A horse that freaks out when its ears are touched is pretty easy to identify as "head shy" but often the more subtle signs are mistaken for cheeky or bad behaviour.
A horse can be considered "head shy" if it is not content with having its head handled without restraint. Horses do often seem to have a sense of humour and exhibit cheeky or dominant behaviour but watch horses play and you'll see that they want to get into each other's space, to touch and push their play mates around. Horses move away from other horses when the games are getting too rough, when they feel uncomfortable. Of course we don't want our horses pushing us around or being rough, but my point is that horses will not try to get away from you if they have no fear of you or what you are doing. A horse that will not let you scratch its ear does not have complete trust. It's a hard truth for many people, so we apply our own human explanations for their behaviour in order to make it nicer. "He's trying it on", "he's trying to wind me up", "he's such a comedian".
He's not.
He's trying to stay alive.
Fear varies in intensity and many horses serve useful and functional lives but are never truly free from fear and emotional discomfort. It is completely understandable that horses are particularly wary of being touched on their head. Predators, such as lions, often kill wild equines by leaping onto their backs and biting the top of the neck by the poll. This is because this is the least protected part of the horse's spine and so the easiest way to immobilise a large prey animal.
Your horse might believe you are not about to eat him, but his instincts do not allow for too much thinking time, he reacts before he can make a decision. Have you ever heard "my horse was fine and then all of a sudden, for no reason at all, he completed flipped!" This happens because horses will put up with things they are not comfortable with until it becomes unbearable. It's the "straw that broke the camel's back" principle in action. So if your horse is having problems with having his head handled you could very well have a bigger problem in the making.
But there is good news. Horses are able to learn to overcome this fear and to have confidence in being handled by humans.
So how do you help the head shy horse? Instead of standing on taller and taller stools to bridle your horse, or tying them up to brush their ears and faces, there are many things you can do to help your horse develop confidence and overcome head shyness.
Be Polite
Touching your horse on his head without asking permission is a total no no in horse society. Horses that meet each other will extend their noses toward each other and sniff each other's breath and invariably one will squeal. Horses will nip at each other's heads in boisterous play but it's usually not too long before one backs down. Horses that want to groom each other, or invite physical contact, will do so my touching a neutral body part, like the withers. This is a lot like the human hand shake. Whilst you are building your relationship to the level where you can play "boisterously", it is best to be polite and ask your horse for permission to allow you to make contact. You can do this by offering your hand out for him to sniff. If he does so, and does not immediately pull away, then you can safely take that as a sign that he permits your approach for contact. If he does not, then maybe you need to wait longer, or gently touch the horse's withers and wait there until he relaxes. If your horse is tense when you touch his withers he will not be happy with you putting your primate hands, which have all the characteristics of a predator, all over his face.
Approach and Retreat
There are many articles, videos and clinicians that do a great job of explaining the process of approach and retreat. I have found, however, that some times people get this method a little wrong and the result is that it does not work or even makes the problem worse. The idea behind approach and retreat is that you start with something the horse is comfortable with. Let's take the example of a horse that does not want its ears touched. You start by gently rubbing and massaging the base of the neck (or where ever your horse will permit) and stay there until your horse gives signs of relaxation. When your horse is dropping his head, breathing normally, blinking and licking and chewing you can slowly work your hand up closer to the horses ears. As soon as you feel a little tension, perhaps the horse stops blinking or holds its breath, you must stop advancing. You can use circular motions to retreat a little but stay in the area where the horse got tense and wait there until he relaxes. This method can be very effective and work well but it requires excellent reading of the horse. You need to tune into your horse's energy to get the best out of this method.
Flooding v Pressure and Release
The method of "flooding" has got a very bad press and this is not without justification. Flooding is the method of overloading the horses senses until it gives up. Some horse people have been known to funnel a horse into a narrow tunnel, fill it with sand so only the horse's head sticks out and the horse cannot escape, and then rub the horse's head until it gives up fighting. The clear problem is that there is no room for the horse's dignity in these kind of practices. The horse is essentially traumatised to the point where its spirit breaks and the desire to fight for survival is extinguished. But taken in a much more moderated form, the concept behind flooding is based on principles of sound horsemanship.
There is a phrase used by many good horsemen "pressure motivates, release teaches". The idea is that you provide a stimulus that causes the horse to do something and you quit when the horse responds in the way you want. For example when I brush a horse's head I will follow their head with the brush when they move away and when they move toward me, even slightly, I will take the brush away to give them a breather. A moment's peace is a huge reward for a horse. Obviously this means that initially brushing takes longer but soon you won't need to worry because your horse will start to enjoy being brushed. It's a funny thing. When you give a person or an animal a choice and they learn they can control their situation they develop confidence. Confidence also grows when we know we can depend on something to be consistent. So when our horse's learn that we really will not become strong and forceful, but that we are clear and consistent, the very thing that once frightened them can become reassuring.
I have a horse that used to move away if anyone tried to stroke his head. He barely tolerated having his ears brushed and would lift his head when bridled. I certainly could not scratch his ears. Now he closes his eyes and drops his head with a look of absolute relaxation and happiness as I scratch the itches from around his eyes and ears and I can even scratch in his ears (never go too deep), which is such a huge difference.
Paris was nervous about things touching his face and ears, now he can enjoy the festive season with confidence!
Once your horse is granting permission to have your hands on his face you have made one big step on the road to overcoming head shyness, but to establish true confidence your horse needs to be able to remain calm and rational when he feels different sensations on his head. It's not fun to be riding a horse that gets a rein stuck on an ear and spooks, or freaks when you pull something over his head. A good place to start is with a stick, something that is not too bendy so that the pressure you have in your hand is the same at the end of the stick. when you can gently rub your horse with the stick all over you can begin the process with a rope. Drape a rope over the neck, hold it in your hand, you can use the rope to massage the horse and allow the draping parts to hang and hug the horse. Take your time, it's not a race. The right speed is the speed your horse is ready for and some horses need a lot more time than others. You can carry this on with endless objects. My horse can now stand completely under a tarpaulin, be rubbed on the head with plastic bags, carry a saddle pad on his ears... what you choose to use to develop your horse is limited only by your imagination.
Is it worth it?
Maybe your horse is not too bad. You have your routine and ways that the pair of you cope with his little "habits" and that's just fine. I would recommend anyone who's horse has any tension around the head area to spend a little time building their horse's confidence. The result is not only a horse that is a pleasure to groom and bridle, but one that is less likely to have a panic attack if he steps on his rope and feels sudden pressure, more confident in being approached and develops more of a stop and think response to situations that would naturally cause him to react without thinking. Most importantly the bond between you and your horse will get so much stronger and your horse will certainly want to be around you more.
Next time you notice someone say "don't be a jerk, I'm just brushing your ear", remember it's the horse letting them know there's another great opportunity to become an even stronger partnership.
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