Ears

[happihorse]

This isn't something I've really thought about before, but yesterday my horse started shaking his head while being ridden. There were no flies about and when I stopped and felt inside his ears they were very waxy and greasy so I wiped them out with baby wipes. The shaking stopped soon after and he has been fine since. This got me thinking, what (if anything) should I be doing to keep my horses ears in good health / clean?

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

You don't have to do anything unless the horse develops aural plaques. Waxy linings is normal, as in other mammals. I wouldn't mess around inside the ear as it's easy to disrupt the natural balance in there. Dog owners are told that the smallest thing they should ever put in their dog's ears is their elbow wrapped in an overcoat. That's good advice! It may have been this year's midges out in the first sunshine for ages. You wouldn't be able to see them and the baby wipes may have been enough of a deterrent. However, there have been reports on the Forum that headshaking has started already this season. Headshaking can be as low grade as a horse wanting to scratch its nose against a foreleg during/after a sweaty ride or it can be so dangerous that the horse cannot be ridden. Your horse may be a very low grade headshaker.