Prevalence of headshaking within the equine population in the UK.
Authors: Ross S E, Murray J K, Roberts V L H
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Prevalence of Headshaking in UK Horses Ross, Murray and Roberts conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey to establish baseline prevalence data on headshaking in the UK equine population, recruiting over 1,000 horse owners through social media, online forums, and equestrian publications between June 2016 and study completion. Owner-reported headshaking within the preceding 12 months affected 4.6% of horses (95% CI 3.5–6.1), rising to 6.2% (95% CI 4.9–7.9) when considering lifetime occurrence, with no significant associations identified according to sex or breed; notably, 19% of affected horses displayed headshaking at rest. A striking finding was the limited uptake of veterinary investigation, with fewer than one-third of headshaking cases (30.2%) referred for examination, and amongst those that were examined, the aetiology remained undiagnosed in 57.9% of cases, with trigeminal-mediated headshaking confirmed in only a single instance. These findings suggest that headshaking represents a substantive clinical problem in the UK horse population that is substantially under-investigated by owners and veterinarians alike, potentially indicating either a tolerance threshold for mild clinical signs or a lack of awareness regarding the condition's underlying causes and available diagnostic pathways. The disparity between expected prevalence of trigeminal-mediated headshaking (previously reported as the primary cause) and its rare confirmation in this cohort warrants further investigation and may reflect diagnostic challenges at practice level or owner reluctance to pursue definitive diagnosis.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Headshaking affects approximately 1 in 22 horses in the UK population, with most cases going undiagnosed veterinarily
- •Over two-thirds of owners do not seek professional help for headshaking, suggesting either acceptance of the condition or lack of awareness about treatment options
- •Veterinarians should be prepared to encounter headshaking cases and recognize that most will have unknown etiology despite examination
Key Findings
- •Owner-reported prevalence of headshaking in the last year was 4.6% (95% CI 3.5-6.1) in UK horses
- •6.2% of horses showed signs of headshaking at any time since ownership
- •Only 30.2% of headshaking horses had been examined by a veterinarian for the condition
- •In veterinary-examined cases, the cause remained unknown in 57.9% of cases and trigeminal-mediated headshaking was diagnosed in only one case