Feeling blue.

I've been sporting an enormous smile on my face coming off the heels of a very special cross country road trip. To say life is good would be a massive understatement. I was eager to get back to my pony and start looking ahead at our plans for the summer, and then nearly all at once, my hopes, and plans and dreams were brought to a screeching halt.

I didn't want to write this post.

The sweetest Riley-pants.

I had suspected something before I left from my trip, but I couldn't talk about it. I didn't want to say it out loud and I thought if I left and came back maybe it would be gone. Maybe, just maybe I had created it all in my imagination. But what I realized this weekend, after some testing and observation, is that Riley has developed Head Shakers. I'm at a bit of a loss of what to think and what to do. I've reached out to a few people for support for treatment options and advice, but the prognosis is a bit grim. *And no, I am not trying to be pessimistic about it (or him), it's my nature to try to find the most positive outcome in every situation, but with everything that I have read so far, and from what I've heard from firsthand accounts, it's a painful, miserable state for a horse to be in.

Remarkably, there is not a ton of information out there readily available. I have done quite a bit of research since I first suspected this a few weeks ago, only to find it leading me to dead ends. There are plenty of documented cases, but everyone has a bit of a different story, prognosis, and treatment. What works for some, doesn't work for others and it's a battle of trial and error to make the horse comfortable while all of that is investigated.

But let's back up.

Remember how I wrote about Riley's Spring Fever? Yea, looking back, I think it was the beginning of the head shaking. The clarity that hindsight provides is staggering.

head flipping for no reason...

Just before I left for my trip we had hacked once or twice lightly and he was okay, but rubbed his head aggressively on his legs as soon as I hopped off. Uncharacteristic, but not necessarily a warning sign. Then a few days before I left I noticed him jerking his head up and down almost as a response to pressure on the lead rope and I asked Emily to watch. She noticed it and we chalked it up to seasonal allergies. While I was away I offered for her to take Riley to be used as a lesson horse for some intermediate riders at a nearby show barn and I was informed that he was basically un-rideable because he was shaking his head so violently up and down. At first they thought it was behavioral and put a standing martingale on him, but it didn't help and they brought him back. Emily commented that he was spending a lot of time in the shed during the day (he's usually outside 24/7) -- and I remarked that I noticed the same thing before I left. She offered to have him come in during the day and turned out at night to see if that made him happier. Being in during the day definitely kept the symptoms at bay, abut I wanted to do some troubleshooting and some tests to kind of get a baseline for how bad the head shaking had gotten. After some research and advice, we started him on a loading dose of Quiessence (mostly Magnesium) to see if that might help. He had been on it for two days when I saw him this weekend.

When I arrived to feed early Saturday morning, Riley was in the shed by himself. It was roughly 80 degrees and climbing with a 10 mph wind. He came to the gate to be brought in and I took some video of his head shaking there.

Each time I watch it, I get more sad. As soon as I out him in his stall he was quiet and showed no symptoms. He proceeded to snooze all day happily inside the barn.

Later in the day, as a way to test the worst of his symptoms, I brought him out at 2pm to stick on the lunge line. He hasn't been ridden in a few weeks and was a bit wild then, so I lunged him in the Pessoa for added security as we don't have a ring or a round pen. I wanted to get a baseline for how bad he was feeling and if the flymask would make a difference in his behavior.

Btw, he's been lunged in the Pessoa a lot and while it's very loose in this video, the head shaking is not a result of the lines (they are very light) and he's accustomed to it set without restriction. He also sneezed a ton while warming up, almost like a bee flew up his nose.

A little better here, but not gone completely. What was encouraging was seeing him stretch over his back and relax a little bit. The head shaking makes him very hollow and tense through his neck and back and stretching his nose to the ground is his favorite thing! I only worked him for a few minutes in either direction (he did try to run away with me twice!) -- but he obliged to work w-t-c in both direction with contact. However, any time I tried to touch his face (to switch the line over or make adjustments to the Pessoa) he was violently thrashing his face around. He is not a head shy horse in any way and this just about broke my heart. Also, there seemed to be a correlation to his aggravation and being spooky, as he spooked suddenly and dramatically twice in hand walking back to the barn. He was reactive in a way I've never witnessed before. Once I got him back into the barn I could barely get the flymask and bridle off him in the wash stall. He was barreling me over trying to rub him face on anything he could.

Such a tolerant lad.

He got washed off and was happy again in his stall with no symptoms. I tried hand grazing him in the shade while he dried off but he was shaking his head and sneezing too much. Sunday he was in when I arrived and I turned him out around 5:30 pm with his flymask and he seemed happy enough grazing.

He'll be on the loading dose of Quiessence for the rest of the week and we will see if there are any changes before we add anything else of make any other decisions. From what I've read regarding HS, it seems that this approach (trying one thing at a time) is the best way to see if ANYTHING relieves the pain.

To recap, his HS symptoms:
*Sensitivity to light -- hides in his shed, shakes head up and down in sunlight, quiet in stall, and happier in flymask
*Shakes head under saddle and on lunge -- will work, but not happy during breaks
*Extreme head sensitivity after working in sunlight
*Reactive and spooky after symptoms present (he also fell down spooking at something when he was being brought in from turnout while I was away)
*Sneezing when being asked to work when symptoms above are present (like something is in his nose)
*cuts on his nostrils from rubbing
*rubs face violently after working or removal of bridle

Treatment so far:
*stalled during the day
*Quiessence (5 scoops/loading dose with am feed)
*flymask with long nose for turnout

I wish I could make my pretty beast happy again

Like I said, I've reached out to a few people regarding his symptoms and my vet is currently treating a friend's horse with HS, so I'll be putting a call into her for some thoughts too. The tricky thing with HS is that a lot of people either don't know about it, or doubt it's validity, claiming it's extremely difficult to diagnose. I am lucky that my vet not only understands HS, but know what to look for and how to go about treating it, etc.

If anyone has any resources, help or suggestions, I'd be eager to hear them! Please send good thoughts our way!

Emily sent me this photo of muddy Riley snoozing in his stall this morning!

**PS. Please share this post with friends if you think you know of someone with some advice!