Headshaking

As a headshaking symptoms is referred to in horses, which is an expression of a pathological process.

Symptoms

The symptom of head hitting (English Headshaking ) is eponymous for the disease. Unlike eg Koppen or weaving the headshaking is not a behavioral disorder. Often the animals try the nose or the head on the floor, the wall or the front legs to rub. The disease often begins insidiously and may increase to the extent that riding is impossible. The animals are so distracted in the extreme case that they endanger themselves, the riders and their environment. In many cases, the symptoms occur only seasonally (spring / summer) to conditionally. Head Shaker react partly sensitive to touch on the head. Frequently photosensitivity ( sensitivity to light) is described.

Causes

Basically, the headshaking is divided into two categories: The symptomatic ( here there are many known cause) and idiopathic ( here knows you no cause) Headshaking. This means that the word Headshaking describes the symptom of a disease for which there can be many causes. The so-called symptomatic Headshaking may, among other things its cause have:

• Dental problems
• Parasites on the head ( ear)
• Diseases of the ear
• Pathological changes in the nasal passages or sinuses
• Eye Diseases
• Back problems
• Rittigkeitsproblemen
• Reiter errors

From the so-called idiopathic headshaking is called when all the known possible causes have been excluded. A more recent theory suggests that the idiopathic headshaking could be considered as analogous to the human trigeminal neuralgia. This is a disease in which, starting from the fifth cranial nerve ( trigeminal nerve ) pain signals to the brain are sent. Even in human medicine, the cause for this is not always sufficiently clarified. One is a pathological neurovascular contact; here is an adjacent artery too close run along the nerves and irritate him by that caused by the passing blood peristalsis. A tentative explanation for all other cases, the short-circuit - effects model, which assumes trigeminal of demyelination of nerve fibers of the N.. In humans, is often spoken in the context of trigeminal neuralgia by electrostatic shock-like pain.

Treatment

The treatment is by the multitude of often hard to diagnose the causes often not easy. In the cases symptomatic headshaking must be treated of course the cause. If it is idiopathic headshaking, as is currently being attempted, in essence, the symptom relieve ( the head shaking). In recent times has been often used a nasal network, a type of gauze which is attached via the nostrils. An effect is described especially in milder cases. The theory is that the mechanical stimulus relieves the pain stimulus, similar to the effect on scratching. Drug therapy of idiopathic headshaking can be attempted. The drug of choice is the anticonvulsant carbamazepine or gabapentin. This therapy does not lead to success in all cases, the addition of these substances fall under the relevant doping at the tournament drugs.

At the Hannover Veterinary School has been running for several years a study of headshaking.