I have a horse who seems to be getting a muscle knot/spasm or pinched nerve right behind one ear? Causing extreme reaction (clearly pain) and literally running away from the ear. Can’t find anything in the ear and I can handle the ear as normal. Somewhat intermittent (issue isn’t constant) and appears aggravated by movement. Occurs with bridle or halter and mounted or on the lunge. Will call vet tomorrow and have body worker scheduled for Thursday, but just thought I would see if anyone had seen anything similar who could share thoughts or suggestions?
Any chance of a hidden tick, or lesion from a tick? Do you know the history of the horse? Has it ever been “ear twitched”?
It is the dead of winter here, so I am reasonably confident no hidden tick (and I did check the inside of her ear pretty thoroughly, although I guess one could get pretty far in the ear where I can’t really reach) or it would have had to be there since last fall. Yes, I know the history of the horse and I am reasonably confident she has never been ear twitched (thankfully!).
Out of curiosity, have you seen previous ear twitching cause something like this?
Not necessarily something that seems related to nerve pain or the like. But I have seen horses that are frantic about ear twitching, and have heard of horses who have been imported and had drenches/spray down with insecticides when they come in to the country, which left them ear-shy.
Possibly a poll or even TMJ issue? Seems odd that you can handle the ear and the reaction is intermittent. Can you think of any patterns? What do you see with the spasming? Is it just one ear, or both but at different times?
Will be interested to hear if you dind the cause!
I’ve had this horse for 2.5 years and have never seen anything like this before, so I don’t think it is something from her past (and I routinely handler her ears without issue). As far as I can tell, it has struck completely out of the blue - no changes to routine or care. I did change her multivitamin supplement about a month ago but the only really difference was a slight drop in the magnesium and selenium. Both are still well within appropriate ranges. But I’ve ordered the old supplement just in case - if this happens to be the start of head shaking (caused by issues with the trigeminal nerve), more magnesium is potentially good.
When it goes it is only the right ear and it “spasms” backwards and outwards slightly. The first time, it stayed in that position for quite some time and would spring back to that position if manually moved anywhere else. There was what felt like perhaps a muscle knot right behind that ear so we massaged it and eventually the ear returned to normal operation. It has only happened during exercise, but it only started Thursday and I didn’t make it to the barn Friday or Saturday. However, I think it has gotten worse as Thursday it eventually calmed and we continued riding (after massaging the muscle knot). Today, it resulted in running backwards at the mere sight of the bridle and dramatic leaps into the air followed by bolting away from the ear and spinning in circles…while on the lunge line amidst otherwise quiet trotting around! Massaging the area behind the ear did not appear to have any significant effect today.
I am hoping it is perhaps just something out in the poll or TMJ rather than the start of head shaking. Will update after talking to vet tomorrow.
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Spoke to vet today and he has no idea what could be causing the issue. Suggestions by bodyworkers (via email - can’t visit until Thursday) suggestion poll or TMJ issue. Lunged again today with similar results to yesterday, but pushed through some of them and seemed to get better. No running away from the bridle tonight and had a brief ride with no major drama.
I sent a horse away to a breaker and to be sold that I had owned for 18mo odd (not TB just a baby) and they sent pictures back some time later of him riding out and about in a halter. When I questioned the halter they said that they hadnt attempted to break to bridle due to the extreme headshy.
I have no idea what happened to him between my house and theirs, but he developed to be headshy in that time.
I ended up with him back (they were lovely there was never any question there) and worked on the bridling myself and sold him (as headshy) I bought him back 5 years later and shipped him to another country, totally forgot he was headshy until he arrived.
He was truly ear shy, and much more the nearside. BUT he was only shy of hands AND gear, in that combination. Hands were ok, and gear was ok (was happy to have a bridle on) but hands and gear were hard work.
No one believed he was headshy until they tried to put a fly face on him, or god help me, the reins over his head.
He is an older boy now and ive loaned him out, still as headshy as the day he started it.
He is a neurotic spanish and just whatever it was that upset him, he never got over it. And literally no one knows what happened.
@kiwichick Wow, that is super weird! I’m hoping tonight is a sign that this isn’t a long term problem developing, but rather a more short term physical issue.
I just had my horse’s TMJ injected because he displayed several signs of discomfort around his ear/poll/TMJ area. He had inflammation in his TMJ.
