Valegro - CH's comments in H&H

H

Halfstep

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 July 2005
Messages
6,966
Location
Oxfordshire
Visit site
I was fascinated to read in H&H this week Carl Hester's comments about Valegro's headshaking. Carl said that he had heard that the curb chain on a double puts pressure on an acupuncture point so he put Valegro in a double to see what happened, and the horse improved greatly. Now I was extremely interested to hear this because I have had exactly the same experience.

My rising 7 yr old gelding headshakes intermittently if there are midges around. He is always worse out hacking, especially going through trees or by the lake. I started him in the double recently, and by chance took him hacking in it to help him get used to it. To my amazement he didn't twitch once, even going along the lakeside. In general he is happier in the double than the snaffle, and I did wonder why. I think Carl might have given me the answer! Has anyone else had such an experience?
blush.gif
 
Double didnt work for Bloss, in fact it made her worse
crazy.gif
I found what he said interesting aswell tho......But in the YH classes he cant use a double and altho i saw Valegro twitch a couple of times he didnt do anything that i would associate with a headshaker which was odd. I wonder if he gives him any suppliments?
 
I saw Valegro headshaking around a year ago - he had the nosenet on and he was definitely headshaking, although it was quite twitchy, rather than full on up and down - very similar to O, actually.

I suppose he can wear the double at home and swap to the snaffle only for competition - which frankly is what I do now (or at least did until our latest setback.....).
 
With headshakers it gets worse with age, so as hes younger he wont get it as bad as he will in his later years.

Bloss is really severe, she has it nearly all year round, altho shes better at the new yard as there are less trees (its tree pollen she is allergic too). Even with a nosenet she can get really distressed
frown.gif


When i watched him at the Nationals and he wasnt wearing a net - i wonder why? He didnt twitch then either.
 
Well, maybe he has indeed grown out of it. I guess there's a lot still mysterious about headshaking. I know that V was wearing a net at the nationals in 06.

Didn't realise that Bloss was so bad. Poor girly. Did you find competing in summer was difficult?
 
Headshaking is a difficult one as there are so many different things that can trigger it off (flys/different types of pollen etc). i do find it really interesting tho that CH said V is better in a double.

Sometimes in the summer it was really difficult, but it depended on where i was competing - i had to choose venues with not many trees around!!
grin.gif
One time at KM i had to retire from a test as she was so bad even with her net on. Hopefully at Hurstbourne now ive got an indoor she will be better when i ride her again.
 
i wish i'd known about the pressure point, would have tried a double bridle with my lad, who i eventually had pts as his headshaking was so violent. however, he was doing it in the field too, a very very bad case, really very distressed/in pain from it. Professor Knottenbelt chatted to me on the phone about it in great detail and taught me so much, and i know that i made the right decision for the horse, however awful it was for me. but for cases not as bad as my lad's was, the double bridle sounds like a great thing to try.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top