Help! Advice/opinions about headshaking.

[MoodyMare11]

Hey all, Im a bit confused on the whole headshaking thing.

I have owned a headshaker for 3 years now, when I brought him I knew he was a headshaker he has loss of use against it. It had caused us a few problems in the past-nearly breaking my nose whilst riding, various near falls. But no major tantrums. He then had a serious bout of Laminitis which meant alot of time off and box rest. I started bringing him back into work about 2months ago Ive started off slowly due to him having about a year off, Ive gone right back to the beginning with all his ground work he was doing alright-ish showing a few signs of his previous headshaking behaviour but now hes turned quite nasty in the school about it, and has started acting like a right idiot, I mean dont get me wrong I dont blame him with the agony hes obviously in.

But Ive just read an article in a magazine about headshaking it said that only between 5 & 10% of headshaking can be resolved and that the majority of headshakers are either retired or put to sleep, i have tried nosenets, local honey, full face masks so now Im really beginning to think is it worth trying to bring him back into work.

Anyone got anymore info or anything that may help with this desicion?
Itd be much appreciated
x

 

[pines of rome]

A friend of mine who posted on here quite recently has a seriously bad headshaker, she tried everything including steroids, she was getting to the pts stage as her mare was suffering so badly!
As a last resort she had a homeopathic vet out who treated the horse with acupuncture and this has worked!

 

[Birker2020]

i have a friend who was faced with having her horse's trimedgial nerve in its face severed, but the problem was that the nerve can regrow quite quickly and that there was quite a high percentage of nerves that regrew in less than twelve months. So she had him pts as there was nothing she could do for him. If she had have had the operation there was also a high chance that he would have had paralysis on one side of his face.

 

[MoodyMare11]

Thanks for the replys I might try the accupuncture thingg, and if that doesnt work then Ill speak to my vet to see if theres anything else we may be able to try-i dont really like the idea of the surgery for the reason you pointed out AppleCart

Xx

 

[Angelbones]

If you can pinpoint the trigeminal nerve as being the cause of the headshaking (you need to have this blocked to find out) then acupuncture is definitely worth a try. You need a specially qualified vet to do it and depending on whether your horse needs sedation or not, it should cost around £70-100 per visit. The treatments are best started before the high season (early Spring generally) and then carry on through the summer at greater intervals depending on the horse's reaction.

My daughter's pony is a bad headshaker, or I should say was, as after 4 years of trying anything and everything else, I tried acupuncture as a last ditched attempt. He hasn't shaken since the first visit. He hasn't had a treatment for 7 weeks now (although admittedly it hasn't been bright outside and that is his trigger) and he is just fine. He is also much happier in himself and a lot less tense in his muscles. I won't continue the treatments over the autumn / winter as he's normally very good over the hunting season and a nose net gets his through.

My vet has had a 50% success rate with the horses he has treated, BUT all those horses had been diagnosed with trigeminal nerve as the cause of their headshaking, and all other avenues had been rules out such as teeth, tack, back pain etc.

Considering the cost of the supplements / tack / physio etc etc we throw at our headshakers and the heartbreak it brings, its really not a big investment to try acupuncture. It may just work, you never know

 

[somethingillremember]

Hi , I went to a talk given by Dr/Mr/Prof Knottenbelt from Liverpool Uni , on headshaking , not a very uplifting or positive talk but it was well worth going to.
He has quite alot of info on the internet or you could talk to him . Worth trying the acupuncture tho . Good Luck

 

[niamh]

Training a point to pointer currently who was shaking his head non-stop and hanging like a gate previously. Now every case is different but this lad had had a muscle torn in his neck previously and to compensate for this amongst other things ended up with his jaw muscles and one muscle at the back of said jaw (the one going down from the ears under the throatlash) completely tightened like concrete. (As well as the poll, and of course the withers followed).
Releasing those stopped the behaviour totally. He must have had the mothers of all headaches. The head is full of nerves. Overbending, excessive draw reins and heavy hands are enough to create such a scenario btw....usually used for a horse flipping the head up because the saddle doesn't fit right and crushes the important withers muscles. It's a proper domino effect.

Getting the horse checked by a good muscle therapist (easier said than done, a lot of cowboys out there) might sort him I assume his teeth are done regularly.
A good back man would also tell you if they suspect nerve/spinal damage of course. But even if it were so, proper muscle care would greatly relieve him.