Points To Note:

A headshy horse has developed the HABIT of moving away anytime someone reaches for his face, regardless of whether he thinks this will end in pain or not. It is up to you to teach him a new habit. One you want.

A few points to note before beginning. Always stand to the side of your horse, never in front. This is for your safety and your horse's peace of mind. It is less threatening to them for you to be on their side and in full view.

Always be mindful to have a relaxed, nonchalant, non-aggressive attitude. This is inside, how you are feeling, and your voice and body language. It all counts. Your horse can sense how you feel. Do not use angry voice tones or body actions no matter how long each lesson lasts or how slow your horse is at 'getting it'.

Take your time. Hours if necessary. Let your poor horse know things have changed for the better. Rub and stroke until he relaxes and quits being nervous. If you stop before he relaxes and accepts what you are doing, his headshy habit will continue. If you stop touching him when he reacts badly, this will reinforce that moving away will stop what he doesn't want. Always end on a high note.

Pay attention to your horse. He will tell you how quickly you can proceed with the lesson by his reactions to what you are doing. As you improve your listening, you will see an improvement in your horse's trust.

Remember that gentle hands will prevail.

The Nuts and Bolts:

The overall method goes like this. Start at a spot where your horse likes to be scratched. Somewhere he is very comfortable being touched and does not react badly. Then you gradually work your way from this 'yes' area toward the major 'no' area, backing off toward 'yes' whenever he gets tense, starts fidgeting, shows the whites of his eyes, pulls away, lifts his head up, swats you with his tail etc. You'll have to learn to read your horse. Incrementally rub and scratch toward 'no' to expand what he is comfortable with. Go as slow as it takes.

In more detail, start at the 'yes' spot. Typically the shoulder or sometimes the nose. Rub until he is quite happy and relaxed. Then explore where the boundary of 'yes' is. Stay within that until he is relaxed again. And then, for a stroke, slightly expand the boundary. And then go straight back into the 'yes' area. Circular strokes are great. The circle just happens to be a bit wider when you push the boundary of 'yes'. Gradually increase the frequency of expanding 'yes' by that little bit, until the boundary of 'yes' has been expanded. Back off into 'yes' at any sign of resistance. Make sure your horse is completely comfortable and trusting before going further. Repeat all the way up the neck, leaving the strongest 'no' area until last, which is often the ears.

This approach and retreat works really well. Often you will get to a stage where your horse will stand still and tolerate your touch, but you can still feel that he isn't entirely happy. Then it's time to OD on rubs and scratches all over the tolerated and nearby areas until he's bored. Well done. It may have taken a couple of hours of rubbing, but your horse won't give two hoots anymore.

Do this every time you catch him to reinforce the lesson that he no longer has to fear having his head touched. It takes time but is well worth the trouble. With time and patience, he will understand that this rubbing feels good, and he will learn not be nervous about your hands near his head.

For abused or severly shy horses it’s best to approach the problem in even smaller steps, beginning with whatever body part your horse will offer to you. This will be either his nose or his shoulder. Depending on the level of shyness of your horse, you may only be able to make contact for a split second. The split second being the amount of time he was comfortable, and stayed quiet. So keep touching him a little while longer each time. And stop before he shows signs of objection. It may be that you only get to put your hand NEAR his nose/head/shoulder. That's ok. It's all building up your horse's comfort zone bit by bit, or hair by hair! Once you can make contact long enough to start rubbing, you can begin to expand this 'yes' area.