Problem with foal

[sian_x101]

My foal (8 months) doesn't like things going over his ears like a head collar or halter. He really panicks backing up and trying to rear.
I need to put a hatler on him to prevent him from rearing with me when i walk him (he's already began this habit both when he's bored and when he doesn't want to go back into his stable)
I've tried doing it really slowly but he just gets more stressed!
Has anyone dealt with this kind of thing before? i'm thinking of my safety but also i really would like to get him over this fear.
Anyone have any advice or was to resolve this?
i would very much appreciate it

 

[amandathepanda]

My welsh c foal i had a few years ago was very much like this. The stud that I bought him from at 6 months used the unorthodox approach of rugby tackling him around his neck to catch him resulting in a very head shy pony. I fixed him by just spending a long time playing with him, stroking up his neck & crest which seems to relax them and tickling him behind his ears which he soon found he liked, then working round very gently and quitely to infront of his ears and back again. I did this for a couple of weeks and soon started to make progress. Once your foal realises he likes having behind his ears tickled, it will really help to make him easier to handle. I've also used this approach on older headshy horses with success.

 

[appylass]

Could you use a soft scarf tied in a loop over his neck and gradually slide it up towards his poll? then when he's ok with the feeling of that loop the loose end over his nose and back through the neck loop as a makeshift halter. That's probably not very well explained but I've found it works on scared youngsters and once they've got used to that I've found they accept the over the ears bit more easily.

 

[jamid1]

Hi, I've had a couple of foals like this. One of them just disliked her ears being touched so what we did was everyday whether it was in the stable out in the field etc. we used to touch her all over, up her neck, up her face to her ears and eventually she didn't have an issue anymore. The thing I've found is doing something everyday even if its just for a few minutes and keeping it as stress free as possible and always end on a good note.
One of our other foals would get a bit moody with getting the headcollar on to the point where she wouldn't be caught so my sister did some joint up with her which worked wonders!
Hope this helps

 

[incapuff]

begin with stroking him and his ears while he's eating his feed, that way the assocation of something pleasant is made quicker.

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

just gentle persistence is my advice from my personal experience with halter training youngsters, they tend to settle down/learn quite quickly, have some treats handy to reward calm moments too where the foal accepts your training