Difficult to catch

finbarrk

Has anyone any solutions on how to catch a horse in the field who doesn't want to be caught. This is an 8y.o. who is too cute to come for the bucket of nuts.

doctor evil

More details please, is he out with others or by himself, if with others is he any different if he is the last to come in.

johnny_g

as doctor evil said more info would help, but we all know there is nothing worse than a horse who cant be caught!
Very frustrating!!
if he's out with others at the minute, bring all the rest in and leave him on his own for a while, he may come round then...usually if you had a type of pen/gate you can close behind him while he's feeding it makes catching easier.... also if he is REALLY bad maybe just keep trying to feed him daily/ twice daily without ever trying to catch him and build up some trust with him before you make any attempt to put a headcollar on him.... if all this fails i've seen people corner horses with a few people and long tape... but this would always be a last resort and probably has a very bad long term effect on the horse...

im sure other people will have more/ better suggestions! good luck!

togster

Good post johnny g. I would suggest leaving him out on his own for a while. Some cold weather might make him see the errors in his ways. Also a callagh or pin of some sort but im afraid you are never going to fully address the problem.

togster

Oh also if you want turn him out with a head collar on with a short piece of rope that you can grab when hes close. Instaed of fumbling trying to put one on.

Bendihorse

I think the headcollar with the rope is a good idea as long as the horse is kept somewhere where you can keep an eye on him and you use a leather one... But that will just work temporarily if you snap and grab him and ride him every time.

The best thing to do in addition to that is to go up to him in the field as often as possible and just pat him and give him a scratch and make him realise that hes not going to be ridden every time hes caught... Ben used to leg it every time he saw me coming but doing that got him out of it.

I also agree with Togster, when they get independent ie are warm and have plenty of grass they dont want to know you but if they are on a scant pasture or on their own in the field they are usually delighted to see you coming, bucket or not

Good luck with it, its an awful annoying habit to have to deal with!

togster

togster wrote: »

Sorry but this post is a bit monty roberts tbh. Have you actually ever tried to catch a horse using this technique.? It doesn't work. Most horses don't want to be caught because they prefer the field. OP you can try this if you want but im afraid it won't work. In my experience, some harsh weather and a rumbling tummy will get a horse in. walking with you eyes closed doesn't help (in my experience)

Not really, I was in a riding school in Co Dublin and saw some awful behaviour from the stable hands in trying to catch a horse. They practically charged at them. They also appeared to be trying to lasso them with lunging reigns

In the end, we got so fed up we just went out and got the horse ourselves.

How you approach the horse does have a major impact.

finbarrk

Thanks for all the replies lads but I have tried all of your suggestions already. Leaving the headcoller on has to be done and even at that he is still difficult. He is actually worse when out with other horses. The Monty Roberts thing didn't work either. I hunted him yesterday and I would like to throw him out in a grassy paddock today but it will be the same story again this evening when I go to try and catch him. I have him for 3 years now and he was always this way, even the man that bred him said he was the same as a young horse.

togster

Well Finnark if he has been like this for years it is probably going to be next to impossible to break this habbit. Horses are like people in ways, some of them won't do something because it is against their nature. I would suggest setting up some sort of small area of grass with temporary fencing which you can move when the ground gets bare or wet. Also try setting up a small enclosure at the entrance to the gate which you can close behind him if he comes into eat some feed you have put there. No amount of horse whispering will help this problem, all you can do is try and limit the problem by confining his space while he grazes or comes to the gate. Also does he have a buddy? We used to put a horse that was difficult to catch with a mare he was attached too. We would lead the mare in and he would follow, but this only works if it is safe to do so regarding traffic and other factors.;)

finbarrk

Togsters replies are the most helpfull to me anyway. Monty Roberts approach doesn't work with this fella.

TheB

Hi Finbarrk..

I have a trick that works has worked with 99% of horses I've tried it with - and with some perseverance it works with the 1% left too.. and it's neither aggressive or too softly softly.. you just need to be patient.. but it's worth it as most horses learn quickly.. feel free to give it a go - but it definitely needs a calm mind and time to complete in.. won't work if you are in a hurry..

As pointed out above there are several issues with a horse that won't be caught.. the most obvious to the horse being that he'd rather stay in the field eating grass and being with his buds than either ridden or shut in..

The trick is to make being in the field ,dodging you ,something mildy unpleasant for him - so he's not getting his own way.. and being caught associated with something nice (not always being ridden etc as posted above - just being caught up.. scratched behind and ear and given a polo or something is sufficient for that bit - if practical)

As for the catching.. go out there - other horses or not - headcollar/leadrope in plain view.. walk evenly towards him - intending to catch him.. if he walks away.. walk along behind him (obviously not in the kick area if you are worried).. if he wants to graze .. gently shoo him on - you don't want the horse galloping away everywhere - try to keep it in walk .. keep him walking infront of you..as if you are driving him on.. eventually he'll get annoyed and attempt to trot or canter to get away from you..don't run .. just walk to where he has gone back to walking and continue to keep him walking.. eventually he'll give up.. catch.. give him something nice .. release.. it'll not be long until catching becomes easier.. but keep up the catching "for nice things" to reinforce..

And before you all get MontyRobertsParanoia - I was taught this by someone who had been around horses forever.. barely spoke english and had no clue about NH.. and it works.. everytime.. it might take a little time but it works..

This man explained to me that you were acting as the dominant mare in the herd - driving a naughty horse out as punishment.. they rarely act in speed just calm deliberate segregation.. eventually the horse being "driven" away will finally want to stop being driven away and want to be close to the driver (see NH based "Join Up" ) .. it's a million years of instinct you are playing on and they are acting on.. so it rarely fails..

if you don't want to think of it as instinct based just think of it as stopping the horse doing what he wants to stay in the field to do (grazing etc)so eventually he gets p*ssed of and gives up .... if you like

BTW -I dunno when the Join Up method first went public but I'd known this trick for several years previous to me first hearing of it.. the guy who taught me was an 26 yo Argentinian Hi Goal player that I worked with on a Polo yard.. grew up a couple of hours outside BA rounding up herds of ponies on the pampas with his father & grandpa etc.. learnt the old tricks as he called them there.. hardly corporate .. NH/Monty Roberts stuff AFAIK is just the old ways re-packaged.. and marketed.. so I'm never hasty to refer to them as any kind of "approach".. it's just what horsemen have been doing for years..

finbarrk

Thanks TheB, I'll give it a try anyway.