Head shaking any experiences outcomes welcome

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twinkle

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Well I have bought myself last year an exracer. Got him in June last year and pretty much turned him away to sort his feet out as he kept loosing shoes and bought him back in work in sept, he was fine and has been fine until a couple of weeks ago!

In my lesson two weeks ago he started to head shake right at the end after working really well was a cold ish day and cloudy. Since then have tryed to make a diary of the weather conditions but have had no pattern it's not every day. And is enough to have to stop riding him as not getting anywhere with him when he starts.

He has done it about three times since and they have all been different weather conditions to sunny cloudy and light snow. but have ridden him in these weathe conditions and he is fine in them aslo so thinking its not weather related.

some times he starts straight away and then other times as soon as I've had a bit of a trot. He does a quick jilt with his head and full on up and down and snorts alot and try's to rub his nose. I've tryed a nose net and its not made any difference.

So where do I go from here?

He also has small aural plaques in his ears. he dont really like you touching his ears but will let you a little if you have to. He is fine with a bridle and headcollar. Could these be contributing to it but they haven't changed since winter and i think it is more nose related as clears blows he's nose lots when he starts to do it.

Do I go straight to the vet for investigation or try some supplement?

Please feel free to share your experience and outcomes!
Thanks
 
My mare head shakes too & the nose net mentioned above does help greatly. When I got her she had ear mites which the vet treated, might be worth asking your vet to treat just in case.
 
With my boy it is certain noises, he flicks his head whether in the stable or being ridden (have had everything checked!), he is much better if I use sheepskin ear plugs, that said I wish I could solve it completely and I wish you luck.
 
A friend of mine had a mare who was a serious headshaker, she tried all sorts but supplementing with magnesium cured it totally. She used 2-3 magnesium-ok tablets from the supermarket, but this was some years ago so I'm sure there is a cheaper way now - maybe Stressless?
 
I use a noise net to, have never tried any supplements.
Mine has a dust allegery and is over the winter months, but as soon as there is pollen about in the spring and until the harvest is over and all that dust died down he has to have a net on, you would not believe the difference it has until you try it! W also put one on in the field but thats like I said due to the allergy he has and gets all snotty with out it on.
Hope you manage to sought it out.
 
I dont know if this will help but worth a look I have gone back on these pages to page 27 post title HEAD SHAKER SORTED very interesting as not really some thing I would have thought of ,also look at the length of the feelers around the eyes ,a pony we have they were so long they would catch in the cheek pieces , I hope this helps if only to remove from possible causes.
 
It could be the aural plaques, I have also heard magnesium can sort it if deficient, it is such a minefield of different triggers for it though, you have thought of the first two I would try being weather and allergies. I used to ride a horse for whom it seemed to be a combination of the two. I would consider deficiency next. Global herbs do a supplement I believe, could be worth a try! If I thought it was photosensitivity I would try a facenet used to keep flies off.
 
I believe some horse have been helped by adding salt to their feeds. A good tablespoon a day (15-16 hh) might be worth a try if you don't feed it already.
 
My be horse started head shaking this time last year and i really wouldnt wish it it on anyone. I spent the rest of the summer trying to work out what stimulated her. I couldnt work it out the only thing that helped her was a face mask, we had the ride in 1 as well and that stopped it most of the time but at her worse she would still do it in that. She went to liverpool and they nerve blocked her face, among other things, and this stopped it also. She trailed every possible drug going but nothing worked vets diagnosed it as neological and i had to take lou on her. I had hoped it would stop in winter and maybe she would reset herself this spring but it carried on all winter. Shes retired now. Good luck its trail and elimination really i would get the vet involved though but first thing i'd try is a face and nose net in combination or seperate to try find which part of the face is effected.
 
I have a headshaker we have been to newmarket the works Iv tried just about everything on the market for the past eighteen years I have given up now hes a headshaker end of. First thing i did do was bute test to make sure its not pain related magnesium is good the best thing try to keep his brain thinking lots of turns lateral work just keep them really busy the worst thing you can do is strap them down or keep reins really tight to try and stop them. check your bridle saddle teeth by the best experts you can find even their back being out can cause this. Mine cost me nearly 8 grand in vet fees and still does it but not jumping still ridden but can be dangerous on busy roads if has a bad day will shake so much would fall over mine does it all year round but we have allways been active riding Iv never stopped riding him due to his condition.
 
What grazing is your horse on? This might be food for thought - http://www.gotcha.com.au/articles/head_flicking_head_shaking.php - certainly, I have horse who reacts very poorly to ryegrass/clover grazing, and when she arrived in the UK and was on such grazing she was really headflicky and photosensitive. I found nose nets and stuff only worked if she wasn't already sensitised through her sinuses and respiratory system.
 
Hen said:
What grazing is your horse on? This might be food for thought - http://www.gotcha.com.au/articles/head_flicking_head_shaking.php - certainly, I have horse who reacts very poorly to ryegrass/clover grazing, and when she arrived in the UK and was on such grazing she was really headflicky and photosensitive. I found nose nets and stuff only worked if she wasn't already sensitised through her sinuses and respiratory system.
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I have weedkilled all the clover in my field in the attempt to help my ex-racer (I think not only it produces potassium spikes which are linked to HS but also a lot of pollen). My mare is triggered by fies, flymasks!, and pollen - I don't ride her for most of the summer, so far she is fine in winter. I don't have any faith in herbal supplements (although there is some science behind salt and magnesium), if they really worked they would be prescribed.
 
I had similar problems, nothing in common with circumstances when it occurred, he was hugely sensitive with his ears and had slight aural plaques. I had the vet out and although he wasn't keen to interfere with ears (said it could often cause more problems), he sedated my horse and washed his ears & then clipped them out. He could find nothing however it stopped the problem, he lost the sensitivity and head shaking so might be worth an initial exam from your vet. Good luck!
 
I found Equiwinner patches together with an equilibrium nose net works for my horse. He was an extreme shaker and wears the net year round and I use the patches Spring and Autumn every year. The company recommend a course of 10 patches or 20 for a longterm shaker. I believe in "belt and braces" and use 20 twice a year. Last year it was very warm in February and I had to do his first course in February. This year he was ok until March. I always do a second course in September. I know this horse's history since he was a foal and he spent most of his life turned out in a field because you couldn't do anything with him, he would get so distressed when exercised other than in the depth of Winter. Since finding this solution when he was 10, he's turned into the most beautifully behaved and talented showjumper, and I've been allowed to keep him.
 
I had a headshaker. A nose net worked for him, I eventually figured it seemed to be the little flies around hawthorn hedges that did him. He seemed to be allergic to them, and his nose would start running mainly when these flies were around.

I did try a supplement from Gold Label. Weather it worked or not is another matter, as he did not get fed daily by the livery yard (on full livery), he didn't get the required dosage. Some antihistamines also seemed to help.

I think someone on here had a horse that was helped by bowen therapy. Craniosacral therapy is also meant to help. Also think someone posted on here about a horse turning into a headshaker. Was then PTS. Post Mortom showed someone had pushed a plastic bag down the ear canal, out of sight.
 
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My mum helps out with the local RDA carriage driving group at home. One of their horses was a head shaker, got to the point when they couldn't use her for driving any more. Turns out she had sinus problems, had an op, and is much better now :)

There was an article in H&H a while ago (couple of years?) about sinuses and head shaking.
 
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