Hi. Lots of horses are head shy. There are really good videos on the Uni about this. My suggestion would be to study these lessons, learn to do Join up, buy a dually head collar & then work away calmly & consistently rubbing his head. Then you can progress to 'accidentally' passing you hand gently over an ear. You will probably find the improvement comes quite quickly once you get over the initial resistance. There are good tips for accepting the bit too. If he is reasonable about that, introduce drops of honey to the bit & you'll get him looking for the bit not just putting up with it. Good luck & keep posting your progress. Cheers, Jo.

I will start by recommend you watch the Centaur lessons where Monty works with head shy horses from the back of another horse.
If you don't have the preconditions for this, you might get some ideas from it.
Either way, you are in for a long and patiencedemanding time.

try the new search box on the website, put in "handling the ears", that'll give you a start.
I would set aside at least a day to work on this, stay very quiet & relaxed & stroke up his neck as far as he's happy, then go back down his neck away from his ears, gradually, work a little higher as he accepts the touch, but don't force it, go at his pace.
If you can gently rub his face, do so, again working upwards, when you can get close to his ears, quickly slide your hand over his ears AND WALK AWAY! That is the release of pressure & his reward.
Do get a Dually halter & learn to use it as it really is the most useful tool to do the groundwork schooling.
Good luck.

Hi, I have the untouched gelding thread (not untouched now, lol) and couldn't touch him anywhere on his head as he was terrified of people. I started on his head at the nose and gradually and patiently got up to the top of his head, then we had the ears, like Jo said, I accidently ran my hand over, did this every time I was with him and also from the back over to the front, this took a few weeks but can now touch his ears with now problem at all.

Good Luck x

Great advice above. Do watch the Centaur series of videos as they are great for demonstrating how Monty approaches a similar problem as yours. No doubt your horse has had an ear twitch put on him which is very painful for them and terrifies them for life. With gentle persistence you can get them more accepting but it takes time and patience. When my quarter horse was 4 a couple of idiotic tough guys ear twitched him. He is now 18 and despite playing with his ears for all those years he still gets spooked easily if anyone is at all rough with him around his head. Usually I am the only one that handles him but I am always mindful of farriers, vets and his dentist handling his head too quickly.

some great advice from the mentors and great videos on the topic here. there was one on the series with special events where Monty "accidentally" touches the ears as part of his process and eventually eliminates the headshy response as the horse learns to trust it isn't going to hurt - its great.
It is quite easy to tell when others are handling your horse differently than you... particularly when they respond negatively to something you have never had an issue with before. I've had this happen with catching, haltering etc., after the farrier or vet visit on occasion when others are responsible for handling and I am away...the horses truly to "talk" if you listen :)

I have nothing useful to add - all great advice, just wanted to wish you well :-)

Thank you all for your replies, I shall try all your tips and watch the videos, I have now got a dually halter, so just need to be patient I guess and go at his pace. Will let you know how I get on. Thanks a million x

You may find that he is initially a bit worried about the dually as it is a bit heavier than other halters. If this is the case then introduce it incrementally and ensure that he is accepting of it prior to putting it on. I usually put a rope halter on mine first if they are a little head shy or awkward then put the dually on loosely over the rope halter. Then I slip the rope halter out from under the dually before tightening the dually up so it fits correctly. Even after all these years every time I go near my Uggs I rub him on his forehead and around his ears. He is a very gentle horse though easily spooked so I usually give him a treat while I do this but please note that Monty does not believe in giving treats to your horse by hand. I think it depends on the horse's personality plus how you give the treats and who is going to be handling the horse.

Just wanted to update you all. So I have been working with my horse over the past 7 days, using the dually and slowly making my way up to his ears. I'm pleased to say that after working with him everyday, he now let's me touch his ears and no longer lifts his head when I touch them. He is like a different horse and now loves having his head and ear rubbed. I'm amazed. Thank you all so much x

That is wonderful news, Lsmith82! Congratulations! Keep up the good work!

FABULOUS! There is a great lesson here. Working quietly & consistently, in the right way, you can help horses to overcome their issues, one by one. Great work! Cheers, Jo.

super work, well done, it's amazing how quick it comes when you go slowly isn't it!!!!!

