Headshaking

[pfarrugia]

Hello everyone,
Need your help as usual!! My horse started headshaking a couple of years ago but only in the summer months. Every year it has got worse and this year he is headshaking in the school (never done this before). I feel really sorry for him as it can't be nice but it's not getting dangerous and he is nearly rearing and flicking his head about but like I said only in the summer months. Does anyone elses horse do this? What medication is available? I've tried nose nets, nose bags and face masks to ride in but nothing has worked (if anything he's worse as he tries to rub them off all the time).

Any help and advise would be lovely!

Thanks x

 

[Shilasdair]

Mine does this to oil seed rape pollen. It doesn't get worse each year, but she is particularly bad just now because of the dry sunny windy weather (the pollen count goes down when/if it rains).
I tried nose nets - no good, made her worse, face masks - better, seemed to help a wee bit, bute - dulled the rhinitis, Beconase for human hayfever sufferers - very good, makes her sneeze more at first but improves her after a while.
The vets gave me a set of 44 tablets to feed her daily last year, but I couldn't get them down her..
Some people have suggested feeding honey from the area (cos of the pollen) to sort of innoculate her.
And recently I was advised, here, to use Weleeda Mixed Pollen homeopathic pills, but that I should have started them before she started headshaking.
Good luck with him - it's distressing for both of you, I imagine.
S

 

[cornwallexracers]

My exracer does this from april through to october, luckily the equilibrium nose net works on him perfectly when he's being ridden. He won't tolerate any sort of mask in the field though and just stands there throwing his head about, so thats a no no. I'm supposing that your horses headshaking is definately pollen related?

This summer I'm trying my boy on global herbs shakefree to see if that helps, he's also getting piriton tablets every day (£9.90 for 500) both of these seem to help when he's turned out. Other things are to keep their whiskers very short so the pollen can't attach to them, bonjela up their nostrils to numb them a bit, and feeding local honey.

 

[pfarrugia]

thanks for your reply - I have some beconaze for me so will try it on him. Not sure they make local honey so close to London! But will see!

Thanks for the advice.

 

[custard]

Vet prescribed my horse Atarax which I think is antihistamine. It has a slight sedative effect which is prohibited for competition so we just use a nose net instead and he's 100% better with it. If you are just competing unaffiliated them Im sure nobody would hang you for it.
One lady I heard about uses a fly fringe on her noseband and it works a treat!