catching horses that wont be caught2!!Warning longer than I thought!

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catherine22

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Some of you may remember a while ago I posted about a horse at my yard on part livery who I (and her owner) couldnt catch.
Well we put her in a field on her own and electric fenced off a small area for her and shes been fine, actually waiting to come in. So I made the area shes in a bit bigger and still fine. Put a horse in with her, in the small area and still fine.
So I decided to put her back in with the others in the normal field (about 6 acres) with 4 horses in altogether. Shes been in the field now for a week and a half and has been fine to catch (both on her own and when there was others still in the field)
Until... friday now shes always worse when its raining but I had successfully caught her in the rain a couple of times in the week, went to catch her friday couldnt, went back about 8pm when she was on her own and in the dark and rain still couldnt. Now its monday and we havnt been able to catch her since friday-normally she out in the day and in at night.
Her owner has tried to catch her again tonight (I tried this morning and at lunch time) and still cant. Going up now to try and corner her with a lunge line so I can catch her and at least put her out on her own again.
Now if I get her, i dont want to have to keep her in a small area on her own for ever but what else can I do? Some days shes fine then she'll suddenly change and you cant get near her at all, but I cant keep spending hours trying to catch her.
Shes not always brought in to be ridden, sometimes just to be fed and turned back out again so we are now at a loss of what to do

Any ideas please??!!!

Ps will update you when I get back!!
 
how do u actually go about catching her?? one of my old ponies was a bugger to catch, i held the headcollar behind my back and walked towards her but in a way which made it seem as if i was gonna walk past her, then offer a treat side on to her, once she came over slowly put the headcollar on.

you probs already do this but just thought i'd write it anyway lol
 
cruel to be kind tho thistle so ur not mean
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Have you tried chasing her away?

Sounds a bit odd, but if she's on her own it's not too difficult. Every time she turns away chase her away aggressively. Don't let her stop to eat or drink anything - if she tries, run at her to chase her away. In a 6 acre field this will get the pounds rolling off, but it always works eventually. As soon as they stop and turn to look at you full on, then go all small and meek and mild - even turn away. It sometimes takes a very long time the first time you try this, and I wouldn't do it in the dark, but if you put aside some time to try it will take less time every time you do it.

My boy occasionally still walks away from me, but if I keep at him he gives up within a few minutes now.

I wouldn't bother trying to hide a headcollar - they kind of know you have one anyway, and I also wouldn't turn her out in a headcollar either - I think that's dangerous for both horse and person - it's tempting to make a grab for it if you're close and I've seen some very nasty hand injuries caused that way......
 
nope she hasnt been fed since friday, on sat I did take her feed bucket in but she still wouldnt come in.
She has a field safe headcollar on in the field to try and make it easier,lol! but I do hide the lead rope and normally walk up to all the other horses and give them fuss she normally looks over but then still canters off even if I hold a treat/carrot out for her.
As for chasing her, I have tried that but she will flat out gallop down the whole length of the field then looks at me.then by the time I get down there she gallops back up the field so it didnt really work! (she doesnt just walk or trot away from you she goes flat out)

As you may have noticed I didnt manage 2 catch her again 2nite. Me and her owner are going to meet up in the morning and try and corner her in the light with a lunge line.

If we do manage to catch her what would you do then? as my OP says I had her in a small paddock on her own, thenmade it bigger, then had 1 other in with her, then put her back in the field. But now we're back to square one
 
As per my post a minute ago about my mare being weird in cold/wet/windy weather, there have been times when I haven't been able to catch her and she'll jump out if you corner her.

I get really peed off and do the chasing her around thing, but she never turns towards me, even when I do eventually catch her, its more the case that she's in a corner, and I approach speaking in a nicely sweetly voice.

If she makes any move to run I chuck my arms in the air and shout to send her away. If she looks like she's going to jump out I'll back off. By doing this for nminutes or occasionally for hours, she does eventually give in but then looks wild eyed and terrified like I'm going to murder her!

Often she'll let me pat her bum or her legs but won't let me near her head.

