RE: cleaning ears

[Julienne Rha <Julienne.Rha.B@bayer.com>]

Bonnie (and whoever's interested),
The term is called 'photic headshaking'.  I've had my gelding for two and a
half years and he's been diagnosed with the problem.  As you mentioned, we
thought it was an ear infection at first and treated it as such.  The disease
is not well known and Dr. John Madigan at the UC Davis Vet Hospital has done
the most research on it (first dating only since '95).  The symptoms are
seasonal and usually begin for Harley late winter/early spring and are worsened
with exercise/moving around.   We are usually okay with a regular Farnam fly
mask on rides (which blocks about 70% of the UV rays), but on really bright
shiny days we have to resort to the Guardian mask (which makes him look like he
has huge giant bug eyes) which blocks about 95% of the UV rays.  There are
three horses at my barn that have been diagnosed as well..  the cause isn't
well known but the possible contributing factors include:  melatonin levels,
allergens, UV rays, etc.  Chestnuts seem to be more affected than any other
color of horse.

If you need more info, I've done tons of research over the past few years and I
can probably point out some more articles if you are interested.

Julienne
& Harley (lookin' cool in his shades)