Headshakers: potential treatment?

[frugalannie]

I’d like to recruit some owners of headshakers to try a treatment that has worked for mine. Two things up front: I will make no money from this and you should consult with your vet before trying it.

I have a now 18 year old OTTB mare that stated severe headshaking 4 years (or so) ago. We think that neurologic Lyme may have been the initial cause, but it went on to have a seasonal life of its own. It was so bad that each year we would consider euthanasia to end her suffering and she was unsafe to ride.

When she became symptomatic this spring I decided, in consultation with my vet, to try oral CBD (cannabidiol) oil. I gave her a 10 mg dose three days in a row, using a product made for human use. Day 1, she seemed more comfortable within 30 min or so. Days 2 and 3 there were no symptoms. I skipped day 4: no symptoms, but I gave an additional dose on day 5. That was over two weeks ago and symptoms have not yet recurred.

I don’t know if the effects will last or if they can be generalized to other headshakers. In my horse the change has been so striking that I will not hesitate to give her additional doses should symptoms recurr.

If anyone else has experience with this or is interested in trying it, I’d love to hear from you!

[cayuse]

I had a headshaker, lost her to colic two years ago. Her headshaking started the spring following her battle with Lyme. Her Lyme also manifested with neuro symptoms.
Sending you many Jingles that this treatment continues to help your horse! I wish I had had a chance to try it on my Bitty.

[eternalbeginner]

Hey, seemingly I have a headshaker, he show symptoms only in Spring and Autumn and only when confined for several days in the stall. Now he’s out 24/7 and shows no symptoms but I think it would be useful to buy it just in case. Which concentration do you use? And how much does your horse weight so that I can adjust the dose to my pony?

[Dressage59]

My daughter’s horse started shaking his head this spring. He had some gnats in his ears and also seemed sensitive to light. This on top of snorting, so possibly allergies. We started wetting his food and that stopped the snorting at meal time. He still snorts while grazing. We had him on Zytec (12 pills twice a day). It reduced the intensity of the snorting, but not the frequency. We also bought one of those Guardian fly masks. For what it costs, I’m so thankful that it’s working, as in no more head shaking. Where do you buy the CBD, available on open market? Thanks in advance!

[TWH_Girl]

Flymasks and allergy medicines (as poster above pointed out) are the two things I have seen recommended the most.

[frugalannie]

Wow. Wasn’t expecting so many responses so quickly! Cayuse, I’m sorry about your Bitty.

Headshaking is frustrating because there isn’t consistency in what triggers it and what works to treat it. My horse didn’t respond to the fancy fly masks or allergy meds, YMMV.

There is very little research about CBD dosage in humans, and my vets aren’t aware of any in horses. But my decent size mare (about 1200 lbs) was getting a dose containing 10 milligrams once a day, which is half the starting dose recommended for a human. If that hadn’t worked, I was prepared to increase it to 20 milligrams a day but that proved unnecessary.

I get CBD from my local botanical shop. It is available from Amazon and I’ve been told Walmart or Walgreens has it too among other places. I probably wouldn’t buy the stuff on the counter at the gas station though ;). CBD comes in many different concentrations and preparations, but I found that the oral oil worked best for me because I put it in a tiny syringe (no needle, of course) and just squirted it in mare’s mouth. That way I was sure she got it all. As I take it too, I can report that the preparation I used (made by Flora Sophia) has a somewhat grassy taste and is not unpleasant.

I’ve been told that there is a horse version of CBD available, but it is granules meant to be added to feed. I was pretty sure some of that, if not all, would be wasted by my horse. There are also several canine versions: CannaDog is one.

Read the label carefully to figure out how concentrated it is and what volume you have to give to total the milligram dose you want the horse to receive. That’s pretty much everything I know, but keep asking questions and reporting your stories as I hope to learn more.

[BlueDrifter]

Interesting! Most of the time I use 7x the human dose for other medications (assuming a horse weighs 7x the average human)… Interesting that you use less than the human dose and have results.

I am not sure if I have a head shaker, but he hates, hates, hates any gnats around his face, and once he knows they are there, he is almost superstitious and shakes in anticipation.

[slp2]

I have a headshaker who is really struggling right now. I had her on Cyproheptadine starting last year and it worked for her. Unfortunately, it seemed to stop working in January of this year. Since then I have tried SO many things to manage it (Electro Acupuncture, Top Stock supplement, the Equimax protocol, Spirulina, Dex, etc) She’s already on magnesium and the nosenet doesn’t help her. I am on a FB group for owners of headshakers (or trigeminal mediated headshaking) and there are several people who have had success with CBD oil. CBD is going to be my next “try” because I am running out of ideas. I’m at the point of “grasping at straws” for a way to manage this frustrating condition. My horse is just a lovely, sweet mare who doesn’t deserve to suffer like this. It’s so hard to watch. So I am “in”—will be trying it as soon as I can order the oil.

[islgrl]

I own a headshaker that after trying literally all the things that people recommended I retired him 3 years ago when he was 14. His is exacerbated by work, so he is basically ok now because he is not working. The headshakers is still present but not so bad I feel he is suffering. I woudl definitely have tried this before retiring him in hopes it would help. Headshakers is an awful thing to deal with.