Help for head shakers?

Readers responses to my recent e-newsletter question "A reader has asked for tips on helping a horse that head shakes - what suggestions do you have?":

Hi Sue,

My Welsh mare is a head shaker and this is really difficult to cure, at best you just have to manage it, it all depends what the 'trigger' is for your individual, for mine it is flies and midges and light rain or snow flakes touching her face.  I can manage the later pretty well by not ridding in snow/rain, but the flies are the main problem as the season for them is long, I manage this by riding her in a full face fly mask to cover her from nose to ears, I have tried ones designed to be ridden  in but I find the best to be Shires fine mesh full face mask, although designed for the field, visability is good and mesh is stiff enough not to touch eyes but soft enough not to rub.  This does not stop the head shaking as she still reacts to flies coming towards her face but it does reduce it enough to have a reasonably pleasant and safe ride. She also head shakes in autumn when the leaves are coming off the trees, this seems to be in anticipation of them touching her.  I have an 'MOT' every 6 months with Donna Blinman (vet and physio) who says she has bones in her head which should have small gap between but are touching on one side probably from a knock or kick when she was younger which may be causing the sensitivity, she has done a session on her head to relive some of this but it had little effect on the head shaking.  I also ensure her bridle is not causing any pressure and use a comfort bridle with padded and shaped head piece, padded loose noseband and loose brow band.  My vet has suggested nerve blocking and possible cutting of trigeminal nerve or inserting a metal coil but I am reluctant to go down this invasive root.  I tend to make the most of the winter and ride where possible in summer early in the morning before the flies are about too much.
My daughter has a friend who has a head shaker who starts by giving her a jab in the mouth and ends up smacking her across the nose with her whip when she doesn't stop!! not the answer for the poor mare.
Hope this may be some help
Regards
Andrea

Hi Sue,
I have a fell pony that head shakes annd now I ride bitless. I ude a Dr Cook bitless bridle and I find he's much more relaxed. It hasn't cured him but he's much improved .
Jean

Hi Sue
Re Head shakers;  I read recently I think on Helpful Hints or a link that cranio Sacral Therapy can help head shakers.
Regards
Mary Hale

Has anyone tried Horse Agility?

In a recent newsletter I asked the question "Has anyone tried Horse Agility, and how did you get on?"  I wanted to share one reader's very positive response with you...

Dear Sue,
Yes, I am  'Horse Agility' competitor and enthusiast. I have two horses, one 27yr old retired 'Allrounder', (15hh Welsh Cob) in his day an amazing competition horse and very dear loyal friend and a 16 yrs young imp, Hero (14.2hh Welsh/TB) who came to me aged 6 as a troubled soul. Not everyones 'cup of tea', but I and my daughter have had such fun with him and he is the horse that has taught me the most and continues all the time.
I have come from a very traditional background with horses and have been a Pony Club Instructor for many years and have competed in many spheres of the horseworld.
I met Kelly Marks on a CPD day and then progressed to a year with Stage 1 and have continued to read, research and look at all the other masters.
I fell upon H/A when I went to help a lady with a horse related problem and she was a Dog Trainer/Dog Agility Trainer and she had said had I heard of Horse Agility.
Hero at the time had been lame behind, having never had a days lameness and it all looked rather gloomy and I could not bring myself to put him down and my gut instinct was just to give him time. On his way to recovery he very much needed mental stimulation and gentle movement and this is how I started my journey with this new sport.
It has been great for both horses as a form of physio and for mental stimulation and is absolutely brilliant for 'Horsemanship skills'. It has been a wonderful stepping stone from 'Intelligent Horsemanship', from learning the basics and fine tunes all those skills. It encourages people from different spheres of  'Horsemanship'. I have picked up some great 'parelli' tips, but I have my own style and like to be able to be adaptable.
Great social website and lots of help and then you can see video's from all over the world, some in sunshine and some in snow!
It has been hard to get a video in recently with the weather as I don't have the luxury of a manage or indoor school, but have now got a round pen with surface which is great.
Love your emails and tips and of course your book, which is great.
Best Wishes
Amanda Braham

PS. The other thing that is great you can use the courses to long rein or ride around and it is also interesting to see the different reactions from inhand to long lines to ridden.

Barefoot soreness after trimming?

There were so many responses to last weeks e-newsletter question "A question for those with their horses barefoot - is your horse lame for a couple of days after he's been trimmed?" that I figured it would be easier to post them as a blog and link to here from the newsletter rather than try to squeeze them all in amongst everything else!

Hi Sue,

I wanted to respond to your question about barefoot horses and whether people have found that they’re often lame for a day or two after being trimmed. 

I’m a trainee equine podiatrist with (hopefully) just a few months left of my training before I qualify.  In my experience, a horse should only be sore after a trim if there is a major underlying problem with the feet prior to the trim e.g. laminitis, neglect.  It worries me that there are horses out there that are suffering, even if only for a couple of days, due to the type of trim applied by the farrier / trimmer.  In fact, one of the reasons why I decided to train as an equine podiatrist myself was because my pony would often be sore after the farrier trimmed him and I felt as though that wasn’t right.  One of the rules that practitioners registered with the Equine Podiatry Association work by is ‘do no harm’ and we will always walk and trot up a horse after a trim to make sure that it is moving well (and certainly no worse than it was prior to the trim).  Owners should challenge their farrier or trimmer if their horse is consistently sore after a trim.

Kind regards,

Nicky

Hi Sue

I changed Buster to barefoot at the end of last year.  I have not experienced lameness after they have been trimmed up to the present time.  On the other hand the quality of the hoof has improved dramatically.  After two trims he was noticeably less pigeon toed and he has been far better going overall.  Hope this helps.  I have details of an excellent young girl that trained in Denmark that does his feet if it is of use to anyone highly recommend her she is excellent with the nervous young or difficult.Su

My horses (two ex racehorses, one 13 the other 7)  are both barefoot.  I trim them myself weekly and they are never lame after a trim.  I'm convinced that trimming little and often is the answer as, if they were in the wild, they would be on diverse terrain which would
self trim their hooves.  Trimming little and often mimicks this.
Regards, 

Lesley

Hi Sue
I have 2 native ponies 1 Fell gelding and 1 Welsh Sec D mare both ridden barefoot, Fell has been barefoot for 2 years and Welsh for 1 year, both are trimmed every 8 weeks by my farrier who is very supportive of barefoot and they are never sore after a trim.  I have a riders rasp which I use between trims to remove any rough edges which may otherwise break off.  I did find with both ponies that it took about 6 months for their feet to adapt and get really strong, during this time I used front boots on the Welsh if doing lots of road work.  I found the worst thing was grit getting stuck in white line when feet were wet and softer during last wet winter but never had a problem after a trim, my farrier never takes too much off and just balances the foot and the Welsh who is ridden 5-6 days a week more or less self trims especially the back feet, the Fell who only goes out twice a week needs more trimming.  I also think diet plays a big part, I reduce sugar intake as much as possible by soaking hay in winter and strip grazing in summer (also keeps them slim) and feed linseed, brewers yeast, rose hips and magnesium which I belive all  have a positive effect on hoof quality and give their coats a fantastic shine.
Regards,
Andrea

Hi there,

In response to barefoot soreness after trimming... absolutely never... I use my original farrier to trim her hooves, not an equine podiatrist, and I've never had any lameness at all.

Emma