Headshaker Horses, Head Here for Resources and Research

by Fran Jurga | 19 June 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

Sometimes I finish writing an article for a magazine or a post for this blog and I look at my desk in amazement: piles of books, files strewn everywhere, journals falling on the floor, three monitor screens flashing information. Is it information overload or is it...information nirvana?

If you're like me, you haven't given up on books and files and journals and notes from conferences to do your research on your horse's health problems. But you love the ease of surfing the net to make sure that there's nothing new that you've missed, providing you can trust the source.

But in my library I can go back and research horsecare as it was practiced 100 years ago or 50 years ago or 25 years ago, with the same ease that the internet carries me deeper and deeper into the Right Now.

One condition in horses that brings many people to The Jurga Report and lots of other sites is the problem called headshaking. It's usually getting worse in horses this time of year, which is why I've put this post together now. The bright sunlight seems to irritate headshaker horses, and they're going to it now. When I go to shows and events now, I see more and more horses with those discreet little nets over their noses, and I'm so glad if they are working.

Headshaking is a subject that fascinates all of us, perhaps because it still eludes explanation. We really don't understand it, but so many of us have been around a horse that has this problem, that we've spent a lot of time pondering it. How many truly great horses have had performance careers curtailed because of headshaking? And how many horses in general just could live a happier, less stressful life without the annoyance of headshaking?

A question that really bothers me is why I don't read more about headshaking in the old books. Did they have a secret remedy that didn't survive into the modern times? Or was headshaking simply not as common then as it is now? And why does it seem to be more common each year?

The University of Lincoln in England has created the most comprehensive resource that I've seen on the problem, and they include both their own research and others. Click here to go there and have a look, but be prepared to spend some time.

This group of researchers has surveyed owners of headshaker horses through a project called the National Equine Headshaking Survey and created a site that is absolutely overflowing with literature citations, links, video, illustrations, and advice for owners. It's very inspiring and would make a great model for anyone considering an information-based site on a horse health problem. They've done a great job.

Headshaking is a seasonal problem for many horses, and the new lightweight nosenets are giving some relief, so I hope you will check those out if you haven't already. The University of Liverpool vet hospital has a page about their program of surgery for treatment of headshaking as a form of neuropathy.

Medication, nasal sprays, homeopathic Capstar...all are options that work for some horses, but there still doesn't seem to be one solution that works for all horses and fits the budgets of all owners.

I'm looking forward to that Eureka! day when we can post the news that a definitive answer to the headshaking mystery has been found. In the meantime, the University of Lincoln's web site comes very close and they are so sympathetic to horses suffering from headshaking that you feel that you truly do have a friend out there on the web. And your headshaking horse does, too.

Photo credit: Stock Exchange

Heads Up! Ohio State Seminar Updates Vets on an Important Part of All Horses

by Fran Jurga | 22 January 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

This plastinate tissue preservation of a horse's head reminds me of looking under the hood of a high-performance sports car. There are lots of parts, and you know that they all have to be in tune for the apparatus to operate. So it is with the horse: if something in the head is causing discomfort, the horse may change his head carriage, which affects his balance and posture and gait, he may not want to keep a bit in his mouth, and he may shake his head or develop a behavior that will make riding and handling difficult, if not dangerous. (Plastinate image courtesy of HC Biovision, Dr. Christoph von Horst.)

Veterinarian seminars go through cycles. Some years, there are lots of new developments in reproduction, or imaging technology, or colic diagnosis. Fifteen years ago, we had a spatter of meetings on joint disease. Then it was laminitis, which morphed into digital radiography and MRI and clinical applications of diagnostic ultrasound. Pain management and gastric ulcers and EPM have had their meetings.

From what I see and hear and read, horse owners these days are concerned about problems that I have personally not experienced with horses: allergies, sarcoids and gutteral pouch or sinus infections or obstructions. We all know someone who has a head shaker, and doesn't it seem like horses are having more eye problems than ever before?

What was that funny word in there? The gutteral pouches are like the lost cities of the Incas when it comes to equine health. Thanks to fantastic new imaging modalities, we can have more detailed views of this hard-to-get-to region in the horse's head, and track down sinus infections and the masses that seem to affect these strange pockets. More and more horse owners are complaining to me about gutteral pouch infections and the veterinary world is responding with treatments and medications to help horses.

On February 6-8, 2009, the Ohio State University will host a continuing education seminar for veterinarians and technicians who want to update themselves on the latest care and treatment for medical problems in the horse's head. Facial skin tumors, head shaking, eye problems, dentistry, upper airways problems, gutteral pouch problems, sinus infections, and head swelling are all on the agenda, along with reviews of sophisticated surgical and medical treatments and advanced imaging diagnostics. Dr. Mike Lowder of the University of Georgia will join OSU clinicians and surgeons...and all our horses will come out ahead, if you'll pardon the pun.

Click here for conference details.

Plastinate tissue preservation of a horse's eye. (Dr. Christoph von Horst)

Head Shy Filly Sticks Her Neck Out

The newspapers are showing this "equine interest" photo this morning. A West Virginia filly named Gracie, while out to pasture, managed to get her head stuck--really stuck--in the trunk of a tree. A passerby noticed her unusual predicament and figured he should go for help...but took a few pictures while waiting for the chainsaws to arrive.

Gracie apparently suffered only minor injuries. But I bet you'll never be able to start a chainsaw anywhere near her again.

Of all the Gracie photos, this one is the best, and was printed in the British Telegraph newspaper.

Click here to read the Telegraph's story about Gracie.

AQHA Foundation's "Refrigerator Fund" Will Support Research on Head Trauma Injuries in Horses

(via press release)

September 27, 2007 - The American Quarter Horse Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of the Refrigerator Fund to the equine research program. This fund to support research for critically injured horses is in honor of American Quarter Horse racing’s all-time leading money earner and multiple world champion Refrigerator.

The fund was graciously created by Jim and Marilyn Helzer of Arlington, Texas, in memory of their beloved champion.

“Refrigerator was a horse that touched the heart of every American Quarter Horse owner, trainer, jockey and fan; he was America’s Quarter Horse,” said Jim Helzer. “A research program for head trauma will once again raise the bar to a new level that will assist veterinarians worldwide in treating all horses that suffer from a severe head injury.”

The Foundation will award funding for research in the areas of trauma prevention, treatment, diagnostics, hospitalization and prognosis. Funding decisions will be based on scientific merit, clinical application and potential benefit to the horse and horse industry.

“It is our hope that this comprehensive effort will provide horses with critical injuries a new hope for recovery and a possible return to function,” said Gary Carpenter, executive director of the Foundation.

Since 1960, the American Quarter Horse Foundation has awarded more than $6 million to benefit the health, welfare and utility of the American Quarter Horse. Grants for this specialized head trauma research are in addition to current funding available. Funding will be awarded beginning October 2008.

For more information on the equine research program, visit www.aqha.com/foundation.

Deadline for submission of research proposals is December 1, 2007. To obtain an application, contact Laura Owens with the Foundation at (806) 378-5034 or lowens@aqha.org.