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Headshaking explained Maybe you’re just getting to grips with a new mount this spring or you’re bringing on your youngster.  Imagine your horror when you find your horse starts headshaking. Your dreams of being able to compete or even hack safely begin to crumble around you. But don’t despair – headshaking need not mean the end to your horse’s riding career. New research is helping vets and owners to better understand this condition and give practical solutions for managing the problem. What is headshaking?  Nowadays it seems that everyone knows someone with a head shaker. But what is a ‘head shaker’ and what distinguishes them from a horse with a short-term irritation or behavioural problem? Most horses shake their heads from time to time to get rid of flies or when frustrated. Horses that simply nod their heads when stabled or as they turn home from a ride, may not be head shakers but ‘nodders’, a condition that is responsive  to changes in management. ‘Nodders’ do not usually cause great problems to themselves or their owner. True head shakers do so persistently and for no apparent reason. They exhibit sharp, jerky vertical and horizontal head movements.  The severity of the movements can vary from small flicks to huge, sweeping arcs which threaten to hit the rider on the nose or unseat them. Experts now recognise that head shakers also exhibit symptoms that suggest the horse is suffering from irritation within or around the face and muzzle.  Head shakers that also snort excessively during an attack will try to rub their face or act as if a bee has gone up their nose. They may even run their nose along the ground or strike the ground during the attack.  Moreover the unpredictability of the length and occurrence of these attacks can severely limit a rider’s ability to compete or even ride safely. By Dr Katy Taylor De Montfort University Without a Muzzle Net: Same horse and rider, with a Muzzle Net: Helpful products for sensitive horses Headshaking can have a range of causes, so it’s always important to seek veterinary advice if you’re concerned about your horse. For horses who are sensitive to flies, sunlight or sensations around the muzzle, our Net Relief Muzzle Net and Net Relief Riding Mask may help provide additional comfort while ridden.

By Dr Katy Taylor,De Montfort University Head Shaking is not a single condition One of the most frustrating things about headshaking is that each case is unique. So, what causes headshaking in one horse may not be the cause in another. It’s important to recognise that headshaking is the symptom of a problem with the horse rather than being the problem itself, although it is often treated as such. There are over 60 known causes of headshaking, including ear, eye and respiratory problems, which makes a veterinary visit all the more important. Simply assuming your horse is an untreatable head shaker may cause more harm. Likewise, be wary of products that claim to cure all head shakers. Headshaking is not a behavioural or management problem Because headshaking often only arises when the horse is ridden, it is commonly attributed to tack problems, bad riding, or resistance. However, studies in the US and UK have shown that around 50% of head shakers also show symptoms at rest. So, whilst exercise always worsens the symptoms, most owners find that changes in tack or schooling have little effect. Researchers at De Montfort University and the University of Lincoln investigated head shakers and non‑head shakers and found no important differences in their diet, use or turnout. The relative unpredictability of the condition and symptoms suggest that the headshaking is not a behavioural one unlike weaving or nodding. Not all headshaking is caused by sunlight (photic headshaking) Head shaking has often been attributed to a reaction to sunlight, but whilst this may be so for some, especially animals in more sunny places like California, many European head shakers seem relatively unaffected by light. Riding indoors or at dusk can still bestow benefits other than by restricting exposure to light so the best test for the photic form of this problem is to carefully cover the horse’s face whilst exercising. Headshaking is not horse hay fever The seasonal nature of headshaking (50% of head shakers only have symptoms from March to October), together with the signs of nasal irritation, has led many to believe that headshaking is a respiratory disorder similar to human hay fever. However, vets remain sceptical because, in general, hay fever medication is not very effective. In addition, vets rarely find clinical signs of an allergic reaction. Although headshaking may be in response to particles in and around the nose, an allergic reaction may not necessarily be occurring. So what does cause headshaking? Given there are a variety of causes, a large proportion of head shakers are thought to be suffering from some kind of pain originating within the head. Nerve pain (neuralgia) has long been considered, ie. damage to the sensory nerves of the head, which may have resulted from physical damage to the nerves or following infection from certain viruses. The involuntary headshaking movement could be a response to the misfiring of a faulty nerve and the rubbing of the face in an attempt to relieve the discomfort caused. Facial neuralgia could account for the general hypersensitivity around the muzzle that many head shakers experience, particularly to rain, snow and wind. In some cases, exercise or particles may be causing the blood vessels in the nose to swell and ‘squash’ the nerve, causing it to misfire. The reasons why some horses head shake and others don’t are not yet known. Frequently the onset of their problem has been traced back to the beginning of the horse’s working life so the many changes that occur within the horse or in its environment during this time may hold part of the answer. Because the problem is often not apparent until the horse is exercised, headshaking could have arisen earlier when the horse was very young but has lain undetected until the horse was backed. Future research into how we can prevent headshaking in foals may be fortuitous once we know more about the causes of headshaking.