difficult pony to catch - long feet etc

cobface

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I have an 11.2hh welsh sec a who i am trying to sell due to lack of time and rider.
She is 3yrs old and an absolute nightmare to catch. I haven't been able to get her in over summer, have tried penning her in but she either runs through the lunge lines/tape or jumps over clearing around 4ft!!!! three thimes she has been booked in for her trim but i cannot get her in, her feet are looking seriously long and am very worried about her.
I have simpl not got the time to spend chasing a pony around a 4acre field all day :( i tried for 2 hrs the other day with no luck!!! other people have tried too.
So before i resort calling the vet to try sedate her - any other tips???
Feed and buckets don't work :(
Taking all the horses out - don't work :(
She is teaching my baby cob bad habits as she is learning from the pony :(
HELP!! please!
 
I had the sme problem with my 10hh sec A rescue pony, i was worried about her feet too as they had become very long and i couldnt get near her with a halter. just like you, food bribery, taking the others away, penning her in...etc nothing worked. I ended up having to get a vet out and have her sedated to catch her and have her feet done. I left the headcoller on so in future she could be caught more easily for feet trims etc but i had problems there too because when the headcoller broke several times i was back at square one and occasionally it rubbed so i had to take it off sometimes anyway.
I have since discovered clicker training (initially for another problem horse of mine)which has enabled me to teach her how to be caught properly! she's still sometimes untrusting and very cheeky too, but every day im making progress which is the main thing. and all that chasing her around and frustration has gone, she now enjoys being caught. Unfortunately the most important thing is time and it sounds like you dont have that. however, if you are trying of selling her, maybe it is worth addressing this problem now?
if her feet really are long then i would go down the sedation route for now though.
Good luck! im sure youll get there in the end!
 
I sympathise, my 25yo Section D has been uncatchable for the past few months. The farrier is here roughly every four weeks and he's missed the last three opportunities to be shod as I just can't get anywhere near him. Next time the farrier is here I will have to take everything out of the field which means two trips with the lorry to take them home and hopefully I'll be able to get him. He's so smart that it's not just that you can't get near him with a head collar, you can't get near him with another horse which has a headcollar and rope on. He knows that if the other horse only has a headcollar on he's safe - stick a rope on and no way will the Welsh come anywhere near you.

Little beast!
 
Well, I imagine sedating her is your only option now.

Dont take this the wrong way, but if she has always been a problem why havent you done something about it before now?
Not judging you, just asking.
 
Well, I imagine sedating her is your only option now.

Dont take this the wrong way, but if she has always been a problem why havent you done something about it before now?
Not judging you, just asking.


She normally isnt this bad, last summer she would give in after 20 mins or so, but she has gradually got worse. :(
Sedation sounds like the next step, will speak to my vet monday.
 
Didn't you say she wouldn't come to a bucket? If she does come to a bucket, I can't really see your problem.

No, she wont come to a bucket. Will have to section off her friends and leave her with her feed (if thats the best way to dope her) and just watch her from a distance.
 
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