DuckToller
Well-Known Member
Thought I would share this in case it helps someone else. I have owned this pony for around 5 years. He headshook from the start, but not the violent headhthrowing up and down variety.
He would yank his head down pulling the rider forward, which was more annoying than dangerous, and then rub his face on his leg. One instructor thought his boot was annoying him so took it off. It made no difference. He was the same all year round, although noticeably worse on a summer evening when it was dusty and there was a lot of pollen around. We would give up trying to ride him on some evenings, but on clear days he was better but never without his quirk.
We tried all the usual routes - back check, teeth done by qualified people, saddle checked, nose net, herbal additives, but he was always the same. After a canter he was particularly bad, he would stop dead and pull the reins out of the rider's hands, throw his head down, throw is left leg forward and rub his face on the inside. It meant his rider had to be ready!
Sometimes he would just pull down and not bother to rub, as if the pulling down movement was enough to make the pain or irritation go away.
Last spring I noticed he had a slightly mucky eye, which occasionally over-ran (just clear fluid, not conjunctivitis), and as he had the stable nearest the door I thought the wind made his eye run. I moved him to an inner stable and the eye stopped running.
Then the vet came out for something else, so I said while you are here, can you flush out his tear duct. The vet did, and out came opaque gunge, a bit like glue/snot, and it should have been clear and watery.
So she did it again until it flushed clear, and lo! he has never head shaken again
. I have the tear duct flushed out every 6 months now (so actually only twice so far) and the only time he has tried to snatch the reins and rub is the day after the last flush, and he only tried for a day or two so I think the flushing caused a bit of irritation for a short period, perhaps because the snotty stuff got into his eye.
So for anyone with this type of head shaking, it might be worth a try. I have mentioned it to the vets and they seemed quite surprised it had helped, so no idea if there is any research on it, but just wish I had thought of it years ago, although the mucky eye was relatively recent so there was no reason at all to suspect the duct was blocked. The vet flushed out the other duct as a comparison, and there was no gluey stuff, and he has never tried to rub that side.
I doubt this will help the more persistent headshakers, but if it helps just one pony then it's worth a try. Flushing cost around £35 with first vet and £75 with second plus visit, but he had to be sedated the second time because he knew what was coming
He would yank his head down pulling the rider forward, which was more annoying than dangerous, and then rub his face on his leg. One instructor thought his boot was annoying him so took it off. It made no difference. He was the same all year round, although noticeably worse on a summer evening when it was dusty and there was a lot of pollen around. We would give up trying to ride him on some evenings, but on clear days he was better but never without his quirk.
We tried all the usual routes - back check, teeth done by qualified people, saddle checked, nose net, herbal additives, but he was always the same. After a canter he was particularly bad, he would stop dead and pull the reins out of the rider's hands, throw his head down, throw is left leg forward and rub his face on the inside. It meant his rider had to be ready!
Sometimes he would just pull down and not bother to rub, as if the pulling down movement was enough to make the pain or irritation go away.
Last spring I noticed he had a slightly mucky eye, which occasionally over-ran (just clear fluid, not conjunctivitis), and as he had the stable nearest the door I thought the wind made his eye run. I moved him to an inner stable and the eye stopped running.
Then the vet came out for something else, so I said while you are here, can you flush out his tear duct. The vet did, and out came opaque gunge, a bit like glue/snot, and it should have been clear and watery.
So she did it again until it flushed clear, and lo! he has never head shaken again
. I have the tear duct flushed out every 6 months now (so actually only twice so far) and the only time he has tried to snatch the reins and rub is the day after the last flush, and he only tried for a day or two so I think the flushing caused a bit of irritation for a short period, perhaps because the snotty stuff got into his eye. So for anyone with this type of head shaking, it might be worth a try. I have mentioned it to the vets and they seemed quite surprised it had helped, so no idea if there is any research on it, but just wish I had thought of it years ago, although the mucky eye was relatively recent so there was no reason at all to suspect the duct was blocked. The vet flushed out the other duct as a comparison, and there was no gluey stuff, and he has never tried to rub that side.
I doubt this will help the more persistent headshakers, but if it helps just one pony then it's worth a try. Flushing cost around £35 with first vet and £75 with second plus visit, but he had to be sedated the second time because he knew what was coming