head shaking

[maxi737]

hello

i need some help, i have a horse who has started head shaking in trot, when you look at him he looks lame i have had the vet out and he cannot find any pain in my horse, but he still is head shaking is there a possiblilty that he has picked up some sort of habit because when he turns him self out you would think there is nothing wrong with him.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Maxi - there is a condition called headshaking which is a difficult problem to address. There's been (still going on) loads of research into this but no single cause and effect has been identified yet. You need to remember that headshaking has a low end (horse maybe only stops to rub his nose on a foreleg after a sweaty ride) all the way through to a very high end (horse unrideable). Some people have had success with nose nets, some only ride when the sun has gone down or very early in the morning ... many different solutions, some good, some not so. If you Google headshaking in horses - or do a search on this Forum - you should get all the information that you need. Many headshakers only do it under saddle, which makes it even more of a mystery!

 

[Django Pony]

It could be a pollen/allergy thing. Jasper only headshakes at around this time of year, and only in trot/canter. A nose-net has sorted the problem out for him. You can pick them up cheaply, so I'd try that and see if it helps. Good luck! x

 

[doris2008]

If you think your horse might be a headshaker, you need to try and establish what might be causing it. Firstly rule out any obvious pain from teeth, back. Does it do it when turned out, or only when ridden? Could there be a saddle issue?
If these are ruled out then maybe you do have a headshaker. Sadly its often very hard to work out the exact cause, and even if you can, you need to find a way to relieve it.
My TB head shakes. I think his is partly pollen and partly flies. He is very very intolerant of them. He also seems to get an itchy nose - he will rub it on his leg or on the floor. I have recently started giving him Beconase - human hay fever spray which has an anti inflammatory in it and I thought this might help with the itching. He was much more settled over the weekend after using it so hopefully we may get some riding in this summer!
Basically its a matter of trial and error. Nose nets, fly masks, various homeopathic remedies, weather changes - all need to be tried. Also there are many supplements on the market. Some work for some and some don't!
Hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

 

[cem]

Hi, this is my first post on here, I had heard a bit about head shaking but never had any reason to look further into it - until now. I have seen a nice little cob and want to buy her, however, I have been told that she has begun to shake her head since the nice weather started. It wasn't very apparent when I tried her and only happened in the arena. When hacking out on the road, the head didn't shake, nor when ridden in the field. I am having her vetted and the vet knows about the possible problem. Strictly speaking, if head shaking is observed, she will fail the examination. No one can decide for me whether to buy her, but be honest folks - am I nuts to be even considering it?

 

[Ella19]

that's really difficult to say cem, it depends if she is a true headshaker or not. Will it develop, nobody knows but if it did she could become unridable. Then again it may be like my little mare and that with a nosenet for ridden work in the summer pollen months she is absolutely fine. I think if this is the cobs first season of head shaking I would be thinking twice about buying, if it was established and not got worse and managed easily then I may consider it.