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A Little Headshy?

This is a discussion on A Little Headshy? within the Horse Training forums, part of the Keeping and Caring for Horses category; Ok, so, my 6 year old Tennessee Walking Horse Spirit HATES it when my face gets anywhere near his head. ...

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Old 10-19-2009, 08:00 PM   #1
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Ok, so, my 6 year old Tennessee Walking Horse Spirit HATES it when my face gets anywhere near his head. It's not like he's completely headshy, but everytime I try to kiss him on his nose () He jerks his head up. He's ok when I'm near his forehead, but anything lower than that on his face he hates and he jerks his head away immediately. Sometimes when I try to pet his head when his head is high or he's looking at something, he jerks away also. What can I do to fix this?
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Old 10-19-2009, 09:42 PM   #2
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First you need to realize that it's not about his face...it's not about touching his face.....it's about getting him confident and trusting in you. This is really easy to fix, you just need to be patient. Rub where he is comfortable and really "put your heart in your hand, and touch him with your heart." Start to go where he is uncomfortable and then retreat quickly. But all the while have a loving touch. You can also try to make a "game" out of it. Put your hand where ever he is uncomfortable (after starting at his ok spot) and when he throws his head up stay with him and only take your hand away when he drops his head. This way you teach him to keep his head low.
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Old 10-19-2009, 10:18 PM   #3
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Ah, I had a filly like this once. She would FREAK if you tried to touch her ears or give her some sort of positive-face-touching. I just caught her one day and started touching away, stuffing her with cookies all the while and in general just showing her that hey, it's okay.

She was very touchable after that. I sold her a short while after though, she was to high strung for a first project.
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