Horse suddenly ear-shy (employee fault?)

So for the past 3 weeks or so, Hawke has suddenly decided that I don't get to touch his ears, or anywhere around his ears for that matter. This issue started slowly, and is now to the point where it takes 15 minutes to get his bridle on; however, he has no problem with the halter. I don't think it's a health issue because I can kind of train him out of it for the day, but the next time I show up; same problem--full fledged. I board, so I don't know if maybe someone has been mishandling him. He's not head-shy, he still loves his cuddles, but you don't go anywhere near his ears. Today it was so bad he was giving me a problem when I was just getting his forelock out of his eyes. It's getting annoying, but I'm even more frustrated at the possibility that someone has been mistreating my oversized lap dog. I have an inkling as to who it might be: there's a trainer here who HATES Hawke, and to my knowledge is the one who turns Hawke out once or twice a week when the stable hands aren't there to do it. Hawke won't respect you if you just demand respect without having earned it, which seems to be the trainer's way of doing things. Hawke won't be bossed around, and this guy is very bossy. I've heard that Hawke kind of just charges out of his stall when the trainer tries to lead him out (note: he's a doll with me and everyone he trusts--I can groom him with the door wide open with no halter on him), so my theory is that the trainer has been twisting his ears to get him "under control," resulting in this sudden ear-shyness. My neighbor, an adult male, rode Hawke today on a leadline, but before he got on, Hawke seemed kind of scared of him (note: fine with children, dogs, women, young adults male and female), and it took a hot minute for him to realize that he wasn't a threat. This also seems to me evidence that Hawke has been misused by this trainer.

Thoughts? Is there something here that I could potentially not be seeing? Advice is welcome.

Last edited on 2019-09-24 at 19:28:03 by Sessa4hawke

Are there any cameras at the place you board? Has he been scared of men before? If not, it would be quite a coincidence that he just suddenly developed this fear... I might be a bit anthropomorphic here, but most tend to know when their animal is trying to tell them something. I'm sorry if the trainer is mistreating him; if there's no way to have him not be around Hawke, I'd look into other boarding options if possible.

That's odd how he never acted sensitive before and now he is. Though you did say it got progressively worse?

I used to own a beautiful Quarab who had this same problem and with all the time I spent trying to be soft around his ears I could never get him to let me touch his ears before I sold him. I owned him for 5 or 6 years. He was so bad I had to use a hackamore (no bit) and a bridle that could be put behind his ears without having to go over them. Basically the same as how you would use a halter. I hope that makes sense! BUT I will say when I first owned him, I could put a bit in his mouth and I could get a regular bridle on that needed to be pulled over his ears, until it got to the point where I couldn't. I was the only one that ever rode him or handled him (maybe my dad did occasionally) as he was living where I grew up and not being boarded.

i know dogs better than horses, but my first line of inquiry when an animal starts behaving abnormally with no explanation is: could he/she be in pain? 

is it possible Hawke might have some sort of injury or wound in or around his ears/poll? It could even be something that’s already visibly healed, but hurt enough that he’s developed a negative connotation with having that area of his body touched. 

Thats awful, i would just try and find a new stable. If there are more trainers, you could possible ask for a new trainer if there are more? My cousin's old horse that passed was ear shy, she had to spend a really long time trying to get a bridle on her. She couldn't get a halter on her so we just put a lead line hanging over he neck if we needed to get control of her. Her name was peppy. Peppy was about 7 or 8 when they got her. Her owner didn't ride her much, but when they did, they were very rough. They let kids ride her, because of that, when i came over she always tried to bite me. She was successful a few times. But, my cousin tied her up one day and i groomed her and she relaxed. She was an awesome horse after that, but it took her a while to get used to being around other kids she didn't know, but it wasn't as bad as the first time. She never bite anyone again. 

I got a little of track sorry, back to where i was trying to go with that. Anyways, we did massages on her ears and would just wipe her ears, touch them, put halters over her ears. It was very hard, but after some time, she got better. I would advise doing massages,  just rubbing the ears, wiping them, and, i would really talk to the trainer. Maybe get him to do some exercises with Hawke, get Hawke to have some respect, and him have respect for Hawke. Some people take it rude, i learned that the hard way, so, try and be as kind as you can. I know you are kind just by talking to you before, so it should come naturally. Try holding your hand by his ear, hold it there until he relaxes. It can get frustrating, so make sure to stay calm and relaxed, or he will sense you are uneasy, but you probably already knew that XD . You really just want to spend any extra time you can working with him, making sure he knows, you aren't going to hurt him. If this doesn't work, i can give you more advise if you need it. I hope Hawke gets better. If you can't work things out with the trainer, and it doesn't get better, i would probably change stables.

 It can be hard, just remember your horse is counting on you, he trust you. When you are scared, you want someone to comfort you, tell you you are okay. Hawke needs that right now. I will pray for you and Hawke. Hope this helps. If you need anymore advice, i would be really glad to help. 

There are lots websites out there with really good advise, they can be really helpful. You just need to know he trust you completely. He needs to know you won't hurt him. I know you won't hurt him on purpose, so, he needs to know too. You can try doing some more bonding activities with him, trail riding, grooming, petting him, just anything you can think of. I will add more stuff as it comes to me. I hope he gets better!

