brought horse in October he is now head shaking

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bings

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Hi im looking for some advice , I Brought my horse in october and he has just started head shaking , im really annoyed as I asked his previous owner if he was a head shaker as I noticed in some of the pics in his advert he was wearing a nose net , she said NO , he doesn't head shake he blows and twitches his nose ( I have proof of this as I asked her via a Facebook message) his advert didn't I mention anything regarding head shaking , I would not of purchased him , had I known he head shaked :( I googled him and her today and I found an advert on here stating he is a head shaker and that is the reason for her selling him :( I brought him via a third party , and im guessing she was advised by them not to mention it !! Does anyone know where I stand legally ? Or have experience with head shakers ? Thank you
 
I would contact her, stating the facts and that you found the add with a mention of the condition and see what response you get, do you want her to take horse back? Or have you fallen for the said horse?
Should you decide to sell on, if you do not get a response from her, you will need to state he is a head shaker in the spring/summer, it's probably related to an allergy or similar.
You could contact an equestrian solicitor to see if they can advise, if you don't get any response from the seller that is...
I am sorry you are in this position, that's probably why they sold the horse in October, no allergens about apart from midges!!!
 
I adore him , im very concerned his head shaking is going to get worse as its only April :( I wanted to compete him and do pleasure rides , none of which are going to be possible :( I will contact her and see what her reply is x
 
You don't know that the horse won't be ok to compete. My old horse was a mild head shaker. Nose net sorted him out and he was ok!
 
Head shakers can compete & a vet's note means that nose nets can be used even in affiliated competion. I would get the horse seen by a good vet to determine the horses prognosis. Personally I suspect this horses head shaking is unmanageable hence why the seller sold the problem on in such a dishonest way.
IMO you have an incredibly strong case to return the horse & get your money back. The seller has been blatantly dishonest.
I would contact the seller, show copies of all the evidence you have & instruct her that you are seeking legal advice. Then contact a specialist legal lawyer.
Whilst you do adore the horse he isn't going to do what you want.
 
Becky Holden has a couple of headshakers and found they were hugely improved on Cool Calm and Collected from Equifeast. They have done research on the magnesium/calcium balance, worth contacting them they are very helpful. I am in discussion about my horse who is lacking in oomph as well as having sensitive soles and summer itching, and about to give their WE Gold a try.
 
April to June is always worst for pollen I find. If you like the horse I'd just put a nose net on (eqilibrium ones are good) and give him some pollen x. Its not the end of the world with a head shaker. Its a pain in the bum, but an allergy you can deal with if you want to. Speak to your vet if you want, mine has inhalers as he's allergic to dust and pollen. Since he's been on them, for AAD the headshaking that started a couple of years ago has stopped.

I know its a pain and its irritating but headshaking isn't the end of the world, honestly! If you compete in dressage etc it may be a bit different, especially if thats what you brought him for and what he was advertised as, then it would be misrepresentation I guess and I might get an equine solicitor involved, but if he's just a good fun riding club level horse I would probably just live with it. But that's my opinion and I'll probably get shot down for it!
 
The advice above is good...but personally even if I kept the horse I'd be seeking compensation from the seller as the OP specifically asked if the horse was a head shaker & told 'no'.
There has been dishonesty & now the potential limits on what the horse can do, extra costs incurred in his keep & issues regarding any further selling of the horse.
 
I fell into this trap just over ten years ago. Mines headshaking is worse when the rape pollen is about. We have competed in many a dressage test/ champs etc as when he is concentrating he seems fine. A nose net irritates him more. I try and ride early before work as the pollen is still low. I definitely wouldn't buy another head shaker. There are lots of supplements on the market non of which helped mine but I found a large raw onion a day to help. So far this year he has showed no signs and we are surrounded by rape, but it's still early days. Good luck with your horse whatever you decide x
 
Having known a horse operated on for this as it got so bad (nerve cut) and eventually he didn't make it in the end I really wouldn't want a horse that head shaked and I would be seeking legal advice/sending a letter with my expectations and copy of the advert you have found. Are you a BHS gold member?
 
Have you considered anti histamines OP? Not sure how effective they are for this, but there's a year's human supply for 8.99 at pharmacyfirst.co.uk, so worth a try? Ask your vet about dosage.
 
