eventually retired her from ridden work, as we could not guarantee that no-one else had fed her. The current Appy (who has Tb and Arab in her bloodlines) cannot tolerate alfalfa or carrots, becoming quite bonkers and nappy. I would suggest that you remove all added food, leaving the horse on just grass or hay and see how much (if any) difference there is after about ten days. A word of caution, the Tbx Welsh D had severe withdrawles for the first three days and appeared scared and confused, we persevered and she got over it on day four.
 
Its certainly a very interesting article and well worth a read. The tb I refer to does not headshake, but can be untra sensitive as described in my previous post.

I hope its just her personality as we are improving all the time, weve had her 2 years next month, and had plenty of traumas along the way, she is a stresshead but now she trusts us she is so much better. I dont think she will ever be an 'easy' horse to deal with though.

Funnily enough she is our 2nd tb, we bought one before her who weve had 7 years now and still own. We were told by her owners that she was a headshaker and she did do this when we trialled her prior to purchase but doesnt do it now. Again we put this down to trust.

But you've had your horse long enough for him to trust you so it seems a bit different? They are complicated beasts but we love them x
 
HA903070 - yes trust is a big part - thats the thing that breaks my heart - he has so much trust and is never unkind or difficult to handle despite everything. Luckily our aim was always to have a happy relaxed horse so he has never been pushed etc I love him so much - just want him to enjoy life ! X x Im phoning our Vet today
 
A friend of mine has a TB who was headshaking terribly, she tried numerous things including steroids, it became so bad she was considering pts, as a last result the horse had acupuncture and after two sessions the horse is now cured!
 
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