Ponyvet...ne ideas

[elle]

Hi ponyvet

For some reason my horse has developed a dislikng of people touching her ears, it can be hard to get her bridle and headcollar on and sometimes impossible.

She was fine when she was young, it was just before we started breaking her ( about 1 yr ago) tahts she started doing it.

If you rub her ears after about 10-20 seconds shes likes it and it relaxes her.

I just wondered if you had any ideads why she does this, could she have an ear infection or could it just be that shes proteting her ears as wild horses do?

[ponynut]

I want to add to this one.
My NF/arab lives out all year quite happily but as soon as her winter coat comes through I just can't go near her ears at all to brush them she goes loopy!
I can still go near them to put a bridle on but any brush near them she pulls away.
Why?

[ponyvet]

elle,

I suspect this is not related to any pain or physical problem as you say it started when you broke her, and that she relaxes if she realises you're not putting a headcollar or bridle on her.

I suugest that what you do is turn the headcollar or bridle into a game, and not just something which leads to hard work (that she's probably not enjoying yet, so soon in her training). Try putting on the headcollar in the stable and playing with her for a few minutes, then taking it off. You could put it on to feed her, or groom her (untied!) and then she'll begin to associate it with something good. With the bridle do the same, and take her out for a little walk.

I know this adds to the amount of time you spend with her and may be difficult if you keep her on a yard and only visit her once or twice a day, but try and fit it in as persevering now will make life a lot easier later in her life.

Ponynut,

All ponies have sensitive ears, but the amount it bothers them depends a lot on how much ear handling they have when young. My 6 month old foal loves having her ears brushed because I do it all the time, and have done since the day she was born. In terms of your pony, maybe she has slightly more sensitive ears than some other horses. I would expect her to be worse in winter, as pulling on tangled long hair does hurt a bit. Maybe you could trim the longer bits a little so they don't get so tangled? I also don't think she's likely to have any physical reason to dislike it, especially as it's seasonal. Sorry I can't suggest anything to help!

Hope this helps you guys! :D

[Wally]

My little nervy boy will, I think, never get over his ear phobia. I don't know what happened to him before I got him, but I have heard things on "radio latrine" which make me wonder what hapened to him while he was initially trained.

He is getting very, slightly better and is not so violent about ear touching, but if you want the clags out of them dream on! I don't bother because it upsets him too much, he lets me handle them in connection with headcollar and bridle, but I don't want to abuse than privilage. De-sensitising is something I don't want to try and do, he gets so upset he holds his breath.

So I'm thankful I can handle them in the course of every day riding. He is not your average horse and has taken me 3 years to get him to trust me, I can now catch him in about 10 minutes, it used to be half an hour plus, sometimes not at all.

[LindaAd]

A friend of mine had a young New Forest pony that was so headshy you had to sedate him to do anything at all with his ears. He was fine in every other way, and ok with a headcollar, but you had to unbuckle the bridle to put it on. The vet said that some people manhandle these ponies by the ears - catch them (wild, unbroken foals) and chuck them onto a lorry by the ears. If that's what happened, it's no wonder he never got over it.