I have a headshaker - they are a nightmare. Headshaking can also be extremely painful for the horse if it affects the trigeminal nerve. I also didnt' know before I bought mine, but I also found out recently that there was also a lot more that I wasn't told as well! I give mine Piriton - 10 twice a day when it gets really bad. I buy in bulk on-line. I'm not convinced that they help much, but do seem to take the edge off. OP. I would be contacting the seller making sure that you take a screenshot of the ad showing that is a headshaker and either go and see an equestrian solicitor, or tackle the seller yourself asking for some form of compensation. Good luck.
 
In addition to any rights against the seller, if you want to keep the horse have you considered winter competitions and hunting with a holiday over summer?
 
I'll be honest having had to take loss of use on my event hirse for head shaking I wouldnt wish to go through it again, it is horrible and as someone else said can be painful for the horse. Nose net didn't help mine either and she got do bad she did it all year round. We could do flat work in a ride on face mask but wasn't comfortable to jump in it. Mine was fully diagnosed as a neological head shaking at leahurst. I would say if the nose net makes no difference it's more likely to be facial nerve pain. You have all the evidence to get some sort of compensation speak to the bhs legal helpline or Google your local equine solicitor. Good luck and hugs
 
A long shot try. Check your feed contents, if there is Soy or Lucerne (Alfalfa) in it then change. Try to feed as basic a feed as possible. I mean going back to oats/barley, Sugarbeet and Meadow Hay chaff.

Soy is known to suppress the immune system and in some horses Lucerne makes them photosensitive.

Head shaking seems to have increased along with the increased use of commercially prepared foods.

Another thing to try if you've not been down that route is the chiropractor.
 
Head shaking has anecdotally been resolved in some horses by both reducing salt if you are adding it, or more commonly adding it if you are not adding it. It will cost nothing and must be worth a try. It won't cure the trigeminal nerve cases, but your has been very seasonal, which gives some hope. Also try a Micklem bridle, designed to avoid the facial nerves.
 
A lot of advice already, so here's mine!! Our old boy is a headshaker, and was pretty unrideable in the spring/summer UNTIL we put him in a Micklem bridle with a nose net. Changed horse, actually won a dresage competition.
 
Well the fact that it's seasonal points to an allergy rather than nerve pain. That's good because I have completely cured several seasonal head shakers with 10 x cetirizine hydrochloride tablets in their morning feed. It has never failed with head shakers that do it only in spring and summer. They are cheap to buy and the horses eat them readily in their feed. Ten tablets is about the right amount for a 15 - 16.2hh horse. You can reduce the dose gradually once it starts to take effect so you can usually get the horse down to around 8 tablets daily.
 
bings said:
Hi im looking for some advice , I Brought my horse in october and he has just started head shaking , im really annoyed as I asked his previous owner if he was a head shaker as I noticed in some of the pics in his advert he was wearing a nose net , she said NO , he doesn't head shake he blows and twitches his nose ( I have proof of this as I asked her via a Facebook message) his advert didn't I mention anything regarding head shaking , I would not of purchased him , had I known he head shaked :( I googled him and her today and I found an advert on here stating he is a head shaker and that is the reason for her selling him :( I brought him via a third party , and im guessing she was advised by them not to mention it !! Does anyone know where I stand legally ? Or have experience with head shakers ? Thank you
Click to expand...

Legally it is a disclosable condition and you have grounds to reject the horse.

I am not sure what the situation is regarding compensation, obviously you would have paid less for the horse if the condition had been disclosed to you or you might not have purchased.

Contact the BHS or if you are not a member your house insurance will probably have legal advice on it

Good luck
 
Thank you everyone for all your replies. I have contacted a solicitor but unfortunately she is away until Wednesday.I started adding salt to his feed yesterday as I read many positive posts regarding adding salt, I rode him today at 5 pm and he didn't head shake ,im going to ride him at different times of the day to see if I can pinpoint whats causing it.
I am going to contact his previous owner with my findings and see what she has to say .I would love nothing more to be able to cure his problem but I doubt very much I will be able to :(
 
A friend at my grazing has a grass affected headshaker. He stops completely as long as he's not on any grass. At the moment, he's in a dirt pen and is fed hay/baleage/hard feed.
 
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