Think I've got a headshaker :(

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Loubiepoo

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Have had my suspicions that new horse my be showing signs of headshaking, so this evening when its been warmest I've lunged him till he's been sweating and the head shaking has developed quite severly.

It seems to be when he gets warmer/hot or starts to sweat, is this consistent with head shaking, is it unlikely that a nosenet is not going to help?

Please help, any advice greatly received.
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Oh heck, poor you. Don't panic, there's lots of things you can try. Ones I tried were, nosenet, bitless (didn't work as nose pressure made it worse) and a course of the chinese herb biscuits, the upper respiritory ones.

Things did improve after the biscuits, but I can't say for definite it was them that did it.

You can get 'sunglasses' think it's called a guardian mask, that stops a lot of horses, and was what I was going to try next, but didn't need to.

Good luck, hope he'll be OK.
 
The tricky part is finding out what the trigger is before you can look at the preventatives. Have you had his teeth checked, was it sunny, windy etc I suppose it's just a case of trial and error, good luck.
 
Yes teeth were checked as soon as I got him and back lady coming out this week.

At the minute the triggers seem to be when he gets warm and the sun is out.
 
I wouldn't jump to conclusions, most horses will get annoyed if they are sweating a lot in this weather and will get agitated in their head, depends on how much work they are used to having.

My Int event horse was a proper headshaker so I do have experience of this. When you say your's is headshaking to what extent is it? Is s/he just flicking their nose, or is it more violent? More info would be really useful
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I have a headshaker, but his problem is seasonal so we suspect it's pollen related (it's never been proven). He is on Global Herbs Shake Free supplement which works wonders although on some days he does still have the odd shake. This is often when the sun is bright or low in the sky, and I wonder whether it is having the same effect as looking at a light when you need to sneeze.

On the other hand, I used to ride a horse who shook her head up and down when she was sweaty, presumably just because it was uncomfortable?

Not very helpful really, just some things I've encountered!
 
Sounds like the same trigger as mine. He's much better in cloudy weather or first thing before the sun gets too high.

Midges, flies and things hitting his nose (sand kicked up from the school etc) also cause him to flick.

It was much much worse as a youngster until he learned to balance himself. Now the whole body shimmy has reduced to a barely noticable flick except afternoons, in bright sunshine when it's fly-y or midgey.
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A nose net never helped him at all although a fly-mask did initially - sort of blocked the sunlight a little. Other improvements (other than learning correct self carriage) came about with cranial-sacral treatment, swithching to a Myler, finding a saddle that allowed him total shoulder freedom (think that helped with the balance more than the headshaking) making sure noseband is loose (and bizarrely, girth tight) and regular back/neck/head checks (Bowen or chiro)

Starsy - please tell me more about the biscuits!!
 
The headshaking ranges from tossing his head up and down quite sharply to almost involuntary ticks, like snatching/flicking sideways. Whilst I was lunging him he also struck out with his front fore leg a couple of times disrupting his stride. He also did a some blowing through his nostils and when he flicked his head upwards I could see a few drops of clear watery discharge flick out of his nostrils.

I didn't notice many midges out this evening, but I did notice him doing it very slightly whilst just stood in the field before I caught him.

This is the warmest sunniest day we have had since I have had him.

After lunging him the symptoms subsided slowly as soon as I had stopped working him and as he cooled down. I brought him onto the yard which is shaded and was a lot cooler and then into his stable which was even cooler and by then the head shaking had completely stopped.
 
Right, well that sounds like a headshaker to me. Pls check absolutely everything else is fine with him first, his saddle, his bridle, his teeth, he is comfortable in his mouth, his feed, find a nutritionist, get a physio out if you haven't already done. My horse was as you describe but could nearly knock me out some days. He had issues, undiscovered previously at a top event riders yard. When I was left to my own devices with him, and a lot of money and time had been spent on him, he was a lovely horse and did very well. Check it all out, and if there is nothing then you can do then is the time to look at nose nets, etc. GL
 
Thanks EJ123, should I be getting my vet out at this stage or ruling out other things?

I have a McTimony lady coming out on Monday to check his back etc.
 
