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zangels

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My daughters pony that started shaking her head, I am trying different things to see if anything helps.
When we got her she was ridden in a martingale and a Wilkie snaffle. First we worked on taking away the martingale and then changing over o a dee ring plain snaffle as I am not keen on the wilkies.
At the weekend I thought I will just try and see if she dosnt shake her head as much in the Wilkie than the plain snaffle and she didn't.
I am not a fan of wilkies on a child's pony as I think they are quite harsh bits and fix them into the wrong position when used by children.
The problem is sometimes when she shakes her head it results in her bucking and with the Wilkie the head shaking was less and she didn't buck.
What would you do? Go back to the Wilkie or keep trying other solutions with the plain snaffle?
 
Have her teeth checked! :confused:
Sounds less like an issue with the bits and more like she's in pain/uncomfortable somewhere and the new bit is making it worse.
 
If it's only just started happening, could it be a pollen allergy?

My retired mare has one and noticed she was doing her head 'flicks' the other day when I brought her in.

In which case it may be worth trying a nose net.
 
Sorry should of said, we have had her back and teeth checked and a saddle fitted by a saddler. It started getting worse in march though she has always done it mildly. Both the vet and dentist checked her teeth and although she does have a gap from one that has previously been taken out they both said she is not in pain with her teeth.
I have also tried a equilibrium muzzle net to see if it was allergies, this also didnt work.
 
Sometimes, it's the bridle pressing on a nerve. If she doesn't do it in the field then 99% of the time, it's due to tack. Either bridle discomfort or saddle discomfort. Is the saddle too far forward or too far back?

My boy shook his head when he had a noseband on that was too low. It just seemed to irritate him for some reason. I removed it for hacking and wore it loose and higher up than I should for shows. Also, ear-nets help in midsummer when flies are at their worst.
 
As tallyho has said could it be noseband? I also had to remove the noseband from one of mine and switched from snaffle to a sweet iron baucher, worked instantly for my boy, they arnt much stronger than a snaffle.

If theres really no other underlying reason then for the sake of your daughters confidence i would leave him in the wilkie, i completly agree they are too harsh for kids BUT if this is what the pony is more comfortable with ide just go with it.
 
She also does it on the lunge just in a headcollar with no saddle so do t think its a tack issue. Im not sure why the wilkie makes a difference. I have wondered if its a balance issue and the wilkie hokds up some how?
 
Mine have both started shaking their heads this week, they have those little blood sucking flies in their ears. When I look in their ears and kill the bugs they stop. Don't do it in the stable either only in field or when they come in. Might get them a fly fringe with ears for turnout/riding.
 
Maybe use the Wilkie but with the reins on the outer ring like a snaffle bit as opposed to the little loop?

I'm another that would start dismantling the bridle to see if anything helped so no noseband then no browband etc, perhaps a wider browband is needed or an ear fly cover
 
I have the vet coming on thursday so eill get them to have a good check in her ears. She us quite sensitive around hercears so could be somthing to do with it.
Im worried we will be masking the problem with the wilkie bit but not really sure why it makes a difference so Im at a bit of a loss of how to tackle it now.
 
Does the wilkie make the headpiece sit slightly differently from when the snaffle is in? Does the headcollar touch the back of the ears when lunging? If all the other checks have been done, it sounds like a tack issue to me. Before I had read all the thread, my first thought was 'short browband' but now I'm wondering if it's the back of the ears which are irritated.
As for the bit change, I'd use the bit the pony is most comfortable in.
 
You can try to rule out allergy as a cause by coating the inside of the nostrils with vasiline. It's a bit gross, but it works!

It stops the hairs in the nostrils from being irritated, and works on human hay fever too.
 
Thank you. I will check if the bit makes the bridle sit differently at the back her ears and also try the vaseline. Msybe with the wilki gibing poll pressure the head piece presses down and not forward so keeps it off the back of her ears. Hope we can find a solution
 
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