Advice required - seasonal headshaking

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mellier

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Hi everyone - I do hope someone out there has a miricle cure! My mare has started headshaking badly, this started a couple of weeks ago and has got to the point where I consider her dangerous to ride. I acquired her on loan last September and was told she does headshake in the summer but it is cured by her nose net. I have tried the full nose net (which entirely covers the nose like a mesh bucket), nose net (which allows nose to open), fly fringe, antihistamine nasal spray, changing bridle, bit, back checked and we feed her on a magnesium based supplement which is supposed to help. All to no avail. She is fine autumn, winter and in the field. I am at my wits end and we are contemplating having to send her back to her owners. She came off of boxrest only 2 months ago and I really want to try and find a solution as we have been through so much in such a short time
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. It appears from researching on the net that the chances of finding a solution and having a rideable horse over the summer are slim - but can anyone help?
 
My horse headshakes all summer - from April to September. But it is cured with the nosenet

I used the nosenet that attaches to the noseband and you can trim to size to fit snuggly over his nostrils.
I then use a flash over the top of the net to hold it 'down'.

I found prior to using the flash, that the net would flip up, the unfiltered air could get up his nose and we were back to square 1.
I have also noticed people local to me using nosenets without trimming them - so they stick out beyond the nostrils, so although its better than nothing, its not perfect ;-)

Have you tried keeping a diary about when it occurs i.e. is it worse on a particualr bridleway or in the school on warm days - do it improve after it has rained etc.

I noticed my horse is particulary bad in the school (presumably becuase its dusty) and on certain bridleways and always after doign something with invloves breathing a little harder i.e. trot/canter etc

btw - are you in a particulary polluted area? i read somewhere that headshaking appears to be worse when horses are near heavily populated/polluted areas. I was just wondering if your horse's owners are in a tranquil bit of scotland or something ....
 
Hi,
my horse headshakes in the summer too. I have tried nose nets, nose bags etc and they just annoy him more!

At the moment I am trying the new NAF shake relief which he has only been on for a week so I cannot comment. If not a friend has used the equine america shaker guard and said that it is fabulous - the only thing is it is £50 per pot!!! Why is everything so expensive?!
 
Thank you for your replies. We have managed to get hold of the owner who has informed us that thankfully it isnt an allergy to pollen but the flies. She suggested we use a full face mask as this has worked on her previously. I tried it last night and although it was a damp evening and not as hot as it has been - I had not one head shake at all and a dramatically different horse! I will have to see how effective it is when it is really hot again but there were still plently of flies about so fingers crossed this will work.

If anyone thinks this make might be of interest its called Quiet ride and its by Cashel. It covers her ears, eyes, face and nose and is easy to put on over or under the bridle (I put it on over to prevent rubbing and in case i needed to get it off in a hurry).
I will also try the idea of holding her nose net down with a flash becuase we did have one of these (as use can use these in dressage competitions etc) but it kept flipping up and annoying her. The aerbourne 'bucket' nose net was a total no no she absolutley hated it! Hope this helps others, i've never had a horse that headshakes before it is truely awful! Fingers cro
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ssed for testing on a hot day!
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Hi. A friend of mine has a mare who head shakes in the Summer and we discovered that it has nothing to do with allergies, but is light sensitivity, hence why this only occurs in the Summer. She tried the nose net for a few years but had no luck. After a bit of research she purchased the Guardian Mask which helps reduce the amount of UV that gets in to the eye and she's had great results (you may have found that's why the full face mask works?). Obviously each case is different but it may be worth you checking out the guardian mask website as it has quite a bit of info about headshaking on there - www.horsemask.com. Good luck! x
 
Boy, am I pleased to hear i'm not the only one with this problem! My mare is so bad in summer that she is practically unrideable. She is on immunatheraphy injections but they don't seem to be having any affect, I have tried global herbs - Pollenex but that also hasn't had any effect. Is the shake relief or shaker guard worth the money/does it work? I have tried nose nets but they don't seem to help.
 
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