The Hopelessness of Headshaking

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Dazed'n'confused

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In all my years of horse ownership I have never been so frustrated (& that's saying something!!)
My lovely horse is quite clearly an all year round head shaker (some months better than others but has been mainly terrible since October) and I'm at the stage where I'm wondering if I should just call it a day for him.. I hate seeing him in such pain - some days he looks like he's got an agonising migraine.
He is bad when the grass pollen is high, he's better when it's cold & frosty, he is no worse in sun or wind (in fact if it's windy he seems better with the lack of flies). He is hysterical if flies or leaves pass his face - nose clamping & striking out at his nose with his front legs. He's usually 99% OK in fog but I lunged him this morning in quite bad fog & he started head shaking after 5 mins..
He's been X-ray'd, scoped & trimegal nerve blocked (not much difference). He gets salt, I've tried herbal remedies, homeopathy, antihistamines, body massage, McTimoney, nasal sprays, nose net & ear covers, full face mask, no grass & even moved yards.... His saddle has been checked twice & his teeth were checked again under sedation.
Vet is keen to do a CT scan for a more in depth head/tooth exploration but I'll fall over backwards if it shows anything!! She also suggested a steroid trial but given that he does it more than he doesn't, is this a realistic option for all year round use (cost aside..)?
Has anyone got any bright ideas or have you found the cause for a horse that is almost worse in winter than in summer...??
Many thanks for reading!
 
I feel your pain. Mine was a headshaker march through to Oct. He was rideable andvwas better at comps as he had something to focus on but day to day I felt so sorry for him. Like you I spent loads trying to help him to no avail. One thing I found that really helped was giving him a raw onion a day. It opens the airways. He retired two years ago, unrelated to headshaking and these last two summers he has barely done it??!! I really feel for you, I hope you find something to help x
 
You don't say what you feed him but I had one that was extremely sensitive to molasses in any form, the only symptom being head shaking once I cut out ALL forms of molasses, grass and hay sugars didn't seem to bother him, he stopped shaking completely, many years later when he was retired I gave him some sugar beet to help his weight and the shaking returned almost immediately.

I have had several headshakers over the years and each one has had a different trigger, it is finding the trigger that is so tricky and even if you do you may not be able to remove the problem, yours sounds as if it is something in him, not an external cause, which makes getting to the bottom of it much more tricky, I would do a bute trial if you haven't and then seriously consider steroids, if they don't work you will not have to worry about the long term implications, if they do you can think about it then.
 
Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated!
Charlie007 - I haven't heard of a raw onion!! It's such a nightmare for them. Mine is also better when focussed on something new but the trouble is (as you'll know), I can't get the work into him at home to get him fit or capable enough of doing a dressage test/course of jumps! He's a very green 6yr old!

Bepositive - I forgot that bit!! He gets nothing with molasses in (fed Agrobs mash & linseed) & I've tried giving him nothing but hay to no avail! I have also done a bute trial which showed no improvement but played havoc with his stomach!
I too think it's internal but where to start.... Nothing major picked up by physio/body workers but he's a big lad & I suspect he's had a rough life so far!!
Will do steroid trial before CT I think, I've nothing to lose! I just feel like I'm trying to do a jigsaw without all the pieces...

D66 - I am trying to find someone who does Craniosacral in North Yorkshire if you've any ideas!!? It's something I feel he would benefit from but gawd knows if that's why he head shakes ...
 
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