I could not touch his ear, it just wouldn’t happen. If I massaged his poll and TMJ, he would then let me lightly touch it. But otherwise, forget about it. After the injection, he is much more tolerant about his ears being touched.
A couple suggestions based on what I did:
- CetylM joint cream before and after rides
- You can try surpass, I would have done that before the injection was tired of trying new things
- Back on Track poll cap is put on while grooming and used while riding
- Sheepskin poll pad on his bridle
- I try to adjust the bridle throughout the ride when it pushes into his ears
- I loosed the noseband so there isn’t as much pressure on his poll
- I also loosed the cheek pieces, but my horse doesn’t like a lot of pressure on his mouth, so it was done for 2 reasons
- Chiro & acupuncture monthly (I did 2 monthly sessions then moved onto the injection, but this really helped)
I could lunge him in a halter and he seemed happier than he did with a bridle. I’ve been playing around with different bits and padding for his bridle (TMJ wrap by Fenwick, going to try sheepskin cover on the cheek pieces next).
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Dentigerous cyst? Can cause pressure or obstruction…usually located near the base of the ear.
or
Possible guttural pouch issue which relates to the inner ear?
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I had success using the Back on Track poll cap AND the Fenwick face mask with ears.
This horse went from flinging his head up violently whenever anyone got near his left ear to putting his head down willingly and letting me clean his left ear out thoroughly.
At first I HAD TO start grooming his head on the right side, but now he lets me start grooming his head on the left side, starting with his left ear (the one that was severely sensitive.) He clearly likes his poll cap and his face mask and he will give me dirty looks if I forget to put them on.
Interesting. I didn’t know BoT made poll caps or ear bonnets. I’ve seen excellent results from the BoT mesh sheet, polos, and saddle pads, so will definitely check those out.
@mydogs You may want to check out the PS of Sweden bridles. The have really lovely anatomical design features, especially in the poll area. With their bridles there is very little poll pressure compared to traditional bridles, they have lovely soft padding, and they are really nicely cut back around the ears and stay away throughout the ride. Despite the current “issue” (which is definitely not bridle related as it was the same in a halter) this bridle produced a significant reduction in head tossing/general fussing (especially in canter) and eliminated the manic head/ear rubbing every time the bridle was removed. They aren’t cheap (although they aren’t the most expensive out there either!) but there are 100% worth it in my (and my horse’s) opinion.
Do you have your horse wear both at the same time when riding? I have both the BOT poll cap and the Fenwick ear bonnet. I usually put the BOT on when it is cold and the Fenwick on when it is a bit warmer. But I wonder if there is something else I could to that would be better.
I use both of them.
The horse I ride that was severely ear shy will give me “dirty looks” if I put the Fenwick face mask with ears without putting the BOT poll cap first. I have no idea why he wants both on, but the other two horses I ride regularly also seem to enjoy having both on the same time.
When I put the BOT poll cap on all the horses start licking and “chewing” and they relax. When I put the Fenwick face mask with ears on the horses relax even more.
I think that both “hats” help with the trigeminal nerves, but the Fenwick face mask with ears also covers the cheeks of the horses and it just seems to help put the horses in a good mood. They like the fact that their ears are warmer in the winter but the extra warmth for the ears does not seem to bother them during the hot summer.
I have an unproven hypothesis that horses may have headaches, possibly from slamming back into the halter when tied, and that the horses suffer from intractable pain in their poll region. It is very gratifying to me to see the horses relax and mellow out when I put on their “hats”.
Also, the mare that most often insisted on rubbing her head on any surface possible when I allowed this, is a LOT less insistent about the need to rub her head when she wears the Fenwick face mask with ears. While the BOT poll cap also somewhat reduced her desire to rub her head against something, the most progress came after I added the Fenwick face mask with ears.
My riding teacher’s personal horse is a “crazy” Arab (she rescued him) who is usually super alert, reactive, and apt to tone his rider out. She, and her trail riding partner, note an amazing improvement when he wears his Fenwick face mask with ears, he calms down, he listens to her better, and all and all has become much safer to ride on the trail. With the face mask he will focus on his rider, without the face mask his rider is the last thing he focuses on. She always regrets it when she forgets his face mask with ears because all of his bad habits on the trail quickly reappear, but when she then puts the face mask on he calms down and listens to her. She just uses the face mask on this horse.
My riding teacher is not one for “gimmicks” (neither am I), but now she really believes in the efficacy of the Fenwick face mask with ears, particularly with her personal horse.
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