Thank you to everyone for your concern and advice. 
I have looked into other boarding options, but unfortunately there is nowhere else within a 50 mile radius of where we live/he is boarded now. Hopefully that changes.
He Has been scared of men before, but that was a little over 6 years ago, when he was in a previously abusive situation. After a couple weeks of him being out of there, he was totally chill with men; no problems at all, my dad rode him all the time, we took lessons with male trainers, etc. A stable hand who just left, (adult male), could handle him just fine and Hawke loved him. The fact that he is just now starting to doubt the good intentions of adult men again concerns me greatly. As for past injuries, his poll seemed to be a little sore from some kind of pasture fight where another horse had pulled out some of his mane about 12 weeks ago. After a week, he was totally fine me handling him there again, so I don't think that's it. 
I've spent a great deal of time trying to condition him to me touching his ears again. I can tell he wants to let me, but he still pulls away. I've, at times, spent a half hour of just gently placing my hand closer to his ear, rewarding him when he doesn't pull away or at least pulls away less, and It will be fine for that day, but then whenever I ride next, usually a day or two later, sometimes three, it'll be back to where it was before and even worse. So it seems as though someone is actively undoing the progress we've been trying to make. 
I may be anthropomorphizing, but the vibe I'm getting from Hawke is that he wants me to be able to touch his ear to be able to get the hackamore on (he ADORES being ridden, especially jumping), but he feels as though if he lets me touch his ears, he has to let everyone touch his ears, and he doesn't want that, possibly from someone mishandling him.

Note: Hawke and I trust each other very much, but we're both very strong willed and have our own opinions on things that we make known. He's no pushover lol. 

He knows that I would never lay a hand on him except to tell him he's a good boy and give him all the pettage but it seems like he's trying to tell me that I don't have all the information.

Sorry this has been long, but one more detail: Hawke and I are not currently under training from anyone else, so this isn't even Hawke's trainer. I am Hawke's only trainer, and it's been that way for upwards of 4 years now.

I know you would never hurt Hawke, he sounds like he really trust you. 

A mare i had one time trusted me completely. But one time a different cousin came over and was hitting her, throwing rocks at her and would pull her mane and tail. I kept telling him to stop, but he didn't. I told my mom, and he had to leave. I was there when it was happening, i kept telling him to stop. My mare saw me there. After that she was scared i was going to do it to her too. So, i had to rebuild some trust with her.

Hawke probably just needs some time to get used to the trainer. And the trainer really needs to be kind to Hawke.

If he were my horse, and the trainer was doing that, i would certainly talk to him. He would definitely know how i feel about my horse XD

I would probably talk to him. If you can, if he hasn't been doing it, then i would just make sure you are careful tacking and untacking him. I don think thats the problem, you take great care of your horse, i can tell. Just putting it out there that that could be a possibility. 

Are there other trainers at the stable?

there are other trainers, as well as stable hands, but they all hate Hawke for literally no reason other than he's not a World Champion like their horses

Hum, that is really weird. I love all horses. Even the ones that attack me XD

I would just talk to him, ask him to be nicer to Hawke? I really hope he gets better. 

*Praying for ya*

UPDATE:
I asked the barn manager if I could start taking care of Hawke myself, and she told me no, so that's awesome. 

Aww man. Have you tried talking to the trainer? If that doesn't work, idk.

I really hope Hawke gets over this, praying for you everyday

Hey y'all! I've got an update on this here situation.

first off, thank you everyone for the well wishes, prayers, and advice. It means a lot :)

I was giving a lesson today, and while my student was grooming Hawke, I cautiously placed my hand near his ear like I've been doing (although today was the first time I'd been out to the barn in a whole week), and he had no problem with it. none. totally chill. It kinda freaked m out honestly. 

Turns out, there's a new stable hand, who's crazy super nice (his dog Buckles is too ♥) who to my knowledge has been the one to handle Hawke this past week. He's verrryyyy gentle with the horses, even the bully, Dusty. 

I haven't seen The Trainer in a while, and I think he might be out showing somewhere

Now I don't know about you guys, but this instant change in behavior that correlates with the different stable hand seems to me more evidence that my hunch was correct. I know correlation doesn't always imply causation, but all things considered, I think it might in this case.

Anyways, I'm so glad that this new guy will be the one handling Hawke when I'm not there. He's very much an answer to prayer and his dog is freaking adorable lol

Hopefully this is a happy ending and I won't have to worry about The Trainer again, so fingers crossed, this is the last update :)

While I don't know the answer, horses are terribly funny creatures, and there are 100 different things that could cause him to act like that. Don't jump to too many conclusions yet before ruling out everything! I think your reasoning is very logical, but if you accuse the wrong person, it may just make things worse unfortunately.

Anyways, I'm glad to see that the new stable-hand is kind and Hawke seems better! Regardless, I do not believe that any trainer in their right mind truly hates a horse. If it occurs again, I would watch his training methods with other horses and if you observe the twisting, confront him politely. Most will understand that every horse has a different personality and different needs, and should honor that. Sometimes if you think poorly of someone, all you see is that poor behavior in them because that is what you expect to see. 

Hope all continues to improve at your barn! c:

@pistol
thanks for the very wise words
I know that there could be literally anything that caused this, which is why I have yet to even speak to the trainer about it :) My dislike of this particular trainer is a result of how I've seen him handle horses in the not-so-distant past. Again, thanks for the input :)