How To Train a Head-shy Horse
Anyone who has a head-shy horse knows what a painful site it is. These animals get jumpy, scared and are dangerous to ride. Before trying to correct this problem, you should make sure there is nothing physically wrong with your horse. Was your horse always head-shy? Did this begin recently, or has the horse always spooked easily?
This problem is often the result of an ear infection or perhaps the horse's teeth need attention. Whatever the cause, it has apparently made your horse unmanageable. Once you've had the animal checked and have determined that the problem is just his disposition and not his health, you can work on the head-shy issues. Just like the "dog whisperer", you must have a basic understanding of horse psychology and an infinite amount of patience and love in order to train your horse. You do so with kindness, not a stick or by screaming. Having the desire for horse training is the ultimate school of thought. And do remember that no matter how good you think you are, there is always room for more learning and expertise.
It will take a vast amount of patience on your part. But with corrective measures like patience, there is no reason you cannot break your horse of this habit. Once you succeed, you can move ahead and teach your horse many good things by using the following corrective behavior:
- Expose your horse to various movements, and then assess which action makes him/her back away. Fixing this problem can be laborious and time consuming but will benefit you both.
- Pet the horse's neck and see how close you can get to this problem "site" before the horse backs away. Then just step away for a few seconds.
- If you can pet the neck and move your hand up without any spooking, then leave your hand on their neck for a few extra seconds.
- The trick is to get the animal used to your repeated behavior.
- Sometimes you have to keep your hand in an uncomfortable place for an extra 3 seconds, but this will let the horse know that you did not hurt him and it was all over in 3 seconds.
- If the horse spooks when you touch the ears, then pet him on the forehead slowly and work your way to the ear. Then, with a brushing movement as if you are going to step away, brush your hand by his ear. By the time he realizes that his ear has been touched, you will have already stepped away.
- It will take the horse a few times to realize you haven't hurt the ear by touching it. Patience is the key here.
- Watch how the horse reacts when you get too close to an uncomfortable zone. Calm the animal down by doing something different or just walk away. That always calms a horse down.
The true result is when you can ride your horse and feel confident it will not get spooked. Make sure you work with your horse in order to correct this habit.
