nosriltvet for headshaking

[angie]

Hi all,

My Ella will soon be starting her head-shaking malarky with the onset of Spring. She isn't completely un-rideable, and generally goes well with a nose-net, but it would be nice to ride her without it and a noseband. She goes lovely in the 'no pollen' months without anything about her nose.

I was just wondering if anybody had tried, or heard from friends, Nostrilvet, which is supposed to help. It looks good on paper, but at over £30 a bottle, I would like some feedback before taking the plunge!!

Happy New Year any way to all MySafecobbers,

Angie and Ella xx

[em]

Hi

I cant comment on the nostrivet because I have never used it.. however a friend had great success with a head shaker using herbs that help calm the immune system so the reaction was much reduced .. however i cannot call the name to mind off the top of my head ( really helpful eh ) however if you wish to know I can contact my friend and find out what it was

happy new year x

[BrionyAnakin]

I haven't heard of nostrilvet but we give our headshaker local honey and human antihistamines on advice from the vet - it works for us!

[angie]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

I tried Shake Reilef by NAF last year, which is a natural supplement, but Ella refused to eat her feed with it in, so I resorted back to the net. I know Global Herbs also do a head shake supplement, but the idea of nostrilvet appealed as its quick - and supposedley easy! - to administer!! I think I'll try and speak to the manufacturer and see what they say.

I hope everyone is enjoying the (brief) respite in the weather...Happy Hacking!

angie and ella x

[joy]

Hi Angie
I use Nostrilvet for my Dolly who is a headshaker- and yes it does seem to help-make sure you shake it really well before puffing up the nose!!!

Take care
Joy

[angie]

Hi Joy,

Thanks for your reply. Just to clarify, does Dolly only headshake when ridden, and does it seem a seasonal pollen/dust based reason?

Ella only does it when ridden, in the Spring and Summer generally, especially near in-pollen rape fields, or going down 'closed in' bridleways when pollen and dust are rife!

The nostrilvet website alludes to 'proper' hayfever symptoms like watery or itchy eyes, coughs and wheezes etc, but Ella does not have these so am a bit confused!

Anyway, hopefully you can help, and if I get some, will let you know how it goes!

Angie x

[joy]

Hi Angie,
Dolly only head shakes in late spring/summer when the pollens are about- and yes when ridden!!!

it does definitely help and lasts quite a while- I think it is worth the price as we have tried everything else but this is by far the best- it is a very fine white powder which you puff up each nostril- it coats the inside of the nose coating it and helping catch any pollen etc irritating the nose!!!
Hope this helps!!!
Kind regards
Joy

[angie]

Thanks Joy,

I'll be ordering some in the very near future. It does seem to be something not many people have heard of, and none of my horsey friends around here know anything about it!!

Angie

[ange]

Hi Angie,

did you try Nostrilvet and did it help??? I've ordered some which should hopefully be here tomorrow as Millie has started heashaking when ridden - she's quite desparate to rub the end of her nose and is really throwing her head around at times.

I'd already got a nose net, which I'm using, but it doesn't seem to be helping very much, and I've just had her teeth checked but that's made no difference either.

She only started about 3 weeks back, and didn't do it last year, but the tree pollen seems really bad this year - I have grass related hayfever myself and I'm getting mild symptoms from the tree pollen too, which I don't normally get.

My vet hadn't heard of Nostrilvet and is keen to know if it helps - he's also suggested that I keep a diary of when she's itchy - time of day, temperature and weather conditions, situations, locations, etc, and has suggested that I might raise a claim with my insurance as they could have Millie in to scope and X-ray her. He also mentioned antihistamines, and steroids, although he said that the success rate with both is very low. He also mentioned 'surgery', where they use caustic substances to destroy part of the Trigemineal nerve, but its something he wouldn't recommend as the nerve is very difficult to access and the treatment can't be 100% accurate and can cause side effects!

I'm paranoid now too - looking on the web I've found many 'natural' sites that list 'over vaccination' as a cause - Millie had never been vaccinated when i had her, so I started her Tet and Flu - that means she's had 3 lots of jabs that she's never had before.

I've also just started her on Milk thistle, as a general liver tonic, as Chinese medicine cites headshaking as possibly being Liver related!

Would be interested to know from those of you using human antihistamines what type you use, and if there is any advice re dosing levels, etc??

Cheers, Ange.

[angie]

Hi Ange,

I haven't got the Nostrilvet yet...after looking on other forums, the popular consensus was it was just a gimmick. I have got her nose net on which definately helps, and many friends on a Facebook equine group seem to use Piriton tablets, ranging between 3 and 5 tabs a day, depending on the horse.
Also, a product called Nasaleze - which is like nostrilvet for humans - was recommended,as its a fraction of the price!! When the vet is next up, I will ask their opinion on the piriton tablets.

I would have posted sooner, but forgot I'd started this thread off!!

Angie

[ange]

Hi Angie, thanks for your reply.

I had looked at the Nasaleze as an alternative - it's made by the same people - as far as I can tell the bottle only contains 500mg as opposed to the Nostrilvet, which contains 2*1500mg (so 3000mg in total - 6 times the amount).

