Opinions on headshaking please!!!

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beckysteven

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Hi all, im hopefully going to view a horse, but it headshakes in summer, but he has got a net.
My trainer said not to go there as depends on severity and normally gets worse each year, and can be degenerating, also can be dangerous to ride.

Should i still go and see it, even though my trainer saying look for something else 1st, its 100miles away from me.
 
If the cause for the head shaking hasn't been discovered, I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

Horses have many problems, without buying one with them already. It would also give problems with insurance, could prove to be pricey.

It's a very long way to travel too, I would take the advice of your instructors and look elsewhere.
 
It depends what you want the horse for and if it is everything else you want. At least the sellers have been honest and told you. Some headshaking is manageable but you need to get more info from sellers such as trigger factors, times when better/worse etc. It wouldnt put me off if everything else was ok. Every horse has something 'wrong' with it, its just whether it suits you and you can manage that particular problem.
 
I have a headshaker and it is heartbreaking really.

My little section B gelding has been headshaking now for 11 years. Whilst it is seasonal, and is managed completely by using a nose net suring the summer time (he is then absoultely fine to ride) i would give anything for him to be 'normal'!

I wouldn't knowingly buy one, even though I have a lot of experience and udnerstanding of it - its just not nice to see them in such discomfort.

xx
 
I had a head shaker, and it was beause she had allergic rhinitis, and was affected by tree pollen, rape seed etc.
The problem would start in May and run right through to the autumn.

We rode her in a nose net, but it was still a real problem, she would stop dead in mid canter to rub her nose on her leg, sending my daughter flying through the air! Also, it was sometimes so bad that she would go down on her knees she was head shaking so much.

Personally, I would not have another head shaker again!
 
I wouldn't bother. There are plenty of horses out there, especially with the present economic climate and you have more than enough to choose from. Why start compromising on something already when you haven't even seen the horse. My advice would be to find something else. I have bought five horses since 1995 and never drive more than 50 miles to see any of them and they have all been ideal for me.
 
Penfold [ my coloured ] is a head shaker and wears a net . I wouldn't want to buy one with the problem unless his results were amazing . I bred Penfold so he is with me for life and does very well in comps but I wonder how good he would have been without this problem, as I am sure it has some effect on his performance and can be very painful for the horse.
I definately wouldn't travel 100 miles to see one
 
I wouldnt, yes it can get worse, I know a horse that had to PTS because of it but it can also be managed carefully.

I've also had headshaker, some years there ok, another year you may have a season where you stuggle to ride them or compete, can be touch and go and there all different but the nose nets do really help, depends on your area, the pollens etc so it can be touch and go, sometimes you can only ride around a built up area away from fields or trees. It can even effect them on woodchip surfaces.

Why buy a horse that is a head shaker when you can find one equally as good/nice that isnt?
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I would have a look if you really like the sound of it. I had a headshaker for many years, rode him in a net and he was fine apart from when it was very humid. He did have a good competition record so when I sold him, the buyer could see that he was competing all year round.
I did think it was getting worse each year but the horse is now competing at Advanced level, so it's still manageable.
Just try to get as much info as you can before you buy.
 
This horse in question is to loan not buy, and its a pollen allergy. My vets advised possible giving it piriton tablets to calm it down, and he currently wears a net. Owner says he is totally safe, and its only on the hottest of summer days it affects him.
 
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This horse in question is to loan not buy, and its a pollen allergy. My vets advised possible giving it piriton tablets to calm it down, and he currently wears a net. Owner says he is totally safe, and its only on the hottest of summer days it affects him.

[/ QUOTE ]

I cant speak for this individual case, but hot days did not make any difference to mine ....nor did sunny days, although there was patter that he was worse on those days but could not be used as rule of thumb and others I've known about, its more the time of year, the trees/bushes you have in your are, in fact during he mid summer June July he could be ok, he seemed to be more effected April May time, then come August he'd start again.

Not trying to put you off, as it there is ways around it and the tablets have been known to work well with some horses, if the horse is for loan, then its worth a go, you may find its not as bad as what some of us are making out, its just a bit frustrating from an owners point of view, seeing there horses being bugged by it when they do have it. I'm sure if the person is a responsible owner they wouldnt be putting it up for loan if it was that bad.

