My mare has seasonal head shaking, to the point where she is unrideable and I cannot even do ground work with her. I just had her allergy testing done through Heska and she has started the allergy shots - the immunotherapy shots. Has anyone gone that route? What were your results and if helpful, how long until you saw in improvement in the head shaking? Thank you
My gypsy pony has had allergies since I bought him (Fall 2021) - bad skin reactions, itchiness, sneezing, and head shaking under saddle. He was allergy tested March 2022. He’s been on allergy shots since May 2022, sans a few month break during winter 2022/2023.
I feel like this spring he is finally feeling better in terms of the head shaking. It is certainly not perfect - but better for sure. He gets an allergy shot every 3 weeks. He gets a double dose of zyertec the meal before I ride. He has a collection of nose nets and long nose fly masks. Now that I know him and what environments tend to trigger bigger reactions (open fields with long grass/weeds) - he wears a very heavy duty thick high UV rated fly mask with a long nose in those situations. That definitely helps. In a more controlled setting I can get away with a nose net and ear bonnet.
The allergy shots definitely need a year+ of consistency before you can judge if they are working or not. He had the intradermal testing done at the vet school - they say that is the most accurate way. The dermatology team at Cornell is awesome - I shoot them an email telling them any particular issues I’m having and they can tweak his formula if needed.
It’s a frustrating road, but hopefully your horse can find some relief!
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My mare has been doing head shaking a bit and we recently did the testing (different company)…we just finished the first vial of the immunotherapy.
I did remove several foods that she tested positive for…and right now she is on 14 tabs of zyrtec twice a day. She’s done about a month of shots so far and that, plus the shots and food modifications, have already resulted in a big improvement. The head tossing and sneezing/coughing is minimal and no longer interfering with our ride. It’s not gone, but it’s not a major issue anymore.
I am hoping after she is on the shots longer I will be able to wean her off the zyrtec.
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I have a pony that I struggled for years to manage his head shaking. His is seasonal and we did all the things - allergy testing and shots, Zyrtec, cypro, nose nets etc. Last summer I tried the Hilton Herbs Shake No More Gold supplement. For him it was a game changer. No, I don’t work for them or a retailer😊. Could all have been a happy coincidence but with that and a nose net he is 95 percent over it.
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I had a gelding who developed seasonal allergies and a headshake at around 17 or so. Turned out that he was allergic to soy. Changed his feed, started him on Spirulina (Horse Tech). Resolved his issues almost completely.
My nearly 23 year old gelding started headshaking/sneezing/snorting Wednesday last week. I had Benadryl on hand so I’ve been giving him 1000 mg AM and PM (he’s about 1200 lbs) and it’s helping but has not eliminated the symptoms. I have Zyrtec on the way and am hoping that will do the trick.
I give my mare Lung EQ to help mitigate her sensitivity to insects. I’m going to start giving it to my gelding, too.
