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 Expert
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Location: Never in one place long | What works to stop the head shaking? I know I obviously need to get her teeth checked and possibly floated and am planning to do that soon but any bit or vice that works to stop this? She tends to be fairly hard mouthed and trying to get her to soften up as well. |
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11493
Location: 31 lengths farms | Head shaking at what level? Like just shaking her head because she doesn't want to do what is being asked or her teeth looked at or Head Shaking as in standing in her pen, pasture, stall and shaking her head and rubbing her face? |
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Veteran
Posts: 139
Location: Abbotsford B.C. Canada | you may wish to ask your vet about the orbital nerve being involved and possibly being pinched and maybe using a mask that keeps out UV light etc. The vet school at Wash St Pulman did an operation to free that nerve up and it helped.
May be time for a full check inside and outside the mouth/head . May be a sinus infection, or gutteral pouch deal. A vet can help.
FYI
Coastal Rider |
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 Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | No bit or training divice will fix bad teeth. |
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Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11493
Location: 31 lengths farms | But if it isn't bad teeth and truly a nerve issue like in my mare then there are options. She was diagnosed with Head Shakers last year about this time, teeth had been checked and gone over several times, ears checked also. Very light sensitive as well as wind sensitive to her face, she would stand with her butt to the wind and try to hide her face between her front legs, she had quit running and playing in the pasture. HSS was explained to me like a person with a migraine gets sensitive to light. Any activity past a walk caused her to sneeze, the halter alone hurt her head, had to buy one several sizes too big for her as she seemed to progressively get worse and worse. After she was diagnoses I put her on a higher Magnesium supplement, and added Melatonin for her also which seemed to help some then got the Cyproheptadine which is a prescription antihistamine basically to help the inflammation in her facial nerves. This helped a ton and basically gave me back my horse but Cypro has shown some tendencies to increase colic issues which I like to avoid like the Plague and it also made her lethargic. After some more research and a few more tests it was suggested that she had TMJ and after speaking to a equine herbalist I put her on a herb for inflammation and joints. She is having as good a results on this as she was on the Cypro and I like the option better for her. |
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Veteran
Posts: 166
Location: castle rock, colorado | I have a horse with head shakers syndrome and it is so limiting. He doesn't appear to be light sensitive. I also have him on the C drug and he seems to be running slower. The best way for me to keep him legged up without him having an episode is to long trot and lope during trail riding. At a barrel race, all I can do is long trot for about 30-40 minutes before a run. I tried the patches and they didn't do any good. The only thing I haven't done is have him checked for TMJ.
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
 
Location: Alberta | Chiro....the poll and neck can hold a lot of tension due to subluxation in other parts of their body... |
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Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11493
Location: 31 lengths farms | My mare that has this issue gets very tight in the neck and shoulders also. I was told not to do a lot of long trotting with her for extended periods of time as the massage person that works on her felt that long trotting with a horse that tends to get out in that area also tends to make them sore in those areas. Ever since I changed that part of my riding program on her she doesnt' seem to get as tight in her neck. I do long trot her but just not for extended periods like before. |
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 Love Me Some Robert Redford
Posts: 2335
Location: WV | Hope you find out what's going on. I do not have any different advice that has not already been suggested. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 340
| What if it's not medical? Just for training purposes, what do you do to work on this? |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 415
| TMJ! Please have an equine vet that specializes in dentistry check for it! It's not something they normally check for but please have them look!! |
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | Head shaking while loping mainly, she has kind of an attitude and when asked to counter arc or go in a direction she doesn't like, she will shake her head.... sorry should have clarified, she seems ok at the walk and most of the time at the trot. I'm riding her in a medium shank dog bone bit. |
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| DLV - 2015-02-10 8:24 AM Head shaking while loping mainly, she has kind of an attitude and when asked to counter arc or go in a direction she doesn't like, she will shake her head.... sorry should have clarified, she seems ok at the walk and most of the time at the trot. I'm riding her in a medium shank dog bone bit.
I have one that does this at a lope only and I haven't figured out what it is. He'll just do it randomly a few times each direction, and then seems to get over it. His teeth have been looked over by a dentist and no issues there. I have an appt with a vet next week and thought about seeing if he could find anything. |
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 The best bad guy on the internet
Posts: 3519
Location: Arizona | Have the vet check her ears for ticks. I had a horse constantly shake his head, the vet checked his ears and he had cow ticks. Never knew a horse can get cow ticks. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Besides everything already said
If it is only doing counter bending at a lope, I would say possibly hind end lameness issue, might need to have her hocks stifles, si checked, flexed blocked, xray and ultrasound as per qualified lameness vets assessment |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 669
Location: Central Texas | like other posters stated, check TMJ. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | Well, if you're too heavy handed/if the bit is uncomfortable then yes, changing to a softer/different but would help. BUT you NEED to be absolutely sure first that there's nothing wind with her teeth or any other part of the body. |
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 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | usually with TMJ they will rattle the bit with their teeth and their mouth as well.. .. head shaking is also a sign of pain.. from hocks, poll, teeth.. they dont just shake their head one direction for the heck of it.. unless its difficult for them.. either strength or pain issue.. |
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 Big Gun
Posts: 2216
Location: Texas | Tmj. What state do you live in? |
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | 3rdtimesacharm - 2015-02-10 10:27 PM
Tmj. What state do you live in?
KS
She is very herd bound and lazy, I believe in part, she is doing it because she wants to head back toward the other horses and because she doesn't want to lope. I think it's something she's been allowed to do as you can tell she was spoiled prior to me getting her so I believe it's more of a training thing but I'm going to get her teeth done and a vet check just to make sure! |
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I Really Love Jeans
Posts: 3173
Location: North Dakota | The horse was likely not started properly and it is a behavior issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Over the years I have seen horses ride just fine that have never had there teeth done, even with serious problems! I am not saying don't do your horses teeth or that its not the problem that your horse has but I would bet it is a behavior issue. When a horse is not trained properly from the beginning and then they learn they don't have to work if they shake and make it impossible to ride them, this is what I have seen with the majority of the horses like this!!! Get her teeth floated then send her to a good trainer for 30 to 60 days and that will likely solve your problem!!! |
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Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11493
Location: 31 lengths farms | I kept trying to tell myself it was behavioral with my mare also. She was 10 and a few years before she had gotten hurt in the horse trailer, I had quite hauling her as it took me almost 2 years to get her fully healed up. She had been doing well at home and I had been thinking it was time to start hauling her again. She kind of started rooting at the bit, had her teeth checked and had them done but they found nothing major. She continued to get a little worse over the fall, first more aggressively rooting at the bit, had teeth looked at again and decided it was behavioral and we went a couple rounds. I tried putting her back in a side pull at one point which she hated, then having the halter or even her fly mask on became an issue as well as she started tipping her head badly. After havig her checked yet again and nothing in her ears and her teeth checked good again we did the come to Jesus meeting. A week later I got on her after barely being able to get her bridle on her, this a mare that I had shown in a WP schooling show on her 6th ride EVER. Her whole life up until the last 6 or so months had been about "what can I do for you???" She loved to please. Got a leg swung over her and picked up the reins and she went nuts. Certifiable. Jumping, leaping, batting her head, full on panic mode. When I finally got her convinced that if she just stopped that I would get off she finally did. As I crawled off her I looked at her really for the first time and say misery and panic in her eye, she was hurting and terrified that she was in trouble AGAIN. Broke my heart that I hadn't really looked beyond her being naughty. |
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Head shaking...need tips