My horse is very head shy.?

Question

my horse is very head shy. we just bought her from some people who didnt know how to train a horse. the started her and skipped a huge step. she wont let us pull a bridal over her ears. she will let you ride her and everything. but she just hates things being pulled over her ears. she only lets you touch the ear that your standing next to. so if you want to rub her right ear, you have to stand on the right side of her. she is a very sweet horse. and doesnt have a mean bone in her body.
i just need help. today we spent 45 minutes in the round pin just trying to get her to let is pull the bridal over her ears. but we need something else to try. because just making her run doesnt change anything. and shes not scared of us. and she doesnt act scared of the bridal either. someone just did something bad with her head. if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Answer 1

You should first she if she has any mouth, teeth, ear problems. If this is not a concern some of the following ideas should help.
1). Start taking the bridle off by undoing the cheek piece so the bit will able to drop out of her mouth then you can lift the headstall off more easily. Do this for a while until she is totally happy with this arrangement and builds her confidence in you.
2).You don't say if you have trouble putting on the bridle. Usually we put 1 ear in at a time so if she is good putting it on you might try taking it off by taking one ear out at a time. Loosen the cheek piece first so the headstall is less constraining.
3).Will she let you pull a halter over hers ears or is this also a problem? In order to get her comfortable with things being pulled over her ears I would start with a halter. 1st unfasten it but while physically holding it loosely closed you can let the crown piece brush her ears as you take it off. Gradually increase the amount of contact to her ears only when she is comfortable with the current contact. If she shies at any time just let go of one of the sides of the halter you are holding reducing the contact to her ears. Then step back to a stage she was very comfortable and slowly once again begin to increase the contact. If done patiently she will eventually get over this. Just keep your movements slow.
Good Luck, she sounds lovely.

Answer 2

In general a horse's head is the area which they shy from most commonly, she may have had an incident with a previous own, or she may have even bumped her head coming off a trailer. Patience is the key and I think that a lot of people have answered with that response. Keep letting her know that being rubbed around her ears and putting on a bridle isn't scary at all. A good first step for the bridle is to attach the bridle by undoing the cheek piece and placing it over her ears and then working with the bit. For most horses that I've worked with this is a good starting point and then you continue working from there.

Answer 3

Just keep working with her - if she is not scared of anything then like most mares she is just being stubborn. My filly was the same way, but someone had been mistreating her and it was fear she was trying to overcome. The way I broke her was just taking a halter on and off everyday 7 days a week for hours at a time - rubbing all over her. I would lay my hands on her ears and she would bob her head up and down for probly 5-7 minutes and then would finally quit, I would go to a different part of her body and rub it then go right back to her ears again. Unsure if this is the case but, try a halter then a bridle - if she excepts the halter ok but, then fights the bridle - it may be the bit that is on the bridle, it maybe hurting her teeth, around age 3-4 a horse gets what they call "wolf teeth" and if you use certain bits - they rub against these teeth which can end up being painful so, if thats the case you will need someone to come check her teeth out. If she excepts neither one< just remember patients - you don't know what someone does to her so, just keep working with her and bonding with her and eventually she will quit being stubborn. If she is head shy on the opposite side you are standing next to - she may have sometype of blindness in one of her eyes, not worrying you just throwing everything out there. Hope it helps...

Answer 4

It's going to take a while... I suggest calm, quiet, CONSISTANT (that's the key) sessions of you working around her head and maybe down her neck (though i'm aware thats not her problem area!!!)... NOT trying to put a bridal on.. Just get her used you being there.. and touching that "other side". You just want to TOUCH that other side first... Maybe give her a treat if she doesn't jerk her head away quite so hard after a few (Seein improvement.. as minimal as it may be!)
For the time being (you doing the sessions) undo the headstall. Don't try and pull it over her ears until you are confident she is ready for that step!
That's what I would do! I had a problem with a mule just like that!!! Now try pullin a bridal over her ears!!!!! haha We finally got it worked outta her!

