Symptoms and diagnosis
Headshaking varies in severity and can be graded on a scale of one to five. Grade one is an infrequent nasal twitch, while grade five will see an incredibly distressed patient who exhibits excessive headshaking and will be unsafe to handle, let alone ride. Headshaking often has a seasonal link, with clinical signs starting in the spring and getting worse over the summer before abating in the winter. In some horses, though, clinical signs aren’t season-dependent. Other horses may only headshake intermittently, or under certain conditions.
Should your horse or pony start to headshake you should seek veterinary advice and provide your vet with as much historical information as possible. Give an accurate description of the signs your horse is displaying, the duration of them, whether they’re persistent or intermittent, whether management changes or any environmental factors seem to exacerbate or alleviate them, and whether or not you’ve tried any treatments — and, if so, the success rate.
Your horse will need to undergo a full physical examination — provided it’s safe to do so — including examination of his eyes and teeth. If signs of headshaking are only evident when he
is being exercised, it may also be necessary for your vet to watch your horse being loose-schooled, lunged or ridden (again, provided it’s safe to do so) so that they can observe and grade the headshaking. Further investigations may be recommended, including taking blood samples, having an upper respiratory tract endoscopy (camera visualisation of the inside of your horse’s nasal cavities, pharynx, larynx and guttural pouches) and taking X-rays of the skull. If these investigations prove inconclusive, nerve blocks and/or a CT scan of the head may be necessary.
If a specific source of pain is localised, such as headshaking related to dental disease, then appropriate treatment will be needed that will hopefully result in the resolution of the problem.