Best headcollar to be turned out in?

I think its a bit harsh to claim people that need to keep a headcollar on their horses are poor at horsemanship and that it all stems back to retraining.

My mare has suddenly decided she won't be caught, I've perserved with her for well over a month and gone down every possible route, this is a pure case of her being a stroppy mare and I'm at the end of my tether! If I don't put a head collar on her I can't catch her and I don't phsyically have the time to spend hours each evening trying for the rest of winter!

Granted I could take her away from her two field mates and turn her out on her own but then she witters and paces all day whether she can see/touch her field mates or not.

I'd rather have a happy horse in a field safe head collar than an upset stressed out horse on her own.
 
I dont think it is always a sign of bad horsemanship, though it sometimes is.
Worth a check also of how well tack is fitting as sisters horse became bad to be caught, we had her saddle checked and it turned out it had a twisted tree
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and now she is fine.

On the other hand...my little mare Banner who had to be PTS in '06 was very bad to be caught (it once took me 2 1/2hrs), but she had been beaten and abused to a point which was unbearable to think about. I tried everything, we did monty roberts natural horsemanship (lots of work with an RA), went out in the field with food, sat and read in the middle of the field ( people must have thought i was mad!, went out at different times gave her a carrot and took the headcollar off etc. Nothing worked, she was just too badly scared and the rope scared her in that situation, no matter how much desensitization we did. I dont think that made me a bad horsewoman.

I have used two different fieldsafe headcollars with her and they worked really well

http://www.robinsons-uk.com/products/Pro...age=2#sku.56240

http://www.rideaway.co.uk/aerborn-fieldsafe-headcollar/default.aspx
I preferred the aerborn one

Hope it helps

Elle
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[/ QUOTE ] Huh you make the point exactly
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why not work on the problem rather than avoiding it ... like loading or cliping problems it needs a little time maybe you could get some help from your instuctor your horse will be safer more relaxed and easyer to handle ,a win win situation
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Lol, you're making a huge assumption here that I just turn out in a headcollar because I can't be ar$$ed to do anything else!!! You're way off the mark. Horse came to me with a million and one issues, scared of people in general and very head shy. I have done A LOT of work on this and as a result I can now walk up to him in the field (never possible before without angling body language etc etc) and he will even walk a little way to me. He will alos now take a titbit. I am the only one he trusts to catch him so I must be doing something right
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I've had horses for 17years and never had to turn out in a headcollar before but each horse presents different challenges and it is best to be open minded and not judgemental. I would much rather work away with him as I have done and turn him out in a headcollar so that he can be caught and worked with then left to run wild.....
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Tack etc is ok, thanks for the suggestion though!

I think the problem is the two horses she's out with....
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The youngster isn't doing anything and the mare is on a 6 week holiday!! I think she's just decided well if they're staying out 24/7 why should I have to come in and work!! If I catch the other two she'll happily come in; although she follows as opposed to actually lets me catch her!!!

She's too clever for her own good and knows every trick in the book! She's driving me insane!!!!

Although if this makes me crap at horsemanship then so be it............
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not being a pain... but how would you train a horse to be more easily caught? I have (very luckily) only ever had a problem from time to time with my old mare. Very random when she would decide not to be caught. Obviously associated me with work so I got round that by getting anyone to get her - which would work (and not to take it personally!) but how could you convince a committed stay out horse its good to come in? I have helped and used bribery but retraining?

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Time, repetition and patience basically, and a step by step approach. You cant expect to catch the horse on the first session but should try to look for progress each time. So instead of thinking i want 10/10 straight away, get 3 the first time and build up to 5 and so on. So if you get to stand within 5 metres of the horse the first time that is excellent!

For example, 2 broodmares arrived this year and were both difficult to catch. They see me twice a day and i work for a few minutes minimum each day, sometimes in a longer session, but never more than about half an hour. I make sure that my body language is appropriate and have aimed to just get closer and closer, building up to putting a rope around their necks, then the headcollar on and so on. When they have had to be caught for the farrier i make sure i leave plenty of time. I have never even used food! 5 months on i can now 9 times out of ten catch them straight away.

I have previously rescued feral ponies and used a similar approach. Just let them see me working around them every day, poo picking, grooming others, etc. Not forcing them to accept me but letting them come to me in their own time. Then i progress as above and because they have learnt im ok to be with they are then fine to catch all the time. One of them came to me aged 6 months and within 3 months i could do anything with him. I dont try to do things in 5 minutes, i find the more time you spend on the basics, the quicker you can go later on. Forcing a horse to accept things too quickly doesnt pay off in the end, they remain hard to catch.

With difficult horses, catching and feeding then turning away again can also help. So that horses learn catching isnt always something for the owner but there is something in it for the horse too!

You can teach a horse to do anything, as long as you use language that it understands, dont move the goalposts and repeat things regularly.
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As title, need a "fieldsafe" one... what is the difference? Can you recommend any/any to stay away from? Cheap and cheerful as poss please!
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In a word - NONE.
Can be an accident just waiting to happen and totally unnecessary, especially if you are away from the yard all day.
 
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