Answer 5

The best thing to do with her is to start by rubbing her ears like you said if you stand on one side of her and rub that ear for awhile then move to the other side. Next take a brush and do the same thing. Do this for a few minutes every day to allow her time to get used to messing around her head. Also time some small piece of plastic like trash bag or tarp to the end of a buggy whip and just rub this around her neck then up to her head and around her ears. You will need to continue do this and talking gently to her. At the end of each time try to place a halter or bridal over her ears. You may want to do this several times in a row each day until she realizes you are not going to hurt her. Horses are animal that are born to run away from trouble. You will just have to spend time with her. She will eventually come around.

Answer 6

We bought an abused mare several years ago. She had been beaten in the head and had her ears twisted as a means of control by some stupid slob. It takes a long long time to gain a horses trust about the head.

The first step is to have her vet checked to make sure that she has healthy ears. Ear mites or other problems that cause her pain when the bridle or other things touch her must be fixed first.

Next just be patient and spend a LOT of time petting and gaining her confidence. Gently touch her ears from time to time while petting her. Work from both sides. Touch ears from both sides reaching across her neck. (Be careful).

While you are petting lay your hand on the top of the head (poll) allow your hand to rest there. If she lowers her head in response to the weight praise her and remove your hand.

You are working to gain her trust with you and her ears. Teaching her to stand quietly and lower her head FIRST then worry about pulling on the bridle (CAREFULLY ) much later.
You may consider purchasing a bridle that has a buckle on top of the poll and placing in the bit then buckling it on her. For a while at least.

Working slowly and patiently can have wonderful results. Our mare, Kelly, now lowers her head so low and stands so quietly a child can bridle her. She will also allow me to freely handle and even clip her ears with clippers.

Trust is a beautiful thing.

Answer 7

Try this technicue, its called join-up. You run her around the outside of the roundpin untill she turns her insied ear taward you, lowers her head and does chewing motions. While you are running her,take the stance of a leader, big and strong. When she does theese motions turn your back to her and get into a non threatning position keep your back turned untill she is next to you then slowly turn and tell her "good girl". Walk around the pin a little (she should follow you) and this builds trust in the horse. Now, see how she feels about you touching her ears. If she still wount let you, put her up and try this again later. Take things slow. Maybe she had a bad experience.

Answer 8

You need to figure out if she's just scared or if she's is being stubborn. My guess is she's scared, very common for a horse. If you can get her to stand still hold her with a rope and take an empty burlap bag or light horse blanket and start by slapping her side, up her neck, on her ears, on her face. Just lightly so she gets used to the fast movement and realizes you are not going to hurt her. At first she will jump but after awhile she will stand without you holding her. That usually works.
The hardest part is holding on to her. You might need a rope around her neck and then make a horseshoe loop in the long end and run it under the loop around her neck and up over her nose. So it tightens on her nose if she tries to jerk away. It won't take much to hold on that way. She will be over that in a day.

Answer 9

Try this it really works if nothing else has been working for you. I teach all of my horses the "head down" cue. It will take some patience, but once they figure it out it is very helpful! Start by putting you hand on the back of her head and pushing down with steady pressure. At first she will wiggle and snatch her haed all over the place trying to figure out what you want, but just keep a steady pressue. If her head drops even a centimeter, immediatly realese and praise her. Keep doing this, each time asking her to drop her head lower and lower then quickly realeasing. It will make it SO much easier to work with her ears, because when ever she pulls up you just give her the head down cue. All of my horses will quickly and easily drop their heads to be bridiled because of this technique. All I have to do with them now is hold my hand over their head and say down, and bam, the head goes down to my knees and stays there untill I tell them other wise. Try it! Like i said, it will take some patience, but it will get her much more trusting about her head and make it easier to handle those ears. Good luck!

Answer 10

There is a fungus that grows inside horses ears, its white and flaky. That alone makes them immensly head shy. I had an arab with it and there is no way you can bridle them. It must be painful.

Its caused by the light. You can have the areas burned off, I never did. I just did a buckle bridle and left it alone.

I would honestly have your vet check for that first before attempting anymore training.

Yes some horses are headshy about their ears especially if there are pukes that ear them down. But rule out that first and then we can help you with training issues.

Good luck!