Head Tossing?

[Roadmix3]

Hello Everyone,

I’ve had questions on this forum before; and have found the answers to be extremely helpful, so I thought I’d put my horse’s newest “issue” out here to see if there were any ideas as to what could be the problem.

My older gelding (25) has been tossing his head. Or flipping it. Whatever you want to call it. I noticed it first at the end of last summer/into fall. I honestly thought it was a bug issue because it happened only during the daytime, in the summer when the flies are annoying. I didn’t think much of it; just sprayed him with fly spray and used a little swat on his nose. He was having major issues with his gut and colic at this time, due to a move/stress, so the head tossing was minor to me at the time.

Fall and Winter came and the behavior stopped. So I sorta forgot about it. Spring was fine too. Recently we have had some hot days, the flies are definitely out again, and he’s started it back up. He does this often. It’s almost like a bug has went up his nose. However, I’ve begun to watch him close for a few minutes when he’s doing this, and sometimes I don’t even see a bug near his face…… hm. Strange. The vet is coming out this Thursday for some boosters on my mule and his sheath clean. I intend to ask her about this, and show her a couple videos I’ve managed to get, but I imagine she will be able to see it for herself.

I have some theories. Dental pain - although he just had an exam and dental this past fall. More gut issues/or pain - he’s still eating good. Some kind of nerve condition that affects his facial or neck nerves. Or perhaps some kind of bugs in his ears?

Anyone with the same issues? Any solutions or treatments found? I will update whenever I’ve spoken to the vet to see what she says.

Thanks!

[Laurierace]

Head shaking syndrome has many caused and many potential treatments. Since he is seasonal I would ask my vet about Dex pulse or cipro. Such a frustrating disease, hope he responds to treatment

[Martina]

Sounds like headshaking syndrome for sure, but given his age, he seems a little old to get for no apparent reason. Your vet should hopefully recognize the signs and recommend appropriate tests and/ or meds. Interesting that it started when he was having gut issues. There are anecdotal stories about its onset being related to ulcers or gut pain (or pain in general). Have you ever tested him for PPID?

[keh]

Sorry to hijack, is there a correlation between headshaking syndrome & ppid? My 25 yr old has ppid & just started headshaking this spring.

I’m sorry OP, it’s most frustrating. I’ve had limited success with 95% UV blocking mask. My horse’s headshaking is exasperated by exercise & sunlight. He has good & bad days with no predictability.

[dmveventer]

@Roadmix3

It’s almost like a bug has went up his nose.

I leased a seasonal head-shaker who did the same quick flick of the nose when he was triggered. In his case the head shaking was caused by light sensitivity and a nose net fixed the problem entirely. They’re pretty cheap so it’s an easy thing to rule out before more in-depth diagnostics.

[OzarksRider]

One of my horses has a habit of flipping his head. He’s been doing it for years and I’ve never found a cause. I first noticed it when he started wearing a grazing muzzle about 9 years ago. I hadn’t had him for very long then, so I’m not sure if the head flipping started then or if he had always done it and I never noticed. He would flip his head after I put the muzzle on, as though he was trying to get it off. Once I noticed it, I started paying closer attention and saw that he does it frequently. He does it in the field with nothing on his head, so it isn’t caused by any discomfort from tack. He’s had his teeth done and it made no difference. He does it in the winter, so it’s not bugs. He does it on cloudy days, so it’s not caused by bright sunlight.

I’ve wondered if there was something in his nasal passages or sinuses that was irritating him. He had started having sporadic very minor nose bleeds (the first one about 3 years ago, then 3 more within the past 6 months), so last week I hauled him to the vet for an endoscopy. The vet expected to find an ethmoid hematoma, but his nasal passage and gutteral pouch looked completely normal and healthy.There was nothing to explain either the intermittent bleeding or the head flipping.

After years of seeing this, as best I can tell the head flipping seems to be his way of expressing some minor irritation or excitement. Sometimes he does it when the bugs are bad, and a fly mask helps with this. Sometimes it seems he does it when he doesn’t want to work so hard, but when he’s really focused on his job he doesn’t do it. If he starts flipping his head while I’m riding I just roll one wrist down to remind him to keep his head down. Sometimes he does it when he’s joyously racing around the field with his buddy. It has not gotten worse over time, and he is otherwise completely normal.

Bottom line is that I don’t know why my horse flips his head. It could be just a quirk, but I think there may be some minor pain somewhere that isn’t real obvious, sort of like when I roll my head because my neck is stiff. I’ll be interested to know what your vet thinks.

