headskhaking index

headskhaking index HEADSHAKING
A website about my own experiences with a headshaking pony
by Sue Fairway

Visitors since 7.12.1

http://www.digits.com/

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Until two years ago I knew very little about headshaking in horses. I have owned ponies for 25 years. I bought a ten-year- old pony in September 1999, called, Leo.

He was a lovely, easygoing, New Forest pony; I fell for him totally.

He was an excellent all-round family/ competition pony. Too good to be true?
During the first winter we regularly competed successfully indoors, and did several pleasure rides.

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At times he fretted with his head. We suspected an ear problem, so we called the vet in to investigate. We started to treat Leo with steroid eardrops. This seemed to work at first, but every month or so it came back, so we used more and more ear-drops. He was very sensitive about the ears so we assumed that that was there the problem lay.

The following summer Leo became more and more lethargic; all the sparkle had gone. He started snorting excessively, rubbing his nose along the ground, through water, on gates etc. His muzzle twitched all the time and he tried to clamp his nostrils shut. He became difficult to lead; he began to bash us in the back whilst being led.

We did not understand what was happening. We carried on. Then one day, during a dressage test, he became incapable of being ridden forward at all, kept startling and, whilst shaking his head, kept diving to the left hand side. The reason for retirement was given on the results sheet as 'disobedient pony'. Headshaking is a difficult concept to understand.

The vet was called again. Headshaking was diagnosed.

On the vet's advice I tried everything I could to help my pony. I kept diarised notes of everything; the weather conditions, type of food, bedding etc. The headshaking became an all round problem. Investigations were carried out, both by our vet and by an equine hospital. Nothing was found except for an inflamed orbital nerve.

This is a list of the management methods tried and their success.

1. Nose nets, including the one from Equilibrium. This was the most helpful aid as it enabled me to carry on riding and driving.
2. Herbs and garlic for breathing and clear the airway. These may have helped a little, but there was no dramatic change.
3. Head covering. I tried the Guardian face-mask and the Equilibrium full face. These helped the symptoms in the field and made leading easier.

4. Riding early or late in the day to avoid pollen, traffic fumes etc. This relieved the
symptoms whilst he was being ridden. This made the owner very tired!

5. Bitless bridle. The Hackamore made no difference to his condition. I was able to hang a
fly-fringe over his nostrils. This would help a little. It stopped people asking questions
about the nose-net. A fly fringe is so much more socially acceptable.

6. American bitless bridle. We were lucky enough to be included on the De-Montfort University trials into headshaking. Leo enjoyed being ridden in this bridle and showed fewer signs
during its use. It works using different pressure points on the poll.

7. (a)Feeding soaked hay or haylage. (b) Change of bedding.

We were not sure if the problem was allergy based or due to a nerve disorder. Thus we tried
to reduce Leo's exposure to dust, pollen etc. We kept him in during the day and during times of
high pollen counts. We kept his stable free of dust, kept him on rubber matting and replaced
shavings and straw with shredded cardboard. Initially we soaked his hay, but later on, replaced
this with a pre-packed substitute, haylage.We found that exposure to pollen and dust made him worse,
but that exclusion from them, unfortunately, did not make him any better.

8. Antihistamines. The vet tried various drug types and brands. Initially these seemed to help but the effect was not long term. We would be often changing to a different type. It was an expensive treatment due to the quantity of tablets required.

9. Steroid inhaler. During the spring of 2001 Leo's breathing deteriorated. I had to use
flixatide, a steroid. We are not sure if the breathing problem was linked to the headshaking, or, indeed, if exposure to dust and pollen were either.

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People are generally wary of things they do not understand. Headshaking is a difficult concept.
There was some resistance to Leo's appearance at shows wearing a nose-net. It is reassuring to learn that nose-nets are now officially acceptable in dressage competitions.

During the summer of 2001 we were only able to ride Leo for short spells due to the combination of headshaking and breathing difficulties. He was still keen to work so we introduced a little driving. He was an excellent schoolmaster whilst leading out our youngster. On a good day Leo could still amaze the judges at shows. My eleven year old daughter was delighted to win a family pony competition, in good company. There were still glimpses of the old sparkle at times.

There was, however, a huge amount of stress for myself and the family. And there was no doubt about the eventual outcome for Leo. Sure enough things started to deteriorate. Later that summer he began to show the classic signs of navicular disease. It became apparent that Leo had been soldiering on, jumping for my daughter, whilst in a great deal of discomfort: he wouldn't jump for anyone else, but he would for her.

Leo's behaviour began to reflect his increasing distress.

After careful consultation with two vets from the practice I decided to end his suffering on 5th September 2001.

Leo was a lovely pony, my absolute pride and joy.
Headshaking is a devastating disease. It causes an immense deal of anguish and heartache.

In Leo's case the additional problems of COPD and navicular were just too much to cope with.

My aim is for people to have a greater knowledge of headshaking and for the use of nose-nets to be universally accepted, especially during competitions.

Owning a headshaker is a stressful thing. We were immensely proud of Leo. He achieved things that many healthy ponies never do. Added to that he was versatile, an eager competitor, family pony and a gentleman to the end.

Sue Fairway. First posted 2001.

Disclaimer
I am not a vet. I have no medical of veterinary qualifications. The contents of this site
reflect personal experience and opinion only.
The strategies we tried may or may not work for you.
Good luck if you have a headshaker. Please feel free to e-mail me for any support I can give.

suefairway@hotmail.com

Since posting this site I have have many e-mails and phone calls of support; I have also learned of many
heartbreaking stories from all over the world.
There seems to be many types of headshaking caused by all sorts of things.
The only common denominator seems to be the sense of helplessness when caring for
a cherished animal. I hope that one day the research will find a solution.
Please keep sending the e-mails. If I'll try to be of help if I can!
Thanks to everyone who has contacted me.
Sue Fairway October 2004.

I am still getting e-mails from people with headshaking problems even though it
is some six years since I first posted the site. I am not as abreast of current events
as much as I once was but I do try to reply to all the e-mails I receive.
I do like to hear how people are getting on.
There still seems to be no real answer to what actually causes headshaking, nor
does there seem to be any medical solution yet.
A long time has passed for me and it is true to say that time is a great healer.
No comfort, I know, to anyone who is just coming to terms with owning a
headshaking horse. I now have another new forest pony, Jade, with whom I am
delighted. She has achieved Performance Grading status at both dressage
and showjumping. I am an active member of the New Forest Riding Club.

Please keep sending the e-mails.
Sue Fairway 2007

There is a fair bit on the web relating to headshaking.
You may like to visit these sites

Lincoln University

Katy Taylor's work at De Montfort University is now being continued at Lincoln University.

A very informative web site with plenty of interesting links.