Head Shy

[horze]

I Own A 15'2 Coloured Cob
Who I Have Since The End Of June
He Is A Very sweet little horse
will stand for hours to be groom and lets you bath him fine
that is until you get to the higher part of his neck or poll area
his past owner said she found it hard to get his head but just left him to it
how ever i fell i cant do this as he is itchy in his poll and i want to get him out showing so his ears do need the large woolly tuffs cutting out
i was wanting to know if any one could give me any ideas on how to build his confidence with his head, he is not happy at all a friend said oh just crack on and i am sure he will give him, so she spray his head with the hose pip and he reared [not big just a foot] but still i don't blame him i wouldn't want a hose pip on my head so i don't want to scare him more just slowly let him no all i want to do his brush him
can any one help me ?

 

[Lulup]

Spraying his head with a hosepipe is hardly the way to cure a headshy horse!! My first recommendation would be that you keep that particular 'friend' well away from him as it is people like that who can create headshy horses in the first place.

Your horse sounds as though he is fine in every other respect so he obviously has his reasons for feeling that he cannot allow you to deal with that part of his head.

The only way to deal with it fully is to convince him that it will be ok - you do this by repeated small attempts that gain more of his confidence each time - not by using force or shock tactics.

If you look up Micheal Peace on Facebook he has a very good video clip on his page showing from start to finish how he dealt with a headshy horse - watch it - you'll get a good idea of how you could help your boy.

Remember though - do not be tempted to break his trust - I know it can be frustrating to deal with it but letting 'friends' loose on him will just convince him that his fear is a real one because people DO try to do scary things to his head!

 

[Charlie007]

I wouldn't call my boy headshy but he was naughty to do his ears. I found that standing on a stool next to him so he could raise his head but I could still reach without pulling him down worked a treat. Can now do his ears with me standing on the floor and he is 17.1!!

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

As Lulup says hun.

Don't waste any time wondering WHY he's like it - could be a million reasons but he can't talk so just let it go. Then, as Lulup says, don't whatever you do make a big thing about it because if you do, you'll turn it into a big thing! Just do advance and retreat and before you know it he'll be fine. Advance and retreat is just that you make a nice fuss of him as close to the no-go area as possible. Watch him like a hawk as you creep your nice scratchy hands higher and higher. That's the advance bit. The next bit is easy because you're smarter than your horse! The absolute milisecond that your horse begins to show you he's unhappy you immediately retreat from that spot. Just carry right on giving him a good old scratch or groom or whatever. Then start creeping upwards again. Advance. Then watch so that even BEFORE your horse has started to think the thought "Oh, I don't like that" you've stopped and gone back to a spot that he's happy with. Retreat. Keep doing this and I absolutely guarantee that in a few weeks he'll be happy for you to touch his ears and you won't have damaged his trust in you. If you need to trim his ears, I'd do the advance and retreat method again. Just because you get him happy to have his ears rubbed and handled doesn't mean that he'll be happy to have them trimmed yet. Advance and retreat again. Slow and steady wins the race. Love him as you go and smile at his silly little ways. It'll make your bond stronger if you get it right. Good luck - you sound a lovely caring owner x