# Help ! Horse hates being touched.



## hannahbanana (Jul 5, 2012)

My horse titan , doesnt like being handeled. ( brushing, getting touched , anything of that category ) but when we ride he is fine and doesnt seem to mind when im on his back . for example , i cannot go in his stall and touch him , he will kick the stall door and try and bite. when i brush him same thing . what can i do to make him more touchy feely friendly ? excersises , praises , tips ANYTHING ? i want to be able to go in his stall and pat him without him getting mad.


----------



## redclaybear (Jul 13, 2012)

Make sure every time you do get to pet him it's a good experience.


----------



## redclaybear (Jul 13, 2012)

You should coax him into it instead of going straight up to him. Offer him treats and slowly get closer as he takes them. Don't go straight for the face, aim for scratching the neck or withers. Also some exercises to build trust is lunge him on a lunge line and before you switch sides or finish, make him come to you. You can do this by lightly pulling on the line to make him come, then make him follow you. Once you have this down, try free lunging. This is no lunge line. Make him come to you. Don't give up until he does and don't give in and go to him. It is frustrating and may take up to an hour or more but don't GIVE UP once you start. It will pay off I promise, I had to do this with an abused horse at the stable where I train. And when you do get to pet him give him treats as a reward for letting you. Hope this helped


----------



## Janna (Apr 19, 2012)

Sounds like you got no respect from him. 

If you have a round pen, I'd put him there. If not I'd have a good size area for him to move. 
Walk up to pet him, like normal.,he offers to kick, make him work. 
Send him away, get the feet moving for a min. Then ask him to stop, pet again. I'd repeat till he stands. 

He tries to bite, he would get popped on the nose and chased away. (get feet moving) then asked to stop, and I'd pet him. 

I'd do this to he stands. 

Don't worry about being his friend and him liking you.
Be the leader.


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

redclaybear said:


> You should coax him into it instead of going straight up to him. Offer him treats and slowly get closer as he takes them. Don't go straight for the face, aim for scratching the neck or withers. Also some exercises to build trust is lunge him on a lunge line and before you switch sides or finish, make him come to you. You can do this by lightly pulling on the line to make him come, then make him follow you. Once you have this down, try free lunging. This is no lunge line. Make him come to you. Don't give up until he does and don't give in and go to him. It is frustrating and may take up to an hour or more but don't GIVE UP once you start. It will pay off I promise, I had to do this with an abused horse at the stable where I train. And when you do get to pet him give him treats as a reward for letting you. Hope this helped


Again I don't agree.

Janna is more on the right track but even so just be careful about doing this on your own OP. Have your trainer/parents/etc. watch you as you work with him, offering you advice because horses can get very upfront and feel trapped in a round pen.. especially with someone they don't seem to have any respect for :/

Please be careful..


----------



## Janna (Apr 19, 2012)

Skyseternalangel said:


> Again I don't agree.
> 
> Janna is more on the right track but even so just be careful about doing this on your own OP. Have your trainer/parents/etc. watch you as you work with him, offering you advice because horses can get very upfront and feel trapped in a round pen.. especially with someone they don't seem to have any respect for :/
> 
> Please be careful..


Well I don't know the experience level of OP, so does come into play. He/she may need a more experienced persons help. But, my advice is just what I'd do.. 
Being petted would be the easier thing for the horse, than having to work.


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

So everytime you go to touch him he lashes out? 

This may seem mean, but he's teaching you that he can push you around and get you to leave him alone.

So what should you do? You should put pressure on him. Make him move his feet, teach him it's not okay to kick or bite. When he stops biting, stop petting him. Then try it again until there is no reaction from him. 

If he tries to get you in his stall, that's a sign that he truly doesn't respect or trust you and thinks he's in charge. 

Again I would really work with a trainer on this.. you can get into a lot of trouble if you don't correct them the right way :/

~~

Well Janna it is very good advice for someone that knows how to handle horses  She is new to this though (I know this because of her other thread) so for her personally it may or may not be the right thing.


----------



## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

First & foremost OP, keep your safety in mind. I'd advise you work with a good trainer with him for now, so they can evaluate what's going on & show you what to do.

This horse may be purely telling you where to get off, or he may be in pain, which is why he's so reactive. So I'd also want to rule out/treat physical probs before treating it as a training exercise.

