Nooo...Not My Head!!!!

Today Gidget faced her worst fear...having her head touched. I don't know what it is with the mustangs, they all seem to have this ungodly fear of their faces/heads being touched. Maybe it's because in the wild they're always worried about something jumping on them. Anyway, we were going along just fine in our session yesterday, learning how to stand tied, being brushed over an ever greater part of our body (including those oh-so-tickley armpits - do horses even have armpits?), and wearing the saddle pad. Then I tried scratching a little farther up her neck and you'da thought I tried to kill her! As soon as I'd get close to her cheek she'd pull back, fling her head in the air, and once even pawed at me. So, as always happens when something is too scary, she got the double-throwdown treatment. The rest of the session was spent messing with her face/head - with my "bamboo pole" and even a scary bag on the end of a dressage crop. By the end of it, she was marginally more accepting, but I think it's going to be a long haul with this one. My first mustang (the trusty Roxanne) loved having her forehead and ears scratched, but Gidget just doesn't want to relax and let it happen. Little does she know that I'm not gonna go away, so she better just get used to it!