[IPEsq]

If it’s only in the daylight, you could try a high UV blocking mask which may help. Does sound like head shaking.

[Roadmix3]

I’ve wondered if it’s the hot sunny days. Sometimes he will even leave the field and go stand in his stall during the day. He still flips his head sometimes standing inside, but it is greatly reduced. He always wears a UV blocking fly mask with ears. I wonder if I get the extended nose one, it may help?

[Roadmix3]

Yeah, I agree. It’s almost like he’s irritated at something. Wether minor or not. He has a history with ulcers. Perhaps they are back or bothering him again.

[dmveventer]

If it’s light related you definitely want to try covering the nose, I think I read that something like 40% of horses are fixed with a nose net. It has to do with the location of the trigeminal nerve. There are a lot of research articles out there explaining it in more detail, but it’s basically the same mechanism that causes us to sneeze in bright sunlight. If you’re a podcast person, Straight From the Horse Doctor’s Mouth also did a good head shakers episode that talked through all the different causes and treatments!

[J-Lu]

I agree, it sounds like Head Shaking Syndrome, which my horse developed after a layoff when I was injured. Ask your vet to observe.

My guy mostly gets symptomatic in the spring and I tracked it to particular grass pollen. His trigeminal nerve misfires around his nose and he will press his nose into the fence when grooming and saddling. A nose net helps him greatly and when he’s very symptomatic, I’ll hang paper clips from it to increase the stimulation to the nerves. He’s on ciproheptadine for 2-3 months in the spring to control it.

The trigeminal nerve innervates many places in the horse head. Some horses with HSS are triggered by sunlight and many UV-resistant fly masks can HELP but not 100% deter it if there is another trigger.

I closely tracked local pollen and learned what triggered my horse. Maybe you can try that, too?

Talk to your vet about treatments such as ciproheptadine. Of note, I noticed that it works best if given at the onset of symptoms, not when full-blown head-shaking is occuring.

Good luck and report back!

[J-Lu]

I have ties metal washers and affixed paper clips to my horse’s nose net to increase stimulation on the trigeminal nerves around the nose. These additions help. Although, ciproheptadine helps more.

[hopper20]

You might also try a Mg supplement. It definitely helps mine. See https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/04/19/oral-magnesium-boron-headshaking-horses/

[Roadmix3]

Here is an update:

The vet was out this morning for shots and sheath cleaning. Today it was a random cool day, down in the 60’s. Compared to 80’s. Of course no signs of head tossing/flipping today! But the flies are also inactive due to the weather change.

He looked in his ears, no bugs living in there. Looked in his mouth. No sharp points or sores from points. Neurologically he had good reflexes and responses to the simple field tests the vet did.

I showed him the video. He said likely he’s irritated at something. He feels it’s either A. The flies on his body (There are never a lot on him, but vet said it only takes a couple), or B. His ulcers and or IBS are back/acting up, and it’s causing him gut pain that he is reacting to (he did have loose stool during the start up this season of his head shaking issues). He said being sensitive to light is a possibility, but hard to “diagnose”. Said try nose net to see what happens.

We are going to put him on Sucralfate again to see if it helps the loose stool and the head tossing.

So, no real definitive answers, but a couple things ruled out; and a couple things to try. I’m beginning to think it is fly related or something to do with the heat and sun. It truly only happens on hot, sunny days.

[fivestrideline]

An old barn had a horse with photosensitive head shaking - had to wear UV blocking goggles in turnout or when ridden outside. He was much better in the winter, and could be ridden under lights at night or on very cloudy days without the goggles. Just throwing it out there that photosensitive head shaking is a thing (and his sounds just like yours!), and that a fly mask won’t cut it for a moderate-severe case.

[Wyndwolfe]

I had a TBxQH gelding that developed a headshake at about 23-25. Came on fairly suddenly. He was also a bit challenging to keep weight on, although he did not have any ulcers. My sense was that it was more of an allergy issue than photosensitivity. I read on a vet website (do not recall which) that over time, horses can develop sensitivities to some foods, and one of the most common was soy. Soy is used to increase protein in a lot of prepared feeds. So I started feeding TSC, which, at the time, kept its ingredients the same - not adjusting soy to keep the price stable - and had fairly low levels of soy. I also added powdered Spirulina to his feed. It did not take long to see a very significant improvement.