Headshaking Vet Visit

[kaya842]

Having the vet out for a horse that started headshaking about a month ago. What questions should I ask? What should I make sure is checked? With headshaking being not super common, I want to make sure we cover all bases.

So far I have:
Eyes
Ears
Nose
Teeth
TMJ
Poll
Neck
Allergies (i believe this is the likeliest cause)

What treatments should I ask about? I have seen mention of Cypro and dex here for allergy related headshaking.
Horse is already on the MSM and Lysine. This combo seems to help as horse has stopped headshaking except when being handled, mostly once riding or lunging. However, horse needs more “help” or treatment to get to where they are trainable when being ridden.

[OverandOnward]

So I will give one more thing to check, acknowledging that this is the dumbest thing ever …

I have now had 2 horses that go nuts head-shaking if a short mane behind their bridle path is growing out enough to flop forward and tickle the backs of their ears. A nice clean short-ish (hunter-style braid-able) mane is floaty up at the very top region behind the ears. A little bit of growth and it starts to flop forward, and loose ends brush the back of the ears.

A little bit of scissors work takes care of it. It took me a few rides to figure out what the hell was wrong, all of a sudden. Out of the blue came non-stop head shaking, horse could not think about anything else. But that’s what it was, with two very different horses.

Probably not what is going on with yours … but just in case.

[leesa1]

Grab a torch and have a look up inside the nostrils. None of the vets in my area/country had seen anything like what my horse had inside his nose. There seemed to be a pattern between the redness and the shaking in terms of improvement/worsening but I/we could never really say for sure and treatment didn’t fix it.

The round things are wounds from a punch biopsy, the pathology came back as lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis. My horse clearly had allergy issues but opinions were split on whether it was incidental or connected to the shaking.

Good luck

[cayuse]

Work the horse both with and without a fly mask on to make sure the headshaking is not photic (sunlight induced). This is how my mare was diagnosed. It was obvious she was a headshaker and was triggered by something but we weren’t sure what. The vet popped on her fly mask and the results were clear. Without the mask she was just about impossible to lead or deal with because of the head tossing but with the mask on and the sun dimmed, she was almost back to normal.

[hopper20]

Mine is the mildest of headshakers in very sunny weather. Disappears when he’s taking magnesium. He does have allergies.

See https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/04/19/oral-magnesium-boron-headshaking-horses/

[Huntin_Pony]

Have you tried a nose net and did it have any effect? That’s the easiest if it works.
Also, there are supplements that help some head shakers. One is Shake-no-More from Hilton Herbs and I have heard there are others, possibly one from Platinum.
Supplemental Vitamin E was also recommended by a vet with research background on head-shaking.
There’s a thread somewhere on CoTH concerning CBD oil for head shaking. This is relatively new and not many vets know about it but it works for some.

My experience is that different horses are helped by different treatments and there’s a certain amount of trial and error involved. If you’re lucky it will be seasonal and stop on its own after a few weeks. Unfortunately it is likely to come back next year. Keep trying!

[Laurierace]

My mare started headshaking this spring, we tried antihistamines to no effect. Vet came out and tested her for everything under the sun but the only thing she found was Lyme. I didn’t think it was related but obviously we had to treat it so we did and her headshaking went away. I couldn’t believe it! One more possibility to add to the list

[leesa1]

Forgot to add the one thing that worked for my headshaker, but he was believed to be a trigeminal-affected one as opposed to his allergies or any of the other potential causes. The nosenet never worked for me until I altered it. I got a second nosenet, flipped it upside down and attached it to the underside of the bridle so that it covered his jaw. I added velcro strips to the length of both nosenets so they would close together around his nose entirely. It created a sort of buffer zone so that any airborne debris wouldn’t touch his nose when he started moving. The mesh had to be a very close-knit weave, so small that even sand can’t flick through it. If you can see the holes individually it’s probably too big and sand will go through it. Think of it like a muzzle around the lower half of his face, but still of a breathable fabric over his nostrils.

That and I put a bonnet on my horse that covered the rest of his head and ears and zipped up under his jaw. He looked ridiculous but it made him comfortable enough to work. Unfortunately it took me too long to figure out but his reaction was to things touching his nose. The faster he went, the worse it was for him. Under saddle it’d be pieces of sand flicking up and impacting his nose or bugs impacting his face. One tiny flying insect was enough to set him off.

If the nosenet doesn’t work, try the two. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of him wearing it.

[slp2]

Unfortunately with headshakers, they can do a full diagnostics of the extensive list you have—without finding any abnormalities. Most of the time, it’s due to the trigeminal nerve firing—and the real challenge is to find out what triggers that to happen. In some, it’s photic, and those are more straightforward to figure out. If they don’t find anything in the appointment, you might try keeping a journal. Record the temperature, humidity, wind . . every_friggin’ thing! You’ll need to try an figure out any patterns that trigger the headshaking and it’s a long road sometimes.