It really is amazing, just working slowly a little everyday has made a huge different, he now realises that I'm not going to hurt him & is happy for me to touch them. I must say I've been doing a lot of other techniques also and found them amazing. He is such a spooky horse, but managed to do the plastic bag on a stick with him & he was so chilled about it, I seriously thought he was going to freak out. Thank you all again x

Hi. A little word of warning, whilst the right way is the way that works for the horse you're working with, be careful mixing different techniques - you may inadvertently send confusing messages which would be a bad thing. I see you have yet to earn any accreditations on the Uni. I urge you to take full advantage of Montys gift. I found, after more than 50 years around horses & ponies, the study experience was awesome & it's still ongoing! If you haven't yet achieved Join up with your horse then study the lessons & give it a go - you think you have a good relationship now. Well I can promise you that with Join up it will reach heights you never even imagined. My 5 month old filly foal was so good with the vet today, getting her 1st injection & microchip. All my other 4 had their teeth checked & sharp edges dealt with. The vet was most complimentary on their beautiful behaviour & the vet students were impressed that strangers could easily handle my guys whilst I assisted with the mare & foal. I wish you all the best & look forward to hearing of your progress. Monty says the 2nd most important thing in horsemanship is that you have fun. The 1st most important thing is that your horse has fun. Cheers, Jo.

Great news, congratulations, keep going, you're on your way now ;-)

I don't know how you earn accreditations, I am a member of the universality and have been watching all montys videos, I have also done join up with my horse, amongst other techniques. X

How many of the videos have you watched? Your first rosette comes after watching 100 and then for every 50 after that.

I have watched almost all of them, but it's saying 0 lessons??? X

If you have completed all the "Montys challenge" sections on each of the videos (you have to complete those) then they should appear. Otherwise I would click the support button the left and let them know.

Hi. My approach to the Uni is this. Now sometimes the lesson takes awhile to load so whilst that is happening I read the extended notes, then I watch the lesson & then I answer Monty's Challenge. My accreditations are automatically added, instantly. There is a clue in the name 'montyrobertsuniversity' - this is something you need to WORK AT. Having said that, I'm retired & this is the MOST enjoyable work I've ever encountered! Equus is a sign language. Every part of your body is saying something, all the time. That's a lot to keep on top of, but it's not impossible. Regulars to the forum will know about my little herd & the great way my guys respond to my attempts. They are so bright & forgive me for my shortcomings. Like Monty says "they humble you". Cheers, Jo.

Jo your reply seems a little patronising, I'm more than happy to answer montys challenge, but never seen this once playing the videos. Just because I havnt done these doesn't mean I'm not learning and putting into practice all the wonderful advice and lessons monty has to offer. Maybe it's because I view the website via my phone. But believe me I'm learning, that's what a university is for.

Hey, I'm really sorry - I didn't intend to come across like that. I think I might know what the problem is. When the video is finished click done & Monty's Challenge comes up. Click on that & you'll get 4 questions with multiple choice answers. Again, I had no intention to be patronising- I was simply sharing the format I use for each lesson. You had not mentioned Join up & often people find the prospect daunting so leave it out but it is key. Jo.

Hi Lsmith82, the Monty's challenge is a separate "Tab" at the top of the lesson video.
click on a lesson, & before you enlarge it to full screen, look at the top of the video picture & you will see the 2 tabs, Lesson & then next to it Monty's challenge.
After you've watched the lesson, reset the screen to reduce the video back to the small size, then click on the Monty's challenge to answer the questions.

Lsmith82- I also have the 0 lessons thing and I've watched loads however now at least I know I have to do the challenge whatsit (thanks beryl for tip where to find it)

On the head shyness thing I've sometimes found that if you approach the ears from up the neck where they cant actively see your hand sometimes you can get to giving them a little massage around the base of the ears then on to touching the ears so I guess they enjoy the sensation and then half your battle is won when you go to move up the face to the ears. Just a thought! I'm working a 5 month old and he's untouched and I found it worked with him only because he's not halter broken and the face is a no no for a minute! Just a thought :)