Head shaking at end of a hack

[Scot123]

Please does anybody have any idea why my pony is doing this? He doesn't head shake for the whole time we're out hacking, apart from about the last 10 minutes on the way home. I doesn't matter if we've been out half an our or two hours, it's always just before the end. He puts his head down and shakes it from side to side, ideally he likes to try and get his head as low as he can to do this. He doesn't do it at any other time either hacking or in an arena. As we have to hack home along a fairly busy road it's not ideal so any thoughts about this would be useful thank you!

 

[Tarragon]

Does he also try to rub his head when you have dismounted?

 

[Hallo2012]

saddle or bridle pinching?

 

[DD]

do you use a noseband ? if so try removing it see how he goes

 

[Scot123]

Hi. No, no noseband. Yes he often wants to head rub afterwards. Was wondering about something pinching but then why would it always start to bother him just 10mins from home no matter how long we've been out and why fine in an arena?

 

[ezililaur]

My mare does this when she has sweat around her ears or a sweaty face. Could it be that?

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Most people will ride differently in an arena to out hacking, not everyone but a majority.
Worth getting a chiro or physio out, to rule out anything tight on your horse.
Rding in a slightly different manner might be the trigger (as can saddle etc) as when in arena many tend to ride in a more concentrated way, whereas hacking is a mixture and if the horse has an intermittent skeletal or muscular issue, this sometimes will show up.
Worth checking x

 

[Scot123]

Thanks. All makes sense and yes, I'm quite sure I'm somebody who rides differently in an arena - but what I'm not sure about is if it's discomfort of some, why would it always show up 10 mins from home? For example if he had a rubbing bridle or saddle, would it not always start to rub after eg 1/2 hour? But with him it's always when we're nearly home no matter how far we've been (not that he does it every time, he seems to go through phases.)

 

[Red-1]

Is there a field of a particular plant in this area that you pass? Or a set of trees?

I am thinking pollen allergy to a specific plant.

Alternatively, do you tense up yourself on this busy bit of road - so you are riding differently?

 

[Ouch05]

My boy does the same thing in about the same place every time I hacked him. He has physio every 6 weeks so I know it's not that. Like you it doesn't matter if I have been round the block or out for hours. TBH I just ignore it. He doesn't to it in the arena or in lessons and it does matter what tack he is wearing.

 

[MDB]

My mare does a weird thing with her head when she is frustrated. She kinds of shakes and circles it. She never does it riding, only when in the paddock and something annoys her. Could it be that he is impatient to get home?

 

[blitznbobs]

Is he trying to get his head to rush cos he knows he’s on the way home?

 

[J&S]

Have you tried turning him away from home when he does it? If he were to stop when he is turned away from home you could then think it was psychological rather than physical.

 

[ozpoz]

I read this today. Please don't ignore head shaking because musculoskeletal pain is better dealt with sooner rather than later.

https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/03/27/head-shaking-study-musculoskeletal-pain/

 

[Scot123]

Thank you all. Pretty sure it's not a plant because it doesn't matter which direction we're coming home from. It doesn't seem like he's trying to get his head, in all honesty he tends to slow down a bit as we're nearing home. I don't think I'm riding differently (though not 100% sure!) as we've had to be on the busy road for quite a while before home and we don't have problems before then. Interesting that you have this too Ouch05! That's a good idea, maybe I'll try turning round to head away from home next time and see what happens, thanks for the suggestion. Of course I definitely don't want to rule out pain for definite without investigating. He's due to go away for a couple of weeks to an experienced trainer soon, so I will be mentioning this and be very interested to see if it happens there. Hmmm, a puzzle...

 

[splashgirl45]

my old mare didnt start head shaking until she was at a different yard and it seemed to be the rape that set her off every year...one year we had no rape fields around us or our hacking and she didnt head shake at all....

 

[Frumpoon]

Tiredness/winding down

 

[Pearlsasinger]

At a guess, without seeing what is happening, you take a firm contact because you are on the busy road and he is trying to loosen that contact. I would check the bit to make sure that it hasn't been roughened and is irritating his mouth with the firmer contact. I would also do all the checks mentioned above.

 

[staffylover]

I would agree with Frumpoon. Relaxing and unwinding as he knows he's nearly home maybe.

 

[scats]

Millie will do a weird head tossing thing when she is tired. So if we’ve done a longer session or hack, or she’s come back into work after some time off, she will do the occasional little head toss as she tires. I was a bit paranoid when I first noticed it and had her checked out but nothing physical was found.
She did it the first few days back in work, particularly towards the end of our hacks. But now she has stopped again as she’s been back in work a couple of weeks.

 

[atropa]

I'd guess at tiredness/stretching out some tired muscles as he knows he's almost home.

 

[Nudibranch]

I've had 2 youngsters that do it when tired, so would guess it's probably just that.

 

[supsup]

My friend's mare (who is generally pretty forward going and can be quite a handful) often starts throwing her head around on the last bit home. Sometimes she dives right down to the ground with her nose, other times she jerks it up into the air. In her case, it's her way of trying to snatch full length reins, because she is used to/expecting to walk the last bit on the buckle, and starts anticipating this. Do you often ride on a long rein at the end of a hack? Maybe he's anticipating/demanding a long rein?

 

[joosie]

I would definitely investigate possible causes of headshaking in case that's what it is. It may not be anything sinister but always worth checking out!
Just because he only does it in the last 10 minutes, doesn't mean he's only uncomfortable for those 10 minutes - he may have just got into a habit of EXPRESSING it when he's almost home.
But it is also possible that it's just a tiredness thing, as others have said. My mare does something similar when she's tired, and it's got nothing to do with asking for more rein - she is bitless and neck-reins so we are permanently on the buckle.

 

[Scot123]

Thank you all so much - as ever there's great practical advice from you all . Supsup - yes, he also does sometimes try and get his nose down to the floor, that sounds very similar! From what I'm reading I think it may just be him winding down as he knows he's nearly back. I'm hoping that I'm making more of it than there is! But I think I'll book in the chiro anyway, and when he goes off to the training yard I'll get their opinion too. Thanks so much everyone x