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Q
I have been a professional riding instructor for the past ten years. Two months ago I needed a horse for novices and special needs riders. Eventually I bought a nine year old Thoroughbred x Cleveland Bay mare. The horse seemed very steady, with a sweet and gentle nature - just what I wanted. She had not had much use recently, so I needed to bring her back to condition. After a little exercise in the menage, we went for a half hour slow hack, and then some lungeing. After a few minutes lungeing there was continuous headshaking up and down. Looking in the nostrils there was a very small amount of blood on one side. Perhaps I had done too much, too soon. I rested the horse for two days and then rode at walk around the menage. After about ten minutes the headshaking started again and even continued back in the stable.
I was in despair because I liked the horse so much. I knew that if she had confirmed headshaking it would not be fair to her or to me to keep her. She would have to go back. I also knew from my training that headshaking was a vice in horses which could not be successfully treated. At this point I was offered Equiwinner Patches to try. It seemed to me that it was very unlikely that anything could be done. I had seen so many people trying everything under the sun to stop bleeding and headshaking. I also thought that any treatment was bound to take many months and I needed a horse for waiting special needs pupils.
So you can understand I was just so surprised that after putting the first patch on in the evening, the following morning the horse seemed so much happier. Equiwinner advise getting on with training straight away, so I tacked up and led her to the menage. Walked, trotted and then could I try canter? No problem! I just found it hard to believe that something that was not even a medication could change a horse overnight. I continued the exercise for another half an hour and found the horse giving everything that I expected of her. I continued with the patches for the ten days, and the horse is now in really good condition and used most days. There has been no sign of headshaking or bleeding.
A
Although both headshaking and Eiphen (bleeding) become apparent during and following exercise, they are not caused by the exertion of exercise. In this case it is likely that the problem was building up in the earlier history of the horse, and became apparent when the horse was asked to work. The Equiwinner Patches work quickly because they tackle the cause of the condition instead of just trying to reduce the symptoms.
Q
My 14 year old TB gelding has exhibited headshaking in April/May 2003 in North Carolina and again in April/May in Winnipeg, Canada. It appeared very suddenly this spring and the headtossing was almost constant at first but decreased steadily and has now almost disappeared. He also exhibited sneezing and coughing to a degree that was greater than normal. He has recently begun to "race" when asked to canter but otherwise has been cooperative in our rides. Except for a mild case of rain rot earlier this spring, his health has been excellent in the year that I have had him.
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You may have seen on the website that the classic head tossing syndrome in horses results from an excessive rise in blood pressure during exercise. The blood pressure arises from the destruction of capillaries in the skin, and this happens because of the blockage of sweat ducts causing sweat under pressure to exude into the skin. From your description your horse has had a mild case which you have overcome. In the cold of the winter, and with perhaps less exercise, there would be very little sweating and so the blood pressure might not rise enough to cause discomfort in the head. In the warmer weather of the spring there is sweating and the pressure rises. But (in a mild case) after a few weeks of exercise the sweat ducts gradually clear, return to their proper habituation, and there is no problem.
So if you keep up a reasonable amount of exercise for your horse, and he has space to run about when not being ridden, he should stay perfectly sound. Long hacks if possible are excellent for this. You can keep a check on his condition by pushing your fingers into his coat after exercise. Except on very cold days, his skin should be damp over most of the length of the horse. Also note the shade of pink in his nostrils, so that if you have any suspicion of the same trouble in the future, you can check that they have not gone a much brighter shade of red, showing blood pressure. You may wish to consider using the Equiwinner Patches in early spring next year, but it seems you are doing very well with your own method.
Q
I have been a horse behaviourist for many years after leaving service in a cavalry unit. Some problem horses take longer than others to sort out, but generally I will see more than twenty horses in a week. I was offered some Equiwinner Patches to see if they would help any of my clients' horses. I always hoped that a remedy for bleeding, which is a huge problem in racing, was bound to come along one day, but was this is it? It did not seem likely, but I thought I would try the patches on my own horse, which I use for shows and demonstrations, to find out if they upset the horse or there were any problems. The patches were simple to use, but I was just quite surprised that the horse, which I thought was absolutely right and fully fit, got a new lease of life. More lively, more energy, and more eager to work. I suppose there must have been a little bit of blood pressure starting to build up unnoticed, and the patches released this. I was fascinated by the patches and will investigate their use further.
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We hope to hear from you again.