All shook up

Never one to say nay to a good idea, De Montfort University has built up what it believes to be the biggest database in the world on headshaking in horses.

This frustrating summertime condition, which has more than 60 causes, makes a horse act "as if a bee just flew up its nose" - something unlikely to make for a happy horse. Calming solutions put forward by the De Montfort researchers include: giving horses sunglasses, homeopathy, essential oils or face masks, and improving their diet by cutting out sugar and poor hay.