annoying habit while hacking

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aj18

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quick question, my horse has an oversized tongue so i use a hackamore but he still chucks his head about while out riding which, granted isn't the worst thing he could do but it just gets annoying! i've tried a martingale which seemed to stop it for a bit but he's started doing it again. anyone have any ideas?? thanks :)
 
Im afraid i cant help, but i have the same problem with my neddie. I was riding him in a waterford and the headshaking has gradually got worse. Now i have to ride in a french link as its bareable.

Im thinking teeth check is first in line, followed by a myler. However if youre in a hackamore that wouldnt really help anyway!!

Interested to see the replies though. Have you tried a nose net or shake free supplements??? My boy is helped by wearing the fly ear cover things too!!
 
Yeah, i was thinking of getting the dentist out but wanted to try other things beforehand, just in case i was missing some amazing bit to stop head shaking! i can dream!
& i did think of using the hackamore with the martingale but wasn't sure if the martingale needed a bit for it to be effective- only had one horse before & she was so easy- just needed an eggbutt!

all ive tried so far are the martingale & hackamore but thanks for the suggestion, ill def look into them!
:)
 
If you haven't had your horses teeth checked then if they are bad a hackamore would still cause him pain. Why haven't you done his teeth yet?

My horse started flapping his head the other day and it was because he had tushes coming thru - get his teeth done
 
mine is a headshaker and sounds quite similar - is it seasonal? and is it worse some days?

globalherbs pollenex helps her as its pollen related - but shake free (or whatever the global herbs one is called - there are a few on market :o) is also supposed to be very good

a nose net 'cures' her totaly though - and i have a vet certificate to state that she needs in for comps
 
Thank you, I will definitely try a muzzle net! :D
& because of his tongue, i do check his teeth regularly myself as he has bitten it by accident a couple of times & I get the dentist to see him every 12-18 months to make sure there aren’t any problems. He hasn’t had any behaviour changes or changes in his eating habits which I think there would be if he had sore teeth. I will try the muzzle net as that seems to be a good option but if the problem carries on, I will definitely get the dentist back out to have a thorough check :)
 
Hi
My horse used to be a head shaker, but I got a nose net relief for in summer which has lessened the shaking to a degree, but if she is bored or I'm not riding her correctly she will start the head shaking, so I tend to ride her the majority of the time on a contact, even when we hacked... this seemed to help quite a bit
:)
L2R
 
ah okay, well i will get the dentist out again to see if there's anything else i could be doing & after that, try the net!
:)
 
I think the above suggestions are all more likely but another thing to check is... are you letting your horse stretch on hacks? Sometimes if we demand an outline out and about we forget that, as with schooling, regular stretches down are good. I certainly used to do this when I was first getting used to riding on the roads alone.

Good luck.
 
A different line of thought altogether...

Your horses isn't an Arab by any chance, is he? Or got a lot of Arab blood.

The Arab head toss/spin is quite a common trait in Arabs. It's not head shaking as such - rather a literal raising of the neck, stretching out of the nose and circling the head (usually only once or twice at a time) from the poll.

As far as I know it's just something that's inherent in this breed.

I've got one purebred who frequently does this ridden - much more so when he's agitated or frustrated. I use a martingale on him nowadays (went for ages without), not as a schooling aid, but literally to prevent the reins from being lost over his head when he did his head spin thing (believe me, it's happened to me more than once!). Funny enough, my other Arab never does the head spin when ridden, but will do it in the field - usually if he feels he's not getting enough attention.
 
Annoying habit or a symptom of something????

Ideas- teeth, saddle, bridle, rider, allergy, headshaker.

Rule each one out in turn. If the horse doesnt do it when not being ridden then its something to do with you or the tack. You or the tack is either causing discomfort directly or indirectly (i.e. by pressing on the teeth, which are sharp.)
 
Faro said:
A different line of thought altogether...

Your horses isn't an Arab by any chance, is he? Or got a lot of Arab blood.

The Arab head toss/spin is quite a common trait in Arabs. It's not head shaking as such - rather a literal raising of the neck, stretching out of the nose and circling the head (usually only once or twice at a time) from the poll.

As far as I know it's just something that's inherent in this breed.

I've got one purebred who frequently does this ridden - much more so when he's agitated or frustrated. I use a martingale on him nowadays (went for ages without), not as a schooling aid, but literally to prevent the reins from being lost over his head when he did his head spin thing (believe me, it's happened to me more than once!). Funny enough, my other Arab never does the head spin when ridden, but will do it in the field - usually if he feels he's not getting enough attention.
Click to expand...


Oooh....mine does that- mainly when poncing around the field- occasionally when ridden (usually at speed - can be a bit disconcerting when you're not used to it:eek:)
 
Yeah, i never push him when hacking, he’s a leisure horse so i don’t exercise him excessively. And no he’s not arab, although i do love the breed! :) and he has always headshaken in the field as well, mostly when he’s being giddy which is another reason i think it’s just a bad habit because he gets quite lively while hacking out! I’m a bit of a softie so i’m not heavy handed as he’s lovely to ride apart from the tossing head! :rolleyes:
 
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