I'm more in line with Redbear's first couple of sentences. That is, I find it very effective to use 'clicker training' principles to turn screaming Mimis into well mannered, willing pussy cats, I find 'approach & retreat' a very effective 'tool' at desensitising horses to stuff without confrontation too. However, if you're not practiced with this sort of approach, again, I'd find an instructor to teach you first, because this is not the sort of horse to experiment on & inadvertently reinforce the Wrong behaviour. It sounds like this horse also needs a firm approach, but considering your safety, I don't think trying to force him into stuff, especially loose, is a good idea.


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Agree with Loosie except again with the treat thing. I love clicker training, and it definitely helps some horses but like all other training, the person doing it needs to be an effective teacher not just handing out treats and becoming the "nice lady with the cookies" because even so that doesn't create a respectful relationship on its own. It's the training behind it that does.


----------



## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Skyseternalangel said:


> Agree with Loosie except again with the treat thing.


No except there, as I said I agree that OP doesn't do this unless she's already experienced:wink:


----------



## redclaybear (Jul 13, 2012)

Skyseternalangel said:


> Again I don't agree.
> 
> Janna is more on the right track but even so just be careful about doing this on your own OP. Have your trainer/parents/etc. watch you as you work with him, offering you advice because horses can get very upfront and feel trapped in a round pen.. especially with someone they don't seem to have any respect for :/
> 
> Please be careful..


No not in the round pen, in an arena. And it builds up respect. I do it with every horse I work with.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

I think you should watch My Friend Flica.

After all, almost all horses are like Flica right?:wink:


----------



## possumhollow (Apr 19, 2012)

Gunslinger, don't forget Black Beauty and Into the West.


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

redclaybear said:


> No not in the round pen, in an arena. And it builds up respect. I do it with every horse I work with.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


That was for Janna as she is the one that suggested the round pen 

But even free lunging in a large area can leave a horse feeling confused but it is much better for a horse IMOP.


----------



## spurstop (Mar 22, 2012)

How do you get him haltered and saddled?

FYI, a horse should not come to you when it is on a longeline. You always go to the horse. A horse should not walk up the line, because his job is to stay at the end of it and do as asked. Since the horse in question is aggressive, I would not recommend inviting him to come up the line to you. The horse in this situation is not an abused animal. It's an aggressive horse.

Honestly, if he were mine, I wouldn't put up with it from the very beginning. I know that not everyone is okay with a horse being hit, but the very first time he went to put his teeth on me, I would make him think he was going to die.


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Boy, usually I would agree with all the "make it his idea," "desentize," and "respect" suggestions.

But, I want to add that some horses just don't like being handled. I have examples of my own and experiences of others I know, but I won't bore you.

*It just might not be your fault.* I'd insist the horse tolerate brushing, doctoring, having his feet worked on, but I'd leave him alone beyond that. Think of him as a Type A, CEO kind of guy. He'll be dependable, but not a buddy.


----------



## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

There is NEVER a reason to make excuses for a horse that wants to kick or bite. It is just plain bad manners and lack of respect. You can call it anything you want, but an aggressive horse has no excuses. He would think he was lucky to be alive if he ever tried to bite or kick me.

Horses trust and respond to the people they respect. Just like their horse leaders in a herd, they respect those that demand respect. I have never seen anyone effectively get respect by buying it with treats, petting or coaxing. I have watched people coax and pet until a horse followed them around to be scratched or given treats. BUT, as soon as the person applied any pressure or asked for anything, the horse turned on them in a heartbeat. Kind of like feeding the wild bears. Ask Timothy Treadwell how it worked to be the bears' friend -- wait a minute, the bears ate him didn't they?

I agree that not all horses like being handled. I have one mare (and her daughter and two of her granddaughters) that I still have that are very aloof. None of them particularly likes being handled. They would prefer to be left completely alone. BUT, they are very talented, have a great deal of ability, are very trainable and pass that on. I like them very much. They will never be pocket ponies or pets, but I have never ridden a more talented bunch of cowhorses and ranch horses. You can darn well bet none of them has or ever will ever try to bite or kick or be disrespectful toward me or anyone else. 

A horse does not have to like you to be respectful. But, few of them DO like you if they are not respectful. They are just too big, strong and dangerous to not have respect for you.


----------



## redclaybear (Jul 13, 2012)

Skyseternalangel said:


> That was for Janna as she is the one that suggested the round pen
> 
> But even free lunging in a large area can leave a horse feeling confused but it is much better for a horse IMOP.


_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## redclaybear (Jul 13, 2012)

Oh that's an interesting way to think about it yeah that can be true with most green horses, my old gelding does it like a pro though haha. I sometimes forget different breeds of horses have different ways of learning and listening. Lol.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Yep they're all individuals  All learning in different ways


----------

