Headshaking supplements - do they work?

[Fools Motto]

Pony is clearly suffering from the pollen. She's been shaking (head tossing) a little over 2 weeks now. Prior to this she was fine.
Her teeth and saddle were checked in February.
She is fine in the stable, and out grazing. She is also fine being ridden for 15 minutes, but then will head toss, and it really isn't nice for her. She is clearly in discomfort. A nose net doesn't do anything, nor does any creams in and around her nose. We've tried a face mask, and although it seemed to work for a little bit longer, she still tossed her head a little, and with our lovely hacks, including in woods, we didn't think it safe enough for her to see with the light/dark aspect, and the tree roots we have to negotiate. She has now developed into trying to rub her nose on the floor, so I am pretty sure it is pollen? (If only they could talk!!)
Want to go down the supplement route, but what would in your opinions work the best? I've been recommended to try hilton herbs, no more shake gold, and then NAF shake relief. Anyone got good reviews about either of these??

 

[AussieClumper]

I feel for you - head-shaking is such a nightmare to get to the bottom of and each horse has different triggers.

Here's my experience FWIW:

My foal was badly head-shaking this last spring (I'm in Australia) and in consultation with the vet we discovered the following:
In spring breeding horses produce a hormone called gonadotropins. In stallions this is counteracted by the production of testosterone, but in geldings and some mares it's not regulated and can be related to head shaking. As my foal was gelded in spring we thought this might be the trigger. He was treated with melatonin (supposed to make the horse's system think it's winter and reduce the production of gonadotropins) but it had little effect.
You could have a vet measure your mare's gonadotropin levels. If they're sky high then melatonin might be a good option.

Our next solution was to put a UV-filtered facemask on that covered his eyes and nostrils and I added a Vitamin B and Magnesium supplement to his feed - the head-shaking stopped almost completely after about ten days. However it did seem to flare up during exercise (he was a foal so not ridden, just when he was looning around in the paddock).
The trick will be to see how he goes next spring to see if the same treatments work. Sometimes young horses just grow out of it apparently.

My vet concluded that my foal's head-shaking was a combination of photo-sensitivity (bright sunlight and longer days in spring through summer), and he has a lot of white on his face including white sclera in both eyes. This was combined with the possible ingestion of seeding rye grass which acts as an allergen. The Magnesium supplement raises the threshold for the headshaking trigger apparently and has a slight calming effect. I would highly recommend trying a magnesium and Vit B supplement. I used this one:
http://www.equiaustralia.com.au/equilibrium-b1-cool-mix/
Not sure if it's available in the UK but you can see the ingredient list and recommended feeding amounts on the website.
I now have all of my horses on it year round for its calming properties anyway.

It might be worth it to persevere with a face mask during your hacks though. If you get a dark coloured UV blocking mask the visibility should still be good enough to ride in shady areas I would think.

Best of luck.

 

[Fools Motto]

Thank you very much AC. I've literally just bought a supplement that I'm going to try. I think one of the ingredients is magnesium, so will let you know if I think it's helping. In the meantime, when she is being ridden for 15-20 mins, she has been very good. Popped her over a few XC fences, and she's a star! Gutted that she shakes though, really want to help her. Fingers crossed the supplement works enough so she can enjoy her work.