This used to take place in a boggy 10 acre field and it didn't make any difference if I took her friends out. Chasing her up and down used to just about kill me, and my calves would be on fire, but I got by by swearing my head off in a loud voice thinking no one could hear me, until one day the posh field owners came out of their house and told me in no uncertain terms that they wouldn't accept bad language of that nature. Whoops!

Now I swear under my breath!!!!

I'd say 90% of the time in the summer she's fine to catch, 5% she walks off once, and 5% she runs.

Winter is a different matter and the weather makes a big difference. Wet and windy I'd say 50% of the time she's fairly bad. 40% very bad and 10% fine.

It's infuriating.
 
thistle- everyone else comes in for the night and if she doesnt then she's left out alone

madhossy - glad its not just us then!!she has been fine for the last few weeks (even when its been a bit wet/windy) but now shes decided she wont come in.Havnt tried chasing her for hours on end as at the end of the day shes not mine and is on part livery which as far as im concerned mean i'll bring her in but not if it takes hours! He owner has spent a fair while trying tho!. Am going to try and corner her 2moro and c if we can get her that way.
when she was in the small field on her own tho she was fine (but then shes been fine in the big field for a while??!!)
I guess for some of them then (especially in winter) theres no cure?
 
mine is an angel to catch in winter but a b****d in summer. Chased hin round the field for three hours solid... didnt work at all. Well doesnt help that the feild is 30 acres
 
Is there anyway you can pen off an area of the big field but leave one side open so that she can freely wander between penned area and big field.
Once all the others have come in for the evening, pop a bucket of feed in the penned area and then get out of sight. If you can get her in that area without alarming her then you could close her in and then try catching her.
 
What I find is total magic is you do all the stuff people have said above to catch the horse but then SOMETIMES you give a pat on the nose and immediately let 'em loose again! SOMETIMES, you give a tiny feed in a bowl right then and there, then let 'em loose again. SOMETIMES you bring in for a quick groom and a tiny feed, then out again. SOMETIMES you give a polo and walk away. SOMETIMES they come in and ALWAYS there's something in a bowl. That way they never know what will happen and they make their own decisions that - on balance - it's worth being caught. It honestly does work but you need to vary it all the time and it won't happen overnight...but it IS permanent! Good luck!
 
My sisters old horse used to be a bugger to catch! He would let you walk up to him but as soon as he saw the headcollar he was off...

When my sister went on holiday i had to look after him, so me and my dad went into the field to get him, i told my dad to hide the headcollar behind his back while i went to pat sisters horse. Casually i ran my hand down his leg and lifted up his hoof as though i was going to pick out his feet while dad slipped the headcollar on. Result!!!

I wouldn't recommend this generally but i knew the horse like the back of my hand and knew i wouldn't get a kick in the head.

He sussed me out after a few days though, so didn't really work in the long run lol
 
Nobody is going to agree with me on this one but im going to say it anyway! Id attach a lunge line to her headcollar, it will scare the crapm out of the other horses for a while but if she has a field safe headcollar on then if she did get caught on something then she would be able to get loose still. Most people will say 'no she might get strangled' but id do it to save the agro, at least you could catch her then!
 
Have you tried just opening the gate and letting her walk out on her own? Used to work a treat with a friends horse that wouldn't be caught. As he walked through the gate the lead rope was latched on. Could never get near him in the field.
 
I always have an apple handy to help catch mine, she has a fieldsafe headcollar on too. But one thing i have learnt is never give up or it will take you forever the next time.
One girl who was supposed to bring mine in one day left her as she couldnt catch her and for the next 5 days i could barely catch her and to lead she planted her feet and refused to budge! She soon learnt i dont give up and is an angel !
 
Honestly, honestly, this will work permanently. As my earlier post but to elaborate a bit, if they zooom off when they see the headcollar, don't take it in for a few days! Just let 'em come up and have a polo, then turn and walk away. Next time (can be half hour later!) a polo or carrot and a scratch on the ears. Walk away. Next time chuck headcollar on the ground, ethen carrot, walk away. Next time have headcollar over shoulder, carrot, walk away. And so you edge it forward until your horse itself makes the decision that it WANTS to be caught! If you catch your horse by subterfuge, it will always be YOUR decision, not your horses! And leaving a lunge line attached to a headcollar Vieshot? I know of a foal that was hanged with less than that.
 