Typically, the most common drug used is Cyproheptadine. It can help a lot of them. Nosenets are another logical “try” to help them for being comfortable during work. The theory (I think) is that they provide counterstimulation for the muzzle (where they seem to be most sensitive when they are having an episode). Also make sure when they test for allergies, they do a dermal test, not blood test. It’s much more accurate. Allergy shots have helped my headshaker a lot! She is also on Cypro (and allergy shots). Good luck!

[kaya842]

Thanks all!
Horse has been on magnesium since fall (didnt headshake during the winter or upon arrival in late summer last year but did in the fall). We’ve tried - noseband + nosenet (hard to tell if it helped), no noseband, no browband, PS of Sweden ergonomic bridle with and without noseband, various bits, fly mask (will try again today though), working at various times of the day, and the Lysine + MSM which seems to give some relief though not full relief.
I don’t expect the vet to find anything but want to make sure I do my due diligence to rule out other causes before assuming it is actually headshaking. Interestingly enough we just finished Lyme treatment which I thought got rid of the head shaking … maybe we need another round of Doxy? Or perhaps something a bit stronger? @Laurierace What was yours treated with for the Lyme? We did 60 days doxy.
The HS is worse when being worked and when in front of a fan, which really stinks as it’s hot and humid here and fans are pretty much life savers except for this horse - drives it bonkers.

[Laurierace]

We treated with minocycline. I did a follow up test and it was negative so it did the trick.

[cayuse]

Interesting about the Lyme. My mare started her headshaking after having Lyme. I thought there might be a connection but at the time my vets said no (this was 12 years ago or so, I think they are more open to the idea now. I had a hard time back then even finding a vet that knew about headshaking syndrome) ETA: mare was treated with Doxy

[OverandOnward]

@leesa1

Forgot to add the one thing that worked for my headshaker, but he was believed to be a trigeminal-affected one as opposed to his allergies or any of the other potential causes. The nosenet never worked for me until I altered it. I got a second nosenet, flipped it upside down and attached it to the underside of the bridle so that it covered his jaw. I added velcro strips to the length of both nosenets so they would close together around his nose entirely. It created a sort of buffer zone so that any airborne debris wouldn’t touch his nose when he started moving. The mesh had to be a very close-knit weave, so small that even sand can’t flick through it. If you can see the holes individually it’s probably too big and sand will go through it. Think of it like a muzzle around the lower half of his face, but still of a breathable fabric over his nostrils.

So … a covid facemask for horses. Non-covid-related, of course.

[skydy]

@Huntin_Pony

There’s a thread somewhere on CoTH concerning CBD oil for head shaking. This is relatively new and not many vets know about it but it works for some.

Just be aware that CBD is not allowed in competition.

[leesa1]

@kaya842

The HS is worse when being worked

Have you noticed if your horse is better or worse being worked on sand versus on grass? and with their head in a down and out position or up higher?

[leesa1]

@OverandOnward

So … a covid facemask for horses. Non-covid-related, of course

Yep almost
He looked ridiculous in it, it was like a bane mask. Unfortunately it took me about 9 years to realise that the trigeminal nerves that run to the underside were affected as well as the ones that ran to the end of his nose. By then he had bad arthritis in his neck and had developed neurological problems so I had him put to sleep. It did work for a year though and he was completely happy to work with some kind of shielding over his head.

[Huntin_Pony]

Thanks for the reminder, skydy, good point.

There could be disallowed ingredients in any of the supplements. I do not show any more. I just want to help my mare not to suffer, so haven’t investigated this angle at all.

Power of CoTH

[islgrl]

@cayuse

Interesting about the Lyme. My mare started her headshaking after having Lyme. I thought there might be a connection but at the time my vets said no (this was 12 years ago or so, I think they are more open to the idea now. I had a hard time back then even finding a vet that knew about headshaking syndrome) ETA: mare was treated with Doxy

My horse began headshaking after he got lyme. Sadly the lyme went away but the headshaking never did and I retired him at 12. Before I retied him I tried EVERYTHING listed that has worked for others to treat to no avail.

[joiedevie99]

@kaya842

maybe we need another round of Doxy? Or perhaps something a bit stronger?

Ask about IV Oxytet and Minocycline after your re-test if needed. A friend of mine has a theory that some horses have residual swelling after Lyme treatment, and need a round of anti-inflammatories after antibiotics finish. I think she gave her last one IV DMSO, which I know is controversial.

[cayuse]

Same exact thing here, we tried most everything. Some things worked enough to keep her comfortable so she could enjoy retirement, but nothing worked enough to keep her in work. Magnesium and Equioxx were what helped the most along with no turnout in full sun and a flymask during daylight hours.