Cant catch new horse

If you can get two other people to go down with you then a grab a lunge line. Two people extend the lunge line out and push pony into a corner in the field. Give pony a minute or two too calm down. Duck under the line and pet him, put lead rope round neck, head collar and hold on incase is silly.
I was looking after a horse recently and I couldn't catch it for all the money in the world. YO and myself used this method and managed to catch her but she was shaking and scared to death. Not sure what had caused it but she's not normally like it. You're knew ned could have just been spooked in the field and now be unsettled.
 
This is what I replied in someone else's thread, it does work but require a huge amount of patience!

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A. Turn him out in a head collar always!

B. Keep him in the smallest field possible (you may want to start of with him on his own or you could keep him with a few others.

C. You need to set a side ALOT of time. I wouldn't worry about riding him for a while, I would just work on the catching issue, especially as he is so bad.

You need to basically shadow him around the field, follow him where ever he goes, do not let him stop but just keep pushing him forward, You can make him change direction by getting in front of his eye line etc, you are then controlling the situation rather then him.

You may have to do this for hours (it took me 40 minutes of 'shadowing' a pony at work until he eventually gave in - he wasn't as bad to catch as yours though (he was in a 4 acre field which didn't help either).

He will eventually start to tire, should start lowering his head and you will be able to see that he want's to stop. Allow him to stop but if he goes to move off when you approach him start pushing him forward again.

When he will let you walk to his head without an issue quietly give him a treat, a gentle pat/rub and walk away from him.

You will have to repeat this over and over again, if you can start at the weekend or when you have a day off you could do a few sessions during the day. Gradually it should take less and less time for him to allow himself to be caught.

Once he is not taking so long to catch you can start bringing him in for a groom/feed/or a short ride. He has got to associate being caught with a positive experience though so I wouldn't do to much work with him until you have got the catching under control!

It took me about a two weeks to completely cure the little bugger at work, now he will just walk over to me when I go into the field. He is always given a treat and we still leave his head collar on.

It is hard work shadowing them for so long but I do think it is the best way to try and solve the problems.

I hope this helps you in some way and good luck with the catching
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I agree with horse_crazy2. I did that with my mare, and she was no problem to catch (for a couple of months - then she started again, but was soon easy to catch again after doing this)

Make sure when your horse stops, slow down your movements so as not to 'push' him on.

When I did it, I would start off by just patting, go away, comeback, put leadrope round her neck, go away, come back, hold up headcollar etc etc until she didnt move away when i did these things.

One day, I shall whistle and my horses will come! (Ha ha)
 
I bought a horse last year and he would'nt let me catch him.
I just kept following him around the field and every time he went to stop chased him on, a bit like join up. It took about an hour but in the end he let me walk up to him. He is fine to catch now, sometimes goes to walk off so have to follow him, he now trots a circle around me, and then stops and turns to face me, sometimes takes a few minutes sometimes a bit longer, but always works. Good Luck
 
It is a new place, and everything is new so it just takes time to build up that trust. I know a gelding who used to be fantastic to catch but when he went out on loan became a pig! I would be going out with a bucket (if its safe) and perhaps see if you can get all of the other horses out of the field too?
Izzi
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Tried with food, and always been told not to chase after a horse. Quite a big area so will try with making a small area and trying to corner him in it. Trouble is the more he is playing me up the more I dont want to get on him anyway ! Not very confident as it is.
 
Get some paracord (available from most utdoor shops) and tie the end to his head collar (when you next catch him). Leave approximately a 1 1/2 foot length attached to the collar with a little loop at the end. This will make him easier to catch next time so yourr not always going for its head. Plus you can clip a lead rope on the loop. I've done this with a few horses and they soon get used to being handled.
 
Take great care if you turn a horse out in a headcollar. It must be a fieldsafe one. Terrible accidents and deaths can happen if a horse is turned out in a standard webbing one. I'd also be wary of leaving 18" of unbreakable cord, with a loop, hanging down. It's got accident written all over it if ned stood on the cord and panicked or if he got a foot into the loop. You think it can't happen? My horse was turned out in a bog standard medium weight rug a few months ago. Somehow he got his hind leg caught under one of the belly straps, so the leg was tight to his belly. He could barely hobble on 3 legs and I've no idea how long he was like that. Thank god he's a very wise and trusting lad, because he was trying to make his way to the gate for help. Mercifully, a visiting farrier spotted him and another livery ran to his aid.
 
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Tried with food, and always been told not to chase after a horse. Quite a big area so will try with making a small area and trying to corner him in it. Trouble is the more he is playing me up the more I dont want to get on him anyway ! Not very confident as it is.

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try the shadowing him - I used it on a horse that wouldn't be caught with success. Might be best to try and fence off a smaller area so you're not walking for miles!
Are you worrying about riding him? what was he like when you tried him?
 
I agreee with the Shadowing method!!! When i first got Milly home she was like this, I used this technique and eventually she would just stop and turn round and look at me and let me approach her and catch her. Its not stressful done right, Milly only ever walked around the field away from me she wasn'nt hooning around like a nutter but now she is easy to catch ( by me or YO but still not happy being caught by randoms!)
 
I had to do just that HC2 its about a year ago now after 3 days using this method you only need to hold the head collar out and he puts his head straight in it :-)
 
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