Evaluation of some prophylactic therapies for the idiopathic headshaker syndrome.

This study investigates the effectiveness of various preventative treatments for idiopathic headshaker syndrome, a condition in horses, and finds that only a few therapies give temporary relief, while many others are generally ineffective.

Research Overview

• This research was carried out on 18 horses suffering from idiopathic headshaker syndrome, a problem in horses characterized by uncontrollable head shaking. The aim was to determine the effectiveness of different prophylactic (preventative) treatments for this condition.

Therapies Tested

• Various therapies were tested in this study. These included riding the horse with a veil over its nostrils, applying local (inside the nostrils) corticosteroid therapy, using sodium cromoglycate, systemic corticosteroid, flunixin meglumine, and an antihistamine, and carrying out bilateral infraorbital neurectomy (a surgical operation to remove nerve tissue in the eye region).

Findings

• The study found that using a veil over the nostrils of the horse during riding provided varying degrees of temporary relief in three out of ten horses tested.
• Local corticosteroid therapy was found to be slightly effective in three out of nine horses.
• Meanwhile, treatments with sodium cromoglycate, systemic corticosteroid, flunixin meglumine, and an antihistamine were generally found to be ineffective.
• Bilateral infraorbital neurectomy, a more invasive treatment, provided sustained relief in three out of seven horses. However, in one case, a reaction at the site of the neurectomy required another surgical operation after six months. A fourth horse was reported to be slightly improved following neurectomy.
• The researchers noted that a common complication following the neurectomy was a period of nasal irritation leading to self-inflicted trauma in the horses.