Plus, if the spray bottle is any smaller for the Nasaleze I'd loose it up Millie's nose - the Nostrilvet bottle is only just big enough to insert and hold on to!

I did try it - it arrived Saturday morning, so I used it Saturday night, then first thing Sunday and again later Sunday morning after I'd tacked up. I didn't use the nose net (as I'm still not sure its really helping). I rode for around 2 hours and the pollen was really bad - there was so much in the air you could taste it! Millie was really bad, throwing her head and having to rub her nose on her legs. She's snorting a lot too - so I should think that this clears the gel covering from inside her nose quite quickly.

First impression was that it didn't work but I did spray her again when we got back, and then it did seem to calm things down for her much more quickly than usual. She doesn't object to it being sprayed at all - just curls her top lip back afterwards with an 'oooh thats interesting' look!

A friend who's mare headshakes, but is usually ok with a nose net, said that she had major problems on Sunday too! So maybe Sunday wasn't the best 'test' day. I didn't ride yesterday as she's now got a small split in the corner of her mouth - probably from throwing her head and snatching it down to rub - but I will give it another go (can't hurt now I've paid for it!)

I'd need to check, but I think the active ingredient in Piriton is Loratadine - you can buy the unbranded tablets for a lot less than you pay for Piriton - I use them on me and bought 4 weeks worth (2 packs of 14) on offer at Morrissons a few days ago for £1.50, which doesn't sound so bad! Will have to have another chat with my vet.

Cheers, Ange.

[ange]

Update re Piriton - the active ingedient is actually Chlorphenamine maleate. You can buy generic tablets for this too - probably a lot cheaper than Piriton (but I haven't checked).
Cheers, ange.

[angie]

Hi Ange,

Thanks for the info. I've had a couple of weeks off riding due to a fall - my confidence took a bit of a knock - so I haven't had the chance to try any alternatives yet on Ella. I will maybe check the piriton route, as soome other ladies on a facebook group recommend it quite highly.
In the meantime, I'm hoping the pollen easing off a bit, although this hot humid weather isn't ideal, as now all the flies are out in force!!

Thanks again for the detective work,

Angie.

[ange]

Hi Angie,

I've been doing some Internet research - there are a lot of different antihistamines seemingly being used.

As well as Piriton, there's Piriteze (which is Cetirizine - another cheap over the counter generaic), and my vet has recommended Phenergan (which is Promethazine). I've seen forums that mention Piriton but I think mean Piriteze so be careful and check!

They work in different ways and some (generally the ones described as first generation) have a much higher sedative effect. There are also some which have an affect on Seretonin, which is implicated in headshaking in response to sunlight (photic headshaking).

My vet has recommended that we try a high dose of bute for 8 days - this should help to identify if the headshaking is directly pain related - I'm delaying starting this treatment as Millie has had a little argument in the field and is sporting a few kicks, so I don't want to mask any resulting problems.

I've had a chiropractic check Millie - she found lots of discomfort around her poll and upper neck, and a little through her back, but felt that it was all because of the headshaking rather than the cause of it.

I've also padded her bridle using gamgee at the poll, which seems to help (but may be just helping the symptoms not the cause).

I've read that the best diagnostic test for a photic headshaker is to ride them totally blindfolded (them not you!) of course with assistance from someone on the ground!! Blocking out the light completely apparently shows quickly if the problem is light-sensitivity. You can buy 'goggles' for this but they're expensive.

I rode her this weekend in pooring rain (and it had rained a lot overnight so had suppressed any pollen) - no headshaking - but not conclusive as the rain affected the light/UV levels as well as the pollen.

I've also noticed that, in her stable, when she pees she also now nods her head up and down - a sort of mild headshake - I've seen it more than once so I know its not a one off! Have you seen anything like this?

Cheers, Ange.

[ange]

Sorry Angie,

my last posting was a bit rushed and I forgot to say sorry you had a fall and are you ok now?? I know how easily these things can knock your confidence - for me they have a bigger impact when things have been going well for some time than when you're hitting the deck on a regular basis!

I had a lesson on Millie yesterday - the last couple have not been very successful as she's been so distracted by the headshaking, which also seems to leave her tired VERY quickly.

We've had rain off and on, and quite heavy, since the weekend and in this (dry) lesson we had NO headshaking, plus we had a lot more energy (although not always 'positive' energy, little minx!) I'd used the Nostrilvet, and she had her nosenet on and her gamgee padding over her poll.

If this stays consistent then I will need to experiment, removing one or more of the three (Nostrilvet, nosenet, gamgee) to see if there is any change, but also trying to factor in the weather makes the whole process a real pain!

The Chiropractor had given me some massage exercises to use around Millie's poll and neck to help releive any tension after riding - I tried these but she was having none of it! She was obviously very sensitive, although she was willing to do the range of 'carrot stretches' that had also been advised (not sure if these are less unconfortable or just better motivated).

This at least gives me something to go back to the vet with, i.e. we perhaps need to focus more on what's going on around her poll area than her nose!

Have you tried any poll padding with Ella??? If so, did it help?

Cheers, Ange.