Advice on Catching

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Laur

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Ok, so we got a new horse last weekend and he is really sweet, BUT he is a little sh*t to catch in the field. He was turned out for the first time at his new yard on sunday and sunday evening it took 2 hours and 45 mins to corner him and catch him with 7 people and one horse - in the dark! He is still very nervous but on monday night he was caught in 1 and a half hours. Then last night we were back to square one cos it took us from 5pm til 8.30pm and lots of people and one horse. Its like hes not bothered about coming in cos the field is 17 acres and theres lots of grass. He has a headcollar on but you cant even get that close to him. So does anyone have any good tactics for catching a rather reluctant horse? We had no option today but to turn him out with a 12ft lead rope attatched to his headcollar in the hope that we can get close enough to pick it up.

Help appreciated! Thanks!
 
To be honest i wouldent have left a rope attached to the headcollar.He thinks you are playing games with him.You all try and herd him to a corner he probably thinks it's a great game.And one he would want to play alot more of!.
 
I find some reverse psychology helps! Ever seen Monty Roberts or similar work?
It can take time but its always best to make the horse feel coming in or being caught is his idea, that he's not being forced into.
Take something in with you to catch their attention, rustle something in your pocket that could be food, i find empty pol packets are helpful, gradually entice the horse then turn away from it, horses are after all curious by nature and will follow you(patience is needed). Get to the stage where they will change direction to follow you then gradually work and decreasing the gap.
This does take some time but its more of a long term solution than being chased around until the horse feels like giving in. Stay calm and act like you just dont care(hard i know)!
P.S sometimes you need to send the horse away from you to make it want to come back shoo it away then entice with the 'pretend' food.
hope this might help!
 
Always give him something when you catch him. I know lots don't like to give tidbits - but he'll soon get the idea that to be caught is to be rewarded.

Keep headcollar on with a short rope - nothing that dangles to the floor.

Always catch him at the same time every day.

Put him in a smaller field.

Catch him - Scratch him, and let him go again several times a day.

Never, ever catch him and ride him.

All of this worked for the notoriously buggerous Amy May when I first had her!
 
are there alot of other horses in the yard? used to have problems when horses were kept at my mums cause there was no routine and they were 247 turnouts but if all horses are brought in at night together it's weird that he wants to stay out on his own.
 
practise going to him during the day if you can and giving him a pet, groom or apple then just walking away Perhaps at the weekend when you have time coz the initial couple of times he will think you ve come to catch him - when he is happy with that put a headcollor on and lead him to the gate and surprise him by turning him out again - my mare was a bit difficult when i first got her but once she d settled down and got to know the routine she was fine!!! New horses are a worry!!!!!
 
I posted a few months ago about Barney (aka the little sh*t) who is a monster to catch if there is plenty of grass (but first to be caught if there isnt!). Hopefully you will find that the problem reduces once your horse feels a bit more at home and knows that you are nice person rather than a 'horse murderer'! (Although Barney has never reached that conclusion with me!!)

I have tried removing all other horses (sometimes works, sometimes doesnt), leaving on a rope (didnt work, he trod on it and broke his headcollar), scoop with food (again sometimes successful even though he's not hungry). You have my utmost sympathy as it drives me potty. (I ended up throwing the scoop at him and swearing my head off one night after an hour and a half of trailing round the paddock after him not so long ago). Funnily enough he let me catch him then, but wouldnt recommend it as a tactic!!
 
I would look at the Monty Roberts/Kelly Marks methods as they worked brilliantly for my mare who I couldn't catch. Personally I don't reward with food as a lot of horses are not food motivated and I would look to reward in other ways.
Make sure your horse doesn't associate being caught with having to be tacked up and ridden.
As junosmum says - I used to catch Maggie, take her to the gate, give her a quick groom and then let her go. After some practice Maggie now comes to me quite easily and follows me to the stable without the need for a headcollar!
 
My foal was like that for the first two weeks, until she settled down. I simply ignored her and when I could get near her, taught her the joys of polo's. Each day got better and better and after exactly two weeks she was running up to me for her treats.

Since then I have never looked back, she is always first at the gate and easy to catch. I would suggest letting the horse chill out for a few days and start the gentle approach. A new home is scary for some horses and I am sure you will be find. I do think the worst thing to do is corner a horse and keep trying for hours, but if you need to catch him, you need to catch him and not a lot else can be done.

I have had naughtey ponies in my younger years that would not be caught, I would bring every horse in and that would do the trick. A smaller paddock and some electric fencing can help.

Maybe feed will win his heart, I really wish you luck in this and hope you can resolve it soon. It is so disappointing to have a new horse and not be able to get it.
 
Ok I know people do not agree with this but we have used this method and it works. Normal headcollar tie (no clips) on a long rope, yes we use 12ft ropes. Then leave it out, it will soon learn to back off the rope if it treads on it. We will only send one person in to catch it, so it does not become a game, and no food. Maybe a crinkly bag to get it's attention but absolutely no food whatsoever. I have done this before and from a horse that took 3hours to catch and I just walked round after it till it got bored, eventually became the horse that would walk up to me in the field, as it knew I wouldn't give in and return with a handful of feed. Why reward a horse for being naughty. We use the long rope to give it something else to think about rather than running away all the time.
 
Sounds like my old horse Alfie. He was an absolute nightmare to catch, he was worse though because he used to remove his headcollar so you then had nothing to grab hold of.

Found that cornering him never worked, food never worked, lunge lines to try get him to go one place never worked, turning him out in a small enclosure worked for a while until he realised he could jump out of it the ONLY thing that worked with him was if he refused to be caught was to follow him around and around without letting him stop to eat until he gave in and let you catch him. This took me 2 hours one day i must have walked miles! But he knew after that that i wasn't gonna give up and each time he refused to be caught after that it took me 20 mins tops of following him before he gave in.