First his teeth, second get a physio out (i'm not keen on McTimony - never helped mine). I believe that a decent physio will tell you a lot, because they can tell you where the pain/tension comes from (even if they can't treat it due to the cause). Regardless of the reason there are so many issues that all add up together and result in your horse headshaking. A horse that headshakes can have problems all over his body. I would get a vet out next to rule out allergies. But first I truely would try the physio assuming his teeth are ok. PM me if you want any advice. GL
 
Sorry Kittykate but the headshaking, worse on exercise, striking out with a forefoot is all classic signs of headshaking. A lady at our yard has just (thank god) had a very expensive horse that she was about to buy for her teenage daughter for dressage, 5 stage vetted. We had to talk her into the vetting as she assumed that since the horse was being sold by a business acquaintance it was sound and the seller honest. On exercise, the vet thought she saw signs of headshaking so they continued the exercise for a further 20 minutes (headshaking increases the more exercise the horse does) and indeed it got much worse. Only AFTER the lady told the owner what the vet had said did the owner confess that the horse had to be ridden in a nose net in the summer. Classic sign of a headshaker and how underhand not to have said beforehand as the horse may have ended up dangerous to ride and certainly there would have been problems with dressage. But headshaking ranges from mild to severe - good article in one of the horse mags this month - can't remember which. Your ned's sounds middle but may improve with careful management as others have suggested above.
 
Yes we do have oil seed rape fields near us which are flowering.

Box of Frogs - if you remember which magazine it is please let me know. I did get him vetted but unfortunatley it was in february and he obviously wasn't displaying any symptoms.
 
Kittykate, your horse sounds exactly like mine - she is a 'headshaker' but more correctly has 'allergic rhinitis' to oilseed rape pollen. She starts as soon as the first yellow flowers appear...and flicks her head up and down, rubs her nostrils on her forelegs, does the Flehmen gesture (curls top lip up), snorts a lot and will occasionally throw up a front leg if lunged.
I help her by spraying two or three sprays of Beconase into each of her nostrils morning and night (be warned - initially it makes them sneeze more, but then after about 10 mins, it really does help them). I also find a black fly veil seems to make her more comfortable. I have tried nose nets, but they made her worse, vaseline in her nostrils (she was disgusted with me), bute (worked but she has digestive problems so not worth it for her), local honey (but she won't eat it), and my vets gave me a course of drugs, but she was supposed to have 40 pills a day and I decided against it.
The very good news - is that if it's allergy to oilseed rape pollen, your horse, like mine, should show fewer symptoms by the end of May, and stop completely at the beginning of June.
There's also some herbal products like 'Pollineeze' (sp?) but I haven't tried them yet.
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Hi there

I'm sorry to hear that you might have a headshaker, it can be incredibly frustrating & distressing.

Mine started headshaking at five years old (now 13) and after much trial & error with vetinerary advice, homeopathic remedies etc etc, I found the equilibrium nose net to be really effective (others much less so). My horse wears this year round, more as a security blanket (for me!) although he would probably only really headshake in the summer but on very sunny or windy winter days, he is just as likely to shake. The other thing which has worked is to smear bonjela round the inside of his nostrils - it seems to numb the itch which stops him constantly wanting to rub his nose on his forelegs (or the ground, another classic symptom to be on the look out for). I now only use this on days when I think he is likely to shake. I also have him on an echinachea supplement from the beginning of April to the end of October to boost his immune system.

My vet was initially very pessimistic & told me that I would just have to accept that the horse would be unrideable for the summer which is why I pursued every other avenue I could find. My advice is to keep experimenting until you find whatever works for your horse. You will need to be patient - I remember crying out of sheer frustration that I couldn't make it better for him as he was so distressed by the whole thing.

Good luck
Jx
 
Thank you - I have cried already at the thought of what I am going to have to go through and how distressing it must be for my lad.
At least now I can try and get it sorted.
 
I had a lad who last year started shaking his head at the age of 17!

If you dont mind me asking was it your vet or an EDT that did your horses teeth? my vet came and looked at my lads teeth said there was nothing wrong and that he thought it was a pollen allergy so stick a nosenet on him (not good for a show horse). I then got the EDT up who did quite a bit of work on his teeth. head shaking got much better after having his teeth done. And the rest did turnout to be a bad reaction to rapeseed pollen which was growing in the fields round us, Bonjella up his nose sorted him for shows and so far touch wood this year weve not had any head shaking (no rapeseed has been planted this year!)
 
Hi conniegirl it was a EDT, I have had for years, he's very good.

I am building up a picture of lots of different solutions that people have found for me to try, the bonjela sounds intersting - how long do the effects last?
 
poor you.
I had a head shaker - and it drove me complete nuts.
I gave him to my mum in the end and he is a pet now.
Nothing really worked tbh - tried tablets, injections, nets, vaseline up the nose blah blah.
He just couldnt be ridden in the summer in the end.
I have no paitence thou lol x
 
bonjela seemed to last upto an hour for my lad, i stuck it on a small sponge to get it up his nose without too much fuss and so that it would wipe on easier. it has to go quite high up. my lad didnt seem to mind at all but he is a rather laid back lad normaly anyway. they tend to do the funny lip thing for a little while after you first put it in thier nose so leave about 10 mins before going in the ring.
 
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