headshaking

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lucymay9701

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Hi Everyone, I wondered if you’d mind giving me some advice please. I have a 16hh thoroughbred mare who last night started headshaking very badly in the field (just when turned out, she is retired so not ridden), she seems quite agitated and is banging her head (biting herself) against her forelimbs frequently (scratching her heels) and also at other parts of her body. She seems alot more itchy than usual, rubbing a lot more and was very annoyed with the midges last night even though she had her usual fly sheet on (which is a falpro sweet itch one) and her midge repellant. She doesn’t usually bother at all when she has these on so maybe she just looked like she was reacting to the midges but it was actually to do with this other problem she has. She doesn’t have sweet itch but is super-sensitive to the midges. She is 21 years old and I have owned her for 15years and have never seen her behave like this before. I am really worried about her and will call the vet if she doesn’t improve soon but she hates the vet and gets so stressed that I am hoping she’ll settle. My question was does anybody know if something like this (in particular the headshaking) can come on suddenly with no previous history and then settle down (if it was an allergic reaction or something) or because it is so sudden and she has never had it before does that mean it would be something more to worry about. I have just been reading my vets book on the investigations for headshaking and it sounds an endless list which would cause her so much stress so I’m hoping this will settle but I’ve not had experience of it before and would be grateful for any advice and if it would be something I should ring the vet straight away about rather than see how she goes? Tonight she is the same but she does seem happier in her stable rather than out which makes me think is it an allergic reaction shes had and will it settle and if so what could it be to.

Thanks for any advice.

Love LucyMayx
 
the first thing i'd think of if she is suddenly headshaking violently is that she has something in her ear... a fly, perhaps. that's the first place i'd check. try Carr and Day and Martin's Killitch on mane and tail for the midges, it is brilliant, has kept my sweet-itchy filly scratch-free all year so far, and we have water ditches both sides of fields so lots of midges.
true headshaking is such a hugely frustrating affliction, it is difficult to know where to start. Prof Knottenbelt told me that it is damaged nerves in the nose (damaged by early exposure to e.h.v, he believes), very similar to shingles in people. therefore the best you can do with an afflicted horse is to try to find ways to manage the symptoms/avoid the pain, it cannot be cured.
i think it would be very unusual for a 21 yr old to suddenly start bad headshaking. i personally think she was bitten or had something in her ear... i've seen horses go crackers because of the latter.
 
Hi, Thanks for your reply. Have just been sitting out watching her, she seems a bit calmer today. At the moment the 'up and down' movements of the head seem to have stopped but every time a fly lands on her she shakes from side to side and is very super-sensitive so perhaps she had a nasty bite when she was really bad and now everytime a fly so much as breathes on her she goes a bit mad. I will try to have a look in her ears but touching her ears is not something she normally lets me do! Can't imagine she'll let me look in them but at least if that is a possibility the vet could sedate her and maybe he'll just do something simple like that first. I read about all these tests for headshaking and got really worried as she's so bad with the vet, but if its unusual for a horse her age to suddenly start then he'd probably just look for the more simple things first. Do you know why she would keep banging her head on her forelimb, could that happen if she has something in her ear or has been bitten? That was the one thing that made me suspicious as to whether it was 'true' headshaking as it says they will often bang their head against their forelimbs which she keeps doing.
Thanks again, Love Lucy Mayx
 
I don't wish to hijack a post but i have been watching this. I know nothing at all about headshakeing and find what you know interesting.
We have a 6 year old thoroughbred comeing to us. It is a head shaker. She cannot be ridden out as she is so bad. She gets to the point of kicking herself in the head. I was wondering if it is more like what you say, hitting her head on her forelimbs, i suppose its the same just said differently.
The way it was described to me it sounded stress related but as i know nothing about it at all i am realy interested in what you know.
We are the horses only chance. I will be an expert soon
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Silver_Florin, i've had 2 headshakers now, one who i bought as a 4 yr old and he started showing signs of it at 6-7, the other i bred and he started showing signs of it at 6 ish.
the first horse wasn't too distressed by it, and we managed it with homeopathics etc until i lost him at 22.
the second horse was far worse, he would trip all the time because of it, he was so preoccupied by the pain in his nose. and it was real pain, not discomfort.. it was like riding him through a swarm of wasps which kept stinging him up his nose. he was just as bad out in the field, with a fly-shield on, with a nose-net on.
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when i spoke to Prof Knottenbelt about him (and no-one could have been kinder, more generous with their time, more knowledgeable) he told me that when people suffered with the same affliction and pain level in their face (before new drugs came along to control the pain), there was an 80% suicide rate...
i made the very hard decision to have the horse pts because he really really was suffering and there was nothing the vets could do.
if this mare is so bad that she is kicking herself in the head, you really do have to think "how bad is the pain level to make a horse do that?"
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i adore horses, but sometimes i think you have to do the hard thing.
 
Is it possible she could have been stung?
Mine was stung on end of his nose last year - it started off looking like a pin prick then almost looked like a burn. As a result he developed a real phobia of flying beasties! I have to ride him in a dangly fly fringe at the moment so he can't see them!!
Ironically he has a lump appear inthe same place last week - looks like he has been stung again poor chappie!
 
The other thing that I find can cause them to shake their heads about is ear mites. These become more active as the horse warms up and blood flow increases and the little beasties moving around in the ears drives them nuts. Might be worth checking for that also.

Can look like little white scabs on the skin inside the ear. I have treated mine with summer fly cream, which is cheap and extremely effective.
 
Thanks for all your replies. I am pleased to say my horse is much better. I got the torch out last night to look in her ears (I was amazed she actually let me look but no touching allowed!!). I did spot a raw pink patch in her ear so hopefully she was stung or bitten in her ear and thats whats set it off. Today flies were landing on her and she wasn't shaking her head so hopefully the phobia is wearing off! I was interested in what you said aabout ear mites going worse if its hot. I was thinking that because she's improved it couldn't be ear mites, but maybe its just because the weather is cooler. If it flares up when hot I'll get the vet to check that out. I couldn't bear it for her if it carried on. Just watching her suffer badly for a couple of nights was enough for me, I can't imagine what its like to have a 'true' headshaker especially one that does it when not ridden. Fingers crossed my baby is on the right side of it now. Will let you all know!
 
Hi everyone, just to let you know my horse now seems to be almost back to normal, phew what a relief! Thanks again for all you replies.X
 
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