Hates having his face washed!

Flibble

Flibble

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Sorry not in SY as its empty.

My lad who appears to grow by the minute has issues around the head area especially when your trying to sponge his face clean.

His teeth are fine (we have had the EDT) but when presented with his lovely mummy and a sponge the head goes up like a shot. He has a long neck and it does feel a bit like washing a Giraffe.

Suggestions would be v Gratefully received.

Its not an issue of water in his ears or eyes as I cant get that far. He is 16.3 going on 19 hands if you get my Drift(er). I also have a similar problem if he has a scratch anywhere on his head and I need to dab ointment on it.

I will admit when I bought him (good grief 8 months ago Tempus Fugit!) he had a Major issue putting his Bridle on but now he is only occassionally reticent.

My current best idea is to get Air Sea Rescue to winch me down from above but I am worried the draught from the blades might upset hum.
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no advice really as mky boy is the same except he hates being washed/having ointment on *anywhere* on his body and you can forget fly sprays!

If i need to do something with his face, ie for a scratch, i shove a lickit into his gob to distract him. Nothing like bribery to get the job done, but its probably not the best way, but fighting with him frustrates and upsets me.
 
My boy (4yrs warmblood x, currently 17hh and 22hh and if he wants to be
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) also hated his face being touched or fiddled with. I had a moment of enlightenment a few weeks ago when it occurred to me that I was encouraging the behaviour by assuming he was going to fidget and pull away so becoming overly assertive (not aggressive but bossy nonetheless!) and trying to restrain him before he had even moved. It struck me that I would hate to have my head forced down and scrubbed like that, so I changed by behaviour and so far <crosses fingers> it has worked.
Now I make sure I stand to the side of him (I think they have a blindspot straight ahead?) and I touch his face really gently and slowly, he is transformed
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Ok, I am having the same problems and this is not just the face but washing or sponging any part of my boy's body. I must add that he is about 17.3hh and I am 5ft4!! Slight problem!!

Anyway I have been using carrots and treats. When I do his body I have someone at his head feeding him carrots. When I do his head i try and get the sponge really wet so I can do it quickly and not make a fuss. I have been doing this daily for the last week and yesterday I managed to sponge him off with no tantrums and only carrots afterwards.

I think the trick is, do it as quickly as possible, as often as possible, with as many treats as possible!!

Good Luck!!
 
Thanks one and all I must admit I do notice that sometimes if I approach from the side he reacts better.

I shall endeavour the familiarity approach. my previous horse was a dobbin and rock solid compared to this guy hey ho I will have to see it as a challenge and a chance to educate myself on the horse behaviour side.

When I bought him I thought I would be using everything I had learnt with Gulliver over our 14years instead I am throwing that book out of the window and starting a new one!!
 
My mare doesnt like her face being washed either. She throws her head up as high as possible. She also doesnt like any ointment put on her face but i'm just patient with her. Usually I just want to sponge her sweaty areas after taking her bridle off. Bathing her head is a nightmare though.
 
Warm damp facecloth works well - my mare has a white face now and quite often gets stains on her cheeks or around her eyes. She hates a sopping wet sponge but I can get away with the facecloth.
 
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