Non pollen - headshaking - Please Help

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minimex2

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I know theres a lot of posts on headshaking but mine seems pretty unique and wondered if anyone had similar experiences , could offer advice or know which suppliments might help as they all seem pollen related.

6yr cob, bought end of november from dealer. No prev history known apart from Ireland. Rode at dealers few times no signs what so ever, really still in mouth and head and she even qualified him for dressage championships.

Get him home and it all starts! Within 20-30 mins starts tossing head around. Tried loads of different bits, bridles, Had properly fitted saddle, teeth done and once over by vet and pysio. Nothing to report.

Have now stripped bridle down, no nose band and have gel pad under poll bit. Bit better

Doesnt do it in field, stable only ridden, and only after 20-30 mins.

Considering its been from Nov to now (feb) unlikely to be pollen related and all the suppliments / nose nets are for pollen allergies.

At dealers only had hayledge. I give him hay and one cupful of baileys lo ca balancer and odd carrot / apple. so cant imagine theres anything in that.

Any thoughts / recommendations appreciated as dont know what else i can try.

Thanks for reading and really appreciate any help.
thanks
 
Its probably seasonal headshaking. My boy starts headshaking in the winter months, making appearances when the air is cold and the winter sun is bright. With cloudy days it doesn't happen. Sometimes its very mild but other times it causes him to react as if he's been stung on the nose and then he will stagger as the pain appears to run from his head down through his shoulders. Its not nice but we manage to get by. I believe the trigaminal nerve in the face is the route cause of the pain. There doesn't appear to be any miracle cure but I thought I read recently that some experimental surgery has been done - not sure how successful this was though.
 
my tb suffered very badly and was triggered by light so he was in an inside stable and in during the day and out at night in summer. you couldnt work him once he got sweaty it would drive him nuts to the point where he would throw himself to the ground and thrash about rubbing his head into the ground. i used to use hayfever eye drops everyday and that really helped damp down the symptoms. also second the idea of getting his teeth looked at by an expert .:)
 
Hi, just to add he did have power tools for his teeth which were pretty bad as never done before. For those with winter head shakers which suppliments did you use and anything work? Thanks again x
 
Sorry, have no recommendations for supplements - you can do a lot of research on the internet with this subject though.
 
Really sorry to hear about your horse, we had a similar one. We thought at first it was pollen and tried the usual nose net but it didn't work, when he continued to headshake we quickly realised he was worse when the weather was very bright, usually a really sunny day, but sometimes he did it even when it wasn't that sunny, just the sort of day when there was a glare.
He was a showjumper so we just tried to jump indoors on bright days during the summer and concentrated more on the winter season, so we got around the problem. We didn't even try to work him outdoors on sunny days it was just too distressing for him and us.
Because we found a way of coping i took advice from my vets but managed not to run up huge bills. I think now however research and treatment is being done into contact lenses for this type of headshaking so it may be worth you investigating.
I wish you the best of luck.
 
My mare started head shaking last year, had never done it before (in the 5 years i'd owned her) had all the checks done, teeth, full vet check up etc, no problems found, i tried lots of different bits, noseband, no noseband, face masks, nose nets, ear veils, stocking over the nose, i was about to give up and retire her as she was to dangerous to ride she would shake her head so violently she would lose her balance and fall, there was no set pattern to her shaking no particular weather that made it better or worse, tried riding in different areas, nothing made any difference. A friend suggested i try an equilibrium nose net/face mask but as i'd already tried various masks/nets etc i didn't see the point but she lent me one to try and she's never shook her head since, i can ride her all year round with no problems at all. Don't know if you've already tried one of these but if not definately worth a try!!
 
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