Good Luck, hope its works out.
 
Becky - have you ever ridden a horse in distress? Cos that what happens when they headshake. My horse headshakes from april - november. Its gradually getting worse every year. He is 13 this year.

The only way i can describe it is as tho a fly has flown up his nostril and is buzzing around inside his nose. He blows/sneezes, starts rubbing his nose on front leg / post / whatever, throws his head around & up/down, gradually gets more and more tense to the point when it feels like he can only go UP and not forward.

As other have said, bargepole ......
 
Headshaking is a symptom of something, rather than a condition in itself.
My Tb mare headshakes; she has allergic rhinitis (inflammation of the nostrils/nose) due to pollen, we think oil seed rape pollen.
It doesn't cause me a lot of problems - she only headshakes for around 6 weeks of the year in the spring, starting as soon as the first rape flowers appear, and stopping around easter. She is worse on windy, dry days, and fine on wet, still days.
But it depends on the cause how bad a horse is.
S
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Like most people with a headshaker I'd give anything for him to be 'normal' (or at least not headshake!
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I don't think I'd travel 100miles to see one. As everyone else has said they can vary day to day. Also, you'll have different pollen triggers in your area and what is manageable there may not be here.
 
I've known a few headshakers - ranging from dangerous/unrideable to slight and easily managed.

You say this horse is on loan with view to buy and symptoms alleviated with a net. In which case, providing the headshaking is factored into the sale price, I would go against the grain and ask for the horse on loan until end of summer before making a decsion.

If it is just a minor allergy then you might get yourself a nice cheap horse.
 
Hi, I think some of the replies on here have been about horses with serious headskaking problems, as someone above said they are all different. I have a horse which headshakes when ridden most of year however with a net he doesn't do it at all. I have never had the cause investigated but did have back and teeth checked. It hasn't caused him a problem and in the summer he wears a fly mask with nose net in the field (got a pink nose so partly to protect from burning too). You really wouldn't know anything was wrong with him. His hasn't got any worse over the years. I have competed him bsja etc with success. If i was you i would go and see the horse and then make a decision based on that. It might be that you get there and don't like it for another reason entirely. If the horse was perfect in every other way for you as above poster says you might get yourself a nice cheap horse. Good Luck with whatever you decide. :-)
 
I struggled for 7 years and tried every possible treatment for my mare who was a seasonal headshaker, in her last year she was so bad that she used to strike at her face with her front leg even when out grazing in the field. It is very distressing for both horse and owner, as an owner all I wanted to do was to give her quality of life - forget even riding her - unfortunately this was not possible and I sadly had her PTS aged just 12 yrs.

I would definately not buy a horse who was known to be a headshaker it is heartbreaking.
 
If he ticks all the other boxes, then at least give him a try. Some headshake badly but others only when there is a trigger. If the owner is saying it is only occasionally and you feel she is being honest, then go see.

My daughter's cob was sold to us with all his tack and we found a nose net in amongst the stuff. They hadn't mentioned any hint of him headshaking, so we feared the worst, but he has only ever done it once in four years, and that was riding alongside a wood on a very humid day when he threw his head up and down violently for a few minutes until we passed the wood.

Our other pony that headshakes is the perfect pony but for this fault, he doesn't do it when competing, just hacking. If I ever needed to sell him, I would do as this horse's owner is doing - put him on loan so people could see that it is not a big problem. He hasn't got worse in three years, but there is always a risk there I suppose.
 
I own a headshaker and it is very distressing to see her in such discomfort. However, hers is all year round and not seasonal. Due to this horses being seasonal you may have a higher chance of minimising it. My vet told me today of something similar to piriton, but apparently works better on horses called 'Ucerax', however, i have not looked into it yet. One thing i would say though is once a horse becomes irrated in their nose, it tends to only get worse as they become sensitive. The owner of this horse does sound quite responsible though as it is up for loan and not to buy. Also if you are moving it to a different yard you may find that the allegens which cause it to shake are not in your area.
 
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