Desensitizing a Horse to a Human's Touch

Properly desensitizing a horse that is not used to being touched by humans or that does not enjoy being touched by humans can be a time-consuming process. The key to successful desensitizing is to do it at a pace that your horse is comfortable with and will benefit from. If you want to use your horse for a special type of use, such as riding lessons or working with handicapped children, you will have to desensitize him to a variety of human stimuli.

Things You'll Need

  • Halter
  • Lead rope
  • Cross ties (optional)
  • Helper
  • Treats (optional)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine where the horse is skittish or hesitant about being touched. Contact your veterinarian to rule out any physical causes for your horse's sensitivity to touch. Difficultly seeing, an infection or an injury can cause a horse to react negatively to human contact, and all are issues that will need to be addressed prior to trying to desensitize the horse. If the horse is in pain, and your touch makes the pain worse, then you will be sensitizing him to touch rather than desensitizing.

    • 2

      Tie the horse on a cross tie with a quick release or have a friend hold him using a halter and lead rope. Do not leave the horse loose to run away from your touch. If the horse successfully runs away from your touch, it confirms for him that running away from you is the correct response.

    • 3

      Touch the horse and continue contact until the horse no longer reacts to the touch. For example, if he pulls away when you touch his ear, maintain contact with the ear until he stops pulling away and is no longer reacting to the touch. Praise him generously with positive contact (scratching or petting) or a treat.

    • 4

      Repeat process on a regular basis until horse no longer reacts at all to your touch. If your horse is sensitive all over and reacts negatively to being groomed, continue performing the actions on a daily basis until he stops reacting negatively. Remember to praise him continuously when he is being good.