Catching help....

[miamibear]

Cant believe it, my normal so good to catch horse wont be caught.

I went away to London for 3 days over the weekend and i have got back and he is impossible to catch! I trust the girls implicitly that have been looking after him, one girl said he was fine with her walked up to her and the other said she had a problem but he gave in in the end after a while of walking around.

He had been the odd once hard to catch but it has only been like twice since i have had him. I put it down to an off day or the hay in the field tasted too good for him to come in!

I went down to the yard this morning to take his rug off spent 20 mins trying then couldnt get anywhere near him so had to leave for work! So he still has a rug on all day now!

I just dont know why he is being like this, it is clearly a game, not scaredness because once caught he is a lazy plod not bothered by anything.

I give him a varied work life, he gets hacked schooled and last night he had a half an hour session with trotting poles. He gets fed everytime he comes in. Really i need to bring him in every night, i like to brush him over to check him pick his feet out and feed him even when im not riding. I do give him 1-2 days off a week so it cant be that he is over worked. He doesnt struggle with the work and isnt a stressy type.

He is a little nappy when taken away from his friends, in the field there is one horse that always has been terrible to catch and they run away together now!

I just dont know what to do to get him out of this, allsorts of things are running through my head as to why he wouldnt want to come in but i dont beat him or anything i treat him very well, he gets pampered. He has had the physio and is fine and all tack fits!

Please anyone do you have any ideas why and solutions?

I cant move fields or seperate him, there are no more fields! Also i darent take a feed bucket in because the ones who are good to catch would mug me!!

Any help would be appreciated, feeling very down!

 

[threeponies]

If you have time, go into the field and sit down where he can see you. might take a while but he should come to you- obviously be careful not to get stood on! Or try a rattly paper in your pocket, rattle it when he's near you so the others don't get wind of it. When my mare is being twisted and won't catch, i catch one of my geldings and fuss over it, she then comes over cos she's jealous, you could try that. Good luck .

 

[Lucy_Ally]

I feel for you, this is the most frustrating thing a horse can do! Spring has always let me catch her fine but would often plant her feet and refuse to leave the others or spin round and try and run back to them. She is better when she has a regular routine and knows what is going on and will sometimes revert back to this behavior if things change (like someone else catching her!

). She can be very clingy to other horses as well but since the one who was clingiest back has left she is much much better.
My only advice is to not leave the field without doing what you went in for (whether its bring in or change his rug), even if this means getting to the yard very early. I have never once let Spring get away with not coming in when I have wanted her to as this will just reinforce the behaviour, I have spent upwards of half an hour and resorted to backing her the entire way up the field before now

With horses that won't be caught I tend to just keep following them and not letting them stop, basically walk them around the field calmly and quietly till they get fed up. Don't attempt to put a headcollar on if he runs from you the first time, just move him on until he gets so fed up he wants to come to you for some relief! Then when he shows signs that he wants to stop (turns towards you or steps towards you), adopt a submissive posture and walk up to him, if he walks away repeat the above until he gets the message that he can only stop when you let him and that is when he comes to you. You may be in the field a while but it will be worth it!

Good luck - you have my sympathy!

 

[frannieuk]

My big mare does this occasionally - I take her field companion away and wait til she's raging by the gate and then offer the headcollar. 9 times out of 10 she sticks her nose straight into it - obviously this onlly works because its a game for her!

 

[UKa]

Hi, me and my mate had this problem last night, our two horses who have just moved to the new place together and share the field would not come in for probably about 30mins! Problem was that the field is quite long and narrow and the horses just enjoyed running the entire length of it each time we came close to them… fingers crossed things are better tonight; we put it down to them being excited about a green grassy field (which they had not seen since last summer); guess my advice for longer term trouble would be to sometimes just go in the field, catch the horse and let go again so they don’t always associate being caught with bringing in or worse, working? May be a longer process though, in the meantime I would do as has been suggested under no circumstances give in …

 

[vicm2509]

My horse is always good to catch. But during the april shower time it took me 30 mins or so to catch him, this lasted about 2 weeks. He would just keep walking the other way. He went back to his usual self after 2 weeks.

Is it possible it could be the season change with your horse aswell? I couldnt find any other explination for mine, it was the time when all the new grass was coming through, which is what is happening again now (I just hope he doesnt try playing games again this time).

 

[miamibear]

Thats a good thought, he is as fat as a pig and all he gets is his balancer and a little chaff!!

He is a greedy pig so would much rather stay out in the field and eat, i cant allow him to get away with this again, even if it means staying for an hour, and he needs to know i can walk up to him. Fuss him and walk away again!

I do hope you are right and in 2 weeks he will be back to normal!!

Thanks for all the other advice guys, im going to try everything, starting tonight and see how we get on!

 

[Sundae]

Its the grass!!! My mare is the same- only does it during spring or the autumn flush- the grass is coming through at the moment so guess he is just getting in what he can before the winter. The only way I can get my mare is first thing in the morning (i give her a bit of chaff in the stable)- once past 10am, no chance(dont know how she knows!)! I also tend to leave a headcollar on this time of year (leather) altough it does rub a bit. Unfortunately once she has decided she wont be caught I have to get someone to help to corner her (very quietly)- she knows she has to give up then & is fine, but not many people like the idea of this (you have to be very careful & quiet & not make them panick)- once its back to winter & she gets a larger feed and hay in her stable she wants to come in... Horses eh!