# Head shy horse gaining trust & horses that pull back when being tied u



## silverstar (12 March 2009)

My mare is headshy. She is very wary of being touched around her head. I have difficulty bridling her. Has anyone got any tips to get her used to being touched around her head. Im being quite gentle when touching her head but she still jumps.

Also she pulls back when being tied up and wont stand still. Has anyone got any tips to get her to stand still and not pull back??


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## Rana (12 March 2009)

Work up to her head gradually, so start at a place she's comfortable with, maybe the middle of her neck.  Stroke her neck for a while, and slowly but surely move your hand up towards her head.  Stroke the flat part of her cheek rather than her ears or muzzle, and progress from there.

How is she with having her head brushed?  My mare used to be very head and ear shy, but was fine being brushed.


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## ladylisa (12 March 2009)

I have exactly the same problem with my horse and i have had her coming up to 3 years and she is no better, i have tried taking the bridle to pieces and putting it back together on her head! but she gets wise to it. she doesnt like things going above her eyes where she cant see them. The bit she hates most of all is getting the bridle over her right ear, it adds so much time onto just going out for a quick ride its unbelievable, she wont even let me put a fly fringe on her!

Can't offer you any advice but i will be looking out to see if anyone can offer some.


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## silverstar (12 March 2009)

I was thinking of trying the taking the bridle apart bit and slowly putting it back together when its on her head. 

Cant think what to do about her not standing still and pulling back when tied up though.


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## cellie (12 March 2009)

Friends horse  pulled back all the time and hated his face being touched.She doesnt bother tying any more after countless broken  headcollars and lead ropes just threads the  lead rope through  twine once he realised he wasnt restricted  he didnt move.He will stand still for hours as long as hes not tied.weird horse 
	
	
		
		
	


	




Its the actual restriction that bothered him and put him into panic mode.


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## weebarney (12 March 2009)

try feeding a lunge rope through a tying up ring instead of using a lead rope that way if the horse pulls back you can just let some slip out and hopefully he will learn not to panic.


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## teresagarsden (13 March 2009)

Hi there this may get long so sorry in advance.
I have just had the same problems with Denny my welsh cob.
When i bought him in November it was obvious that he was very nervous and head shy.
i did alot of work with him in his stable where he felt more at ease and also cant run too far. 
i started with just a leadrope low down his neck so he could not fully turn away then i stroked and rubbed his neck slowly working my way up his neck then stop and hold your hand there when he starts to react or get nervous and talk to them all the time when Denny then relaxed again then he got a good boy and a pat and a treat( this way he learnt that me saying good boy was also treat time) 

i did this for about 8 weeks and every time i went into the stable for any reason i went armed with treats and over the weeks it got to the point that i could touch his head and ears.

however i was still having to put the bridle on his head piece by piece. then i got an old stirrup leather and buckled it and taped up the loose end and ta da( neck rein) 
i then worked at putting this over his head and still giving treats and good boy, still in the stable at this point. ( by this time just saying good boy to him was enough to stop a panic because he waited for the treat then you can carry on)
When he had got the hang of the neck rein we moved onto the bridle, 
i undid all the buckles on the nearside and fed over the head piece then the brow band and hooked it through, then the nose band and fasten. then the bit is fed through from the off side and fastened. voila bridle on. lots of treats.

Still working with the head stroking i moved on to rubbing between his ears quite firm then gently pushing his ears forward and back (as you do when trying to put a bridle on normally) i found at this point i could touch all of his face ,ears and bend them with just a hand placed gently on his nose to stop him turning away.

Then after another week or so we went to putting the bridle over his head( but having the buckle for the cheekpieces set at the lowest, so we had lots of room to put ears ect through then just adjusting the bit position at the end.

taking off was also a problem so did the same as putting on only in reverse.

i have now been doing this for 3 months and Denny is an old pro at it now and he will tack up just like a normal horse bless him.

i think you will find that the tying up will get better as the horse learns to relax with what you do above.

Good luck and please let me know how you get on.
denny made me smile every day as he allowed me to do more, he did have some days where he just did not do it ,but stick with it, as it does come good.
Teresa


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## Festive_Felicitations (13 March 2009)

I haven't seen you mare or how she behaves, but thought this would give you a different perspective...

There was a mare in my yard who would not let her owner near her head to brush, put her headcollar on/bridle, and pulled back when tied up. Her owner was a novice and did not like / wasn't brave enough to be firm with her mare. 
After having watched her efforts for a few weeks, I asked if she would mind me having a go.  From the mares face she didn't appear to be seriously scared, and after a few slaps on the shoulder and a few angry "HOY!! Stand up!" she proceeded to stand still, and just looked really pissed off =)
She still tries it on ocassionally....
Any way good luck with it! Patience tends to win through in these sorts of cases (assuming no one is wacking her round the head in your absence ....)


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## ladyt25 (13 March 2009)

My pony was like this when i got him, he would pull back and you couldn't touch his ears at all. However, nowadays you would never know!

He is still a neurotic little person but we managed to improve him by making sure no sudden movements were made around his head - he has however alwasy been brilliant having his bridle on but even that you'd do slowly. I would second the putting the rope through the ring and either you hold the end or get someone else to so, when she pulls back you can give a bit with the rope but she doesn't break free.

Even now when i tie mine up i separate the bits of twine so he's only tied to about 2 strands so, if he does pull back it will snap and he won't do any damage to himself. I also found with mine he actually likes having his chin rubbed so I could work form his chin upwards when it came to grooming. 15 years on he actually enjoys having his ears rubbed and brushed and i can't think how long it actually took for him to be like that, it wasn't long, you just are best not making a big deal about it to be honest.

I would however (if you can) also get  a vet to check the insides of her ears in case she has any infection/soreness. my horse (who isn't headshy really at all) gets funny in the summer when midges have bitten in his ears - he won't let me touch them at all!


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