Head shaking - what can I do to help my horse???????

Question

My horse has been diagnosed as head shaking. He is out on permanent loan with a very good friend who is very experienced but neither of us have ever dealt with head shaking before. I don't know how severe he is as he is quite far away and has been with my friend for a while now. He has a nose net ordered which we are going to try.

I was wondering if anyone had experience of this and if there is anything else we can do to try and help him?

He does it when loose in the field so it doesn't seem to be pressure related and it does seem to be pollen related as he is worse when the pollen counts are high.

Answer 1

well ur right it could be pollen or ur horse may hav been exposed to EVH-1 herpes virus which can cause aggravation to the trigeminal nerve. ear mites or rhinithis(inflammation of the nasal mucous membranes) or high blood pressure could be the cause or it could be a multitude of things.if i were u id doccument everytime wen it occurs and the time, date, if pollen levels are high,etc etc and then based on ur judgement u can call the vet and having the doccumentation of wen it occured will help them with a proper diagnoisis.

good luck

Answer 2

My horse used to do that, I had a nose net but it didn't seem to help then someone suggested getting his teeth checked. It turned out that he had hooks and ulcers and his mouth was a mess. When the dentist came he was working on him for ages to try to get it all straightened out and now he doesn't headshake at all.

Just a thought - if your horse was badly treated maybe his teeth were too ?

Answer 3

Head shaking is most commonly a result of boredom so the best way to cure it is to turn him out. If you're worried about laminitus or him overeating get him one of those muzzle things that stop them eating for a couple of hours.

If he has to come in then give him something to do while stabled

salt licks

toys

haynets

companionship

Answer 4

There are horses that have been diagnosed with uncontrollable head nodding, not shaking, but nodding...and it has been linked with recent inoculations...which, would make sense, because he could have a sensitivity to those shots..had he had his shots just prior to his symptoms appearing?  I also read, and I will have to look, because I know that I saved it, what you can do about it...I will return and try to finish my answer as soon as I find it...

Answer 5

Try fitting fly masks and spraying fly repellents because maybe that is what is causing it to shake. Some horses pick up stereo-typical behaviour and this may be one of its behaviours. Garlic is supposed to help deterr flys from the horse as the garlic is supposed to release a odour through the pores of the skin and is fed through a feed and stable diet. If this does not work try riding in enclosed area with a good martingale on and sit tight with a good contact and remember YOU MAY HAVE TO BE CRUEL TO BE KIND and this may be hard at first but it will benifit you and the horses welfare at the end of it but whatever you decide to do whatever you do dont stop fighting because sooner or later you will have to start again.

Good Luck

Paul Taylor

Answer 6

Yes, a horse i ride at this stable has this head shaking thing too! Unless he wears a nose net he will flip his head when i ride him because of his allergies. If your horse is really bad keep a leather halter on him in his field with the nose net. It really isn't that bad. Normally the horse is fine in the field without it. Keep a fly mask on him though. Find one that goes down to his nose. You can also use allergy medicine that will help with the allergy.

So, the net works really well when riding him.

I really hope this helps you! I hope your horse is OK too!

Answer 7

There seems to be an awful lot of horses headshaking this year and its not all allergy related. There seems to also be a debate of horses headshaking after their vaccines...when did your horse have its vax done?

Sometimes a viral infection may cause headshaking, especially a herpes virus as, depending on the strain, it replicates in the nerve endings (similar to cold sores in humans) causing tingling and nerve pain in the head. It could be that the horse has sinusitis also.

I know of some people that have had success with natural remedies for this symptom, and also used anti-histamines. There is a company called 'Crossgates Bioenergetics' that analyse a sample of hair from the horse and compile a comprehensive report of all the problems they find. They will also make up a natural remedy specifically. They are extremely helpful and very cost-effective.

Answer 8

unfortunatly some hores are just "head shakers" its nothing on the earth that can be worked out, vets have been trying to work it out for some time now, doing research on head shakers once they have died and no reason can be found.

Answer 9

i sugest you get a martingale, running for fast work, standing for slow work.

Head shaking quickly leads to rearing when he gets his head up (which will follow) so you need to either find a solution or a prevention fast.

Perhaps the bit is too harsh and it is an evasion? but if he does it in the field he could do it for fun and it just get annoying when your riding him.

Perhaps he doesnt like restriction. Do you turn him out in a headcollar?

It could be a number of things causing it but make sure you stop it soon.

Answer 10

I had a gelding who did that when he went under saddle with a bit in his mouth, turned out to be melanomias (Cancers) on the upper and lower sides of his mouth.  We fixed the problem by putting him in a mechanical hackamore.

Your problem sounds like an allergy.  Anyway to get him into a barn?  I'd put him in a barn in a box stall and see if that doesn't help the situation.

Answer 11

heym

my mum's horse head  shakes and she put a nose net on and it works. You could also get his teeth checked out.He might either do it coz his teeth,pollen allergy or sometimes it's the flies.

Hope this helps x