I had a couple of mares here this year (visiting the stallion) who were cows to catch. I couldn't be doing with long-term cures - we had to catch them to take them to the stallion - and not waste too much time doing it. It was easier because I keep all visiting mares in small, individual electric fenced enclosures - so they have friends close by - but we can catch one and bring it in without upsetting others - AND it makes them easier to catch.

For the bad to catch mares, I kept a reel of electric tape handy. Tie one end to the fence - near a corner. Walked the tape around a telegraph post to make one side of a small square. Walk towards the mare, unravelling the tape and walk her into the corner. First time we had to make the square quite small - after a couple of times, as soon as they saw they were 'enclosed' - they gave in.

For one mare who was staying longer - and was genuinely nervous - I made a small electric tape yard and gate in the corner and used the longer tape to walk her into the pen. She learnt quite quickly to go to that corner as soon as she saw the tape walking across the field.

You COULD do the small yard in corner of larger field. Walk her into it - with tape and an assistant to help keep the tape taut over the larger area. Filter OUT the horses you don't want. When you get her into the small pen, feed her there and feed her there every day. Within a few days you won't need the tape to get her into the corner pen. Let her have her small feed - then bring her in if you want to - or let her go again.
 
Letting mine wander into the yard and herding her into the stable is easiest, but sometimes I still can't catch her in the STABLE!!

She'll let me touch every part of her body except her head and neck. Touching these parts requires patience and lots of soft talking. Once the headcollars' on she's fine.

I think she suffers from facial neuralgia as she's only this bad in cold windy weather and not so bad with a neck cover on.
I used to get neuralgia in my jaw and earache in cold windy weather and it's bloody painful.
 
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Letting mine wander into the yard and herding her into the stable is easiest, but sometimes I still can't catch her in the STABLE!!

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sorry, it's probably not funny for you...
 
You sound just like me last night it was howling a gale and peeing with rain and trying to catch my mare was a nightmare in the end I had to just leave her out. My other horse is so good to catch and he was easy to bring in but couldn't leave him in the stable on his own as he gets all touchy about it so they were both out last night in wind and rain I was so cross with my mare she makes me swear, luckly no one can hear me out in my wet 5 acre field. This morning I decide that I would go and buy a feild headcollar which I couldn't get to put on her straight away, so I had to resort to the electric fence tape tied it to a fence post and managed to corner her in one part of the feild, I have tried every thing going out in the field with carrots walking away etc, not feeding her. Hiding from her and waiting for her to go into the coral area near the stables, going back into the house and waiting at least an hour for her to go into the coral still didn't go in!! But when you actually do get to catch her she is the most well mannered horse you could ever wish for its just this really annoying thing that most of the time I have a problem catching her!! Any suggestions
 
Bluedelta - I feel your pain! Mine is exactly the same at times, though definately worse in winter.

I'm lucky that my field opens straight into an enclosed yard and I can herd her into her stable, but even when she's in a routine of coming in at nights (she lives out 24/7 apart from in the worst of the weather) she's still a prat at times.

I've tried all or your methods apart from the electric fencing thing as she'll jump over or attempt to jump over it.

She has got better with age, and she's a bit more sensible about what she jumps over now.

She once went over the galvanised gate in the yard (that's when I couldn't catch her IN THE YARD and she refused to be herded into her stable. She jumped the gate from a standstill and fell in a heap on the other side as she didn't quite clear it. She cut her leg a bit, but she was lucky that was the only injury.

Another time she jumped the post and rail and got a hind leg caught between the post and rail momentarily, and again fell splat. That time she didn't hurt herself, but as soon as I climbed over the fence to run to her aid she was up and gone.

It's infuriating. I've had her since she was 2yrs old and she came from stud, so I can't believe she's been abused and she certainly hasn't by me, though she clearly understands the F word!!!

These days I try to 'talk her down' and doing it in a soppy voice more or less works, even through clenched teeth!
 
The field safe headcollar worked a treat last night my daughter caught her easily although I do agree that maybe if she pulled back hard enough or did a whip round as she does sometimes she could break free, but so far so good lets see how she is tonight, the weather is blowing a gale, wind and cornish rain set in for the day so she should be ready to come in this evening.
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