Pet & Animal: How to Get a Head Shy Horse To Trust You

Friday, 3 July 2015

How to Get a Head Shy Horse To Trust You

Horses are naturally afraid of sudden movements and objects raised over their heads. When horses have been abused or neglected, they have reasons to dislike people and are often even more fearful. One fearful trait is "head shyness"--this happens especially if the horse has been hit in the face or has had its ears twisted or pulled. A "head shy" horse will get startled or back away when you try to pat its head. It takes some effort and patience to help them overcome this. Remember always be confident around a horse.

Steps

Allow the horse to see you, and if he seems nervous, try speaking to him calmly and soothing until he seems relaxed. If you feel nervous, or don't know what to say, you can also sing (as long as you sing softly that is).
Approach the horse slowly and calmly walk towards the head from their side, and not from the front. Do not look the horse directly in the eye at first; they see that as a threat. Never let a horse sense that you're nervous, even if you are. Radiate a calm, fearless attitude. If you cannot do this you need to learn how--it is a MUST if you plan to work with horses.
Reach your hand slowly up to his nose. Try not to seem threatening. If the horse draws his head away, drop your hand and step back a few inches. Wait a few seconds before trying again. Horses are so curious that most of them will take a step toward you at this point. That's a good sign.
Gently rub his nose until he understands you won't hurt him. Many horses like to explore or nibble with their lips. Let him do this on your hand or sleeve. If you are afraid he might nip you, remove your hand gently and without alarm BEFORE anything happens. Make sure you do not pull your hand away too quickly. Instead slowly retreat. If you startle him, you will have to go back to square one.
Slowly move your hand up the bridge of the horse's nose to his forehead. Rub the forehead gently in circles and talk quietly to the horse. You can try looking into his eyes now. Do it with your own eyes half-closed in a sleepy expression; don't stare. If the horse's eyes are also half-closed this is a good sign meaning he is not afraid.
Stroke and scratch his back and neck before rubbing his face once again. The best places to do this are where horses groom each other: On the bottom part of their nose, on the upper neck right behind the ears, and on the withers (the big bones at the upper base of the neck).
Look him gently in the eye from time to time, and let him look back at you. If anything loud or scary happens around you, absolutely ignore it! This will show him that you are not afraid. Fear is the number one thing horses deal with and they would prefer to have someone else deal with it for them. By showing him you are brave, the horse will start to consider you the "alpha horse" and he will feel more secure around you.
Repeat and be patient. In order to see results you may have to repeat those steps up to 20 days. Horses never forget, and that works both for good and bad experiences.

Tips

You have to earn his trust, and it will take time. So do not force yourself on him. Let him show you when he is ready to accept you.
Do not spoil your head shy horse to make it love you. Spoiling shy horses can sometimes mean a bond for only a time, because you should not give your horse treats unless he does a trick or behaves well. Good horses trust only the people they like, and that is why it is important to have a special bond with your horse.
Remember, this can be a long process, especially when the root cause has been mishandling of the head such as a slap in the face or "ear twitching" (someone once wrapped a twisted rope around the horse's ear). Be patient.
He/She may be more head shy in some parts of the head and face than others. Take a few minutes each day to explore these sensitive areas and try to figure out what will elicit a negative response: does he/she toss his head when you touch his ear, or is it because your hands are too rough? etc.
When he finally allows you touch his face, you can reward him with a treat or a handful of hay.
Keep a close eye on the horses' body language. As soon as he prepares to back off take a half step backward yourself. This action will help him understand that you are not a threat.
If the horse is already accepted in a herd, take a FEW of the horses out in the beginning, this will make the horse feel more secure. Slowly, take more and more horses out until it is just you.
If the horse is especially shy and won't let you approach, you can try to sit, quite far from it, and hold a carrot or an apple while looking to the sky or whatever but NOT the horse. Chances are after some time (can take longer or shorter depending on the horse) it will approach you for the food. Then you just stay put and still, and let it get the food. This way, it will associate your smell with good experiences (food) and will begin to accept you around.
After he begins to trust you, walk him around slowly, while talking to him softly. Give him a treat once in a while.
If the horse doesn't want you to touch its head, then that means you are not calm or either the horse isn't calm.

If so get some molasses and put it on a spoon and feed it to the horse while patting it gently and slowly.

Warnings

Go slow. Remember the old cowboy saying: "If you act like you have all day, the job will take 10 minutes. If you act like you only have 10 minutes, the job will take all day."
If he is really head-shy, he may be dangerous. If he tries to bite or kick you, step quietly out of range.
Running or startling away from the horse is not a good idea. It will actually encourage the response. You need to back off quietly; you pushed too much too fast, and the horse felt threatened and tried to defend himself.

Related wikiHows

from How to of the Day http://ift.tt/1CgniYS
via Peter

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