| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| hankam |
Posted - 05 Aug 2012 : 4:03:45 PM
Hi,
I was wondering if any of you had thoughts of what this could be: A horse I know when being fed hard feed keeps showing signs of discomfort or irritation in the nose/gums area by rubbing his nose on his leg and then walking away from his feed....we have tried different feed stuff and recently had teeth done but still does the same but doesn't seem to have any problems when out on grass! Recently when exercising and being fine in his mouth with bit he has started to out of the blue from any pace just stop dead to itch like he does when eating feed! The owner is getting concerned if there is a problem or what is wrong but doesn't want the expense of having the vets out ATM so wanted me to put a post on here to see if anyone has had similar problems or what it could be? |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kazzy |
Posted - 06 Aug 2012 : 12:51:58 PM
Is there any discharge from the nose?
The reason I am asking is one of mine suffers what we now know to be sinusitus/pollen related illness. He rubs his nose on his leg and occasionally shakes his head.
I have spent well I dont want to even begin to add it up on vet bills trying to find out what he had, he even went upto the vets to have the hole drilled in his sinuses operation, thank god he didnt have to have it because there was no gunk when they scanned him.
He is now on Global herbs PollenX in the summertime at a maintenence dose which now my vet has decided that yes perhaps it does work, he isnt a huge *aletrnative drugs* fan!! It is quite expensive at £30 a bottle and it lasts a month but on a maintenence level it lasts 2 months which isnt so bad, anything to make his life more comfortable. I take it off him usually about begining of November and then start again February time.
This year he hasnt been that bad and I am putting it down to the farmer over the field hasnt grown any Rape Seed this year and its notorious for giving horses and us humans problems.
If the horse hasnt any discharge then the above doesnt ralte to you but could be useful if it does.
Janet |
| Callisto |
Posted - 06 Aug 2012 : 12:51:43 PM
I would just like to add that although my sister's gelding does indicate that his nose is itchy, he doesn't just stop from any pace to scratch it - he slows down until you let him stop to scratch it and then he is fine. I definitely would not classify him as a head shaker. |
| glo |
Posted - 06 Aug 2012 : 11:36:36 AM
I don't know about the feed as well, but I have been unfortunate to have had 2 head shakers in the past and my friend had to have her horse put down because of it,( would rub is nose till it bleed and in the end tried to kill her) I do know that "rubbing his nose on his leg" when ridden is a sure sign and it is head shaking,its the start, it may or not get any worse, but it is what it is. Also stopping to a stand still at any pace. Not very nice if your trying to canter!! shacking the head all over the place, stamping one leg when ridden, jumping off the ground and stamping leg or legs, a sort of flinching of the head to one side.
But what is strange is that most of the time when not being ridden (out in the field) the horse will act as if all is ok and dose not display any signs.
In the cool whether the horse would just be like any other horse. So if your going to buy a new horse buy it in the summer and pay that little bit extra, just to make sure, there are some signs in the winter but not so obvious.
Having said that the horse may just have a itch on his nose!!! |
| Callisto |
Posted - 06 Aug 2012 : 01:14:44 AM
My sister's gelding does this quite frequently when ridden (stops and itches his nose), and to a lesser extent so does Lily, I've just taken it to mean that they have an itchy nose and want to do something about it - just as I do when my nose itches. Once they've itched it to their satisfaction they carry on without a problem. When I was riding Lily in a bitless bridle she was absolutely fine in it until she got sweaty when she would stop to rub her head on her leg increasingly frequently, so I stopped using the bridle and she went back to only doing it occasionally.
Have no idea what to suggest is happening with the feed though. Does it only happen in the summer?(allergy?). What if you wet his hard feed? (Doesn't like the sensation of hard feed for some reason?) |
| hankam |
Posted - 05 Aug 2012 : 9:41:56 PM
Surely if it's a sign of head shaking wouldn't be rubbing nose when eating his feed? |
| Nichole Waller |
Posted - 05 Aug 2012 : 9:05:03 PM
Oz sometimes rubs his nose on his leg while being ridden. He has done it ever since he was backed 3 years ago. I took the noseband off his bridle as this did seam to make it worse. He does it more when his face gets hot and sweaty.
I just think he is really sensitive and when he doesn't like something he wants rid of it immediately. He doesn't head shake at all, but will rub his face on his legs at least once or twice during a ride. |
| glo |
Posted - 05 Aug 2012 : 5:32:31 PM
I would say its a sign of head shaking. "rubbing his nose on his leg" is a sign, this can happen if you ride through a cloud of midges, or the horse will just keep putting his nose on to his leg. Its sounds mild but if it is Head Shaking will get worse in the spring and summer or on days where the light is dappled (like riding through the trees with the light and shaded parts). If it is Head Shaking there is some antihistamine powder the you spray up his nose and it stops the head shaking for a short time, try not to get the horse to hot as that makes it worse.
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