Good luck!
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PS We weren't a great match both very stubborn and neither wanted to give in easily!
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Agree. Horses are not motivated by food especially in the field where food is constantly under their feet.

If you want to give a treat then wait until you are outside the field before giving it.
 
One of mine occasionally goes through the not wanting to b caught thing - it seems she thinks it's a great game and is not for any particular reason, therefore I either refuse to play by leaving it for half an hour, then going back and she's usually forgotten about it.
If it's a case of cantankerous horse not wanting to be caught, I've found in the past, that if you can get them into a smaller field (1 acre max) and then simply walk after them until they give in, then give them a pat and walk away. You aren't chasing them, just calmly walking them down. Be warned, this can take a long time though - did it for about 3 hours on a friends horse before he gave in, and she carried on doing it for a good week before he realised it was easier to come in!
 

Completely agree with Lis and Spaniel - keep him moving, don't let him stop to eat or go to his friends for comfort. Just keep on and on at him, I sometimes use a lunge line and flick it on the floor towards the horse - this can help get him moving if you are just that bit too far away. It will take a long time at first, but he will give up - after all what pleasure is there to be had out in the field if he is not allowed to graze or "chat" to his mates. I guarantee the time you need to spend will get less and less and eventually horsey will give in after 5 mins - good luck (it'll keep you nice and fit anyway lol).
 
Id go down every day and whenever he runs away from you id drive him away with a lunge line or something, not letting him graze or anything, just keep him moving until he decides that running away isnt a good idea. As soon as you catch him, give him a carrot and then leave him alone. He will soon learn that if he runs away he will just be made to work.
 
it might be worthwhile spending some time in the field not even looking at him and just wandering about (poo-picking is ideal!) so he doesn't view you as a predator so much and gets more interested in you. when you go up to him saunter and look bored but smile at him if he looks in your direction (gaze at his legs not eyes) act like you have all day to catch him and it'd prob not take so long. dont leave a rope on though, too dangerous less people is best he prob thinks a pack is going to eat him. can you fence off a smaller area to start off with?
 
use your body language. Send him away for a while and then watch his body language, when he is ready to pay attention to you and perhaps submit, then you can stop sending him away and gradually you should be able to get closer. This has always worked for me (some of these are monty roberts type tips). I have successfully caught around 5 horses this way, one of which was mine. Also stick to a routine if you can and always go to catch him at the same time and never ever give up and leave him to it!
 
I got a new pony at the weekend too. Its a Shetland that is also a get to catch. Mine live out 24/7 so the pressure isn't there to get him in but we're already making progress. Day 1 we just left them to get to know each other had have a sniff. Day 2 I couldn't get near him at all, but spent time brushing my other 2, picking poo and pottering round the field, gradually getting closer to him. Next day the same and I sat on the floor with them and he took a polo mint. Yesterday he had a polo a pat and his feed out of my hand. His last owners just used to throw his food to him if he wouldn't come. So always comes over to bred and carrot tossing distance but no nearer!!

He has also been learning from the other horse. I spend time patting them and giving them polos and fusses, so he learns that I'm not out to get him.

I also find with other aukward ones to catch, like sally said letting them see you have a polo wrapper and wander off, especially to the other horses, they are often far to nosey to resist.
 
You need time and patience - 7 people chasing him around is going to make him think it is a game, and you are making a rod for your own back. Much better is one person who takes the time to let the horse come to them (eating crisps used to work for one of mine) he used to get a little scratch and a 'good boy' and then I would leave. The horse stayed out and we did this 7 or 8 times a day for a good week or so, until he was actively looking for me. The first time I tried to bring him in he was a prat, as expected so we went back to the crisp bag and the scratches again. It takes time, but eventually you will have a horse that is more than happy to come to you and come in. I would not turn a horse out with a rope attached, I don't think it is safe, and a running grap at a rope won't work as there are very few people big enough and strong enough to hold a horse that is trying to get away.

Also, don't ride him when you bring him in, feed in the stable if he is getting feed, but don't give treats etc in the field.
 
i was always taught to go into the field, never make eye contact (they know you want something to do with them)and have a bucket of feed.
we had some notoriously tricky ponies that we would usually have to leave a headcollar on. i found they would come up to you if you ignored them and saw other ponies were getting a handful of food as they were curious. you offer the bucket to them with your left hand and keep your right underneath (still not looking at them) and when they dip their head in you move your right hand up the other side of the bucket and hold on to the bottom of their headcollar, put a rope round their neck and then clip them on
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worked wonders! do it with all ponies i come across-those i know form working with them and those i don't know and am helping people out-not failed me yet!
 
Ok thanks for the advice. I just want to point out that 7 of us werent chasing him we were walking behind him so he moved into the corner where we could surround him and then catch him. He wasnt stressed in any way. But obviously we dont have 7 people every night to come and catch him so thats why I need another option.
He is turned out with 13 other horses but even when they have come in from the field he is more happy that he is on his own with all that grass to himself. He is very attatched to a mare at the yard and when she is brought in he whinnies by the gate but he still wont let us catch him. The rope method worked last night but we still needed a few people to corner him.
 
Taking a bucket into a field with 13 horses in is dangerous, even well behaved horses can get posessive around feed, charge, kick out etc so I would advise against this

Re: lots of people getting the horse, I realise 7 people weren't chasing, but a lot of people in the field will still make it seem like a game to the horse. I really advise just one person goes in and takes it slowly.
 
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