Headshaking equals heartache.  Not the occasional studly shake, the protest against bad hands or the signal that it’s time to float teeth.  The repetitive headshaking that is distracting to horse and rider in its intensity and the pain it represents.

I’ve been lucky.  I had one horse that rubbed his face after every ride and liked to throw his head around, but he never developed the headshaking syndrome that is so difficult to treat, much less to cure.

NASA’s photo of the molecular cloud known as the horse head nebula. Is this how a headshaking horse feels?

Some of my friends have not been so lucky.  Watching the syndrome develop over time, watching an endless stream of treatments (from nose nets to spirulina to craniosacral therapy) fail, and watching horses suffer and dreams die, all has made me wary when I see a horse violently shake his head or try to rub the bridle off his face.

I was all set to vet out the perfect lesson horse when I heard how the horse had experienced a bout of allergies the prior spring and how he’d been observed scratching his head and neck.  That alone made me cancel the pre-purchase.  I explained to the seller honestly my concern about allergies and headshaking, and was told “good luck finding a horse.”  Well, I need that good luck, since I have yet to find my lesson horse, but as Louis Pasteur said, “fortune favors the prepared mind.”

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Jockeys in the Rain, Degas, 1886

Yesterday was one of those days when I had horses to dry.

There aren’t many days when it’s too warm for blankets, it’s snowing, the horses have winter coats, and the temperature is going to drop precipitously when the sun sets.

Most of my turnout sheets won’t stay dry after all day in the snow, so neither do the horses.  That’s when it’s good to have horse-drying know-how as well as options.  I use a modern horse-drying method as well as an old-fashioned one.  I’m sure there are others, like hair dryers and heat lamps, but those are outside my purview.

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This may be yesterday’s news (actually, it’s eleven days ago’s news), but it’s still great news that the FEI has decided to speak for the horse.

The 24th edition of the FEI Rules for Dressage Events will now make it clear that any horse with “fresh blood” on its body will be eliminated from competition and that elimination will be final, with no appeal.

I join in the chorus saying “thank you” to the decision makers who adopted the new rule at the FEI General Assembly.  I like to think that all who made their voices heard on the issue made a difference.  My voice joined in here and here.

Unfortunately, the blood rules for other FEI competitions put the welfare of the horse behind the potential success of the competitor.

For jumping, here is the FEI rule mentioning blood:

“…in minor cases of blood in the mouth, such as where a Horse appears to have bitten its tongue or lip, Officials may authorize the rinsing or wiping of the mouth and allow the rider to continue; any further evidence of blood in the mouth will result in disqualification…”

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