Difficult to catch - What's your technique?

[Liakp]

Hi,

My horse is a sod to catch. He doesn't run away but he constantly walks off if you get too near him. He 's not the sort of horse you can 'grab' as he's easily spooked and will just run off.

It's currently taking me about half an hour to catch him on my own, by just following him around and not letting him eat until he gets bored. I obviously don't have the time or will to spend half a hour trying to catch him everyday. I did think he was improving last week as I managed to catch him without much trouble a couple of times but the last couple of days he's been a sod again.

He lives out in a pretty big field with one other horse who I put in the field shelter while I try to catch him.
I was really busy before Christmas so would either just feed him loose or go up at the same time as my sister who could take the other horse out of the field. Now that I have a little more time I want to work on catching him.

So any advice?

Thanks

 

[Merrymoles]

I used to ride a mare who was a devil to catch and wore a tethering collar with a dangling bit of rope - however, she would usually be off before you got near enough to grab her.

A lot depends on your set up but my solution was to wander around all the others in the field, giving them a treat and/or scratch until she was beside herself to know what they were getting. Worked like a dream and after a while I could just talk to whichever one was nearest for a minute and she would let me walk straight up to her. Worth a try!

 

[Ladyinred]

Create a small pen out of electric tape and posts and walk him into there, possibly using his feed bowl as a lure. Once he realises he has nowhere to go he should give up.


Disclaimer: I did say *should* not *would*

 

[ROMANY 1959]

We do same as ladyinred...small corner of field, with post and tape and coral in there. I also leave a field safe headcolar on mine... Who is a pain to catch if in the field.. She is ok when on our all weather turnout...

 

[Llee94]

Try looking at Kelly Marks, she has a book called 'catching made easy'. I'm not really into parelli stuff but her ideas really work.
I know its not ideal in the winter when the fields are slippery, but she always said that if the horse moves away from you, then make them move more. This shows them that you are the leader as you are moving them around. Eventually, they get bored of being moved and will either stand still till you can catch them or they will come to you. Walk up to them to their shoulder, eyes to the ground and hands by your sides and look passive. Most people don't realise it but when you stick your hand out to horses and stare at them whilst moving towards them, they can see this as a predator with big claws! Always best to do this in a smallish area like a school rather than a big field else you will be going forever!
Remember to stay calm and don't get stressed as that will just make matter worse. Practice on days where you have nowhere else to be, as the worst thing is when you have limited time. You don't want to force yourself on him though, but that is easier said than done. Having a carrot or treat to reward them is a good way to reinforce this as well.
I have had a few that have been a sod to catch and this has worked with all of them within a week or so. I have a friend who had a horse for 5 years and she couldn't catch it, I had it for two weeks while she focused on her exams and by the end of the first week 99% of the time I could walk straight up to him and catch him. It is one of my real pet peeves and I won't tolerate a horse with bad manners or ones that won't be caught, doesn't matter how talented they are at their job. Like everything, it might not work on your horses, but would be worth a go. Good luck

 

[kez81]

I had one like this. Tried everything from bringing handfuls of feed, advance and retreat blah blah blah. In the end I took rge stance that if he wanted to "go away" he could " stay away" and if he tried to walk off I just kept chasing him off until he gave in. If he chose to come and be caught he got a big treat. Didn't take him long to figure out it was better to catch me and get a treat than run off and be kept moving.

 

[JustKickOn]

I chased mine, and kept her moving constantly for weeks and weeks when I first had her on loan. It involved me running around the field, dictating which direction she went and it was exhausting. When she have up running, I caught her, rewarded, brought her in, groom or a scratch and back out. I disassociated bringing in with being worked. This took a good few months, and now three years later she will come to call.

 

[BSL]

The knack is to make them want to be caught. Small area turnout. Lots of time and patience. If they won't be caught, make them keep moving. No time for snacks . Eventually when you do catch them. Make much of them, give them treat, and then turn them away. Keep that up and eventually they will want to be caught. Only try to catch on a day when you have time to follow through, dont bother if in a hurry, because they will feed off your stress, and you will never succeed. Good luck, frustrating but can be rectified

 

[Elsbells]

Yep, chase him away and in a circle around you if you can. Keep him moving and when he's desperate to come in to you, reward.

Other than that, take the other horse out and away and leave him there on his own. He will soon change his mind.

 

[Elbie]

When I first started sharing many years ago, the horse I rode was fine for me to catch the first couple of months, then he started to try his luck. He wouldn't let me get near him but to be more of a PITA he would rile the other horses up then put himself in the middle of the frenzy!

Only after 3 or 4 times of taking a carrot into the field with me he soon learnt and was fine again!

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

My method for what its worth: my trad is usually fab to catch and will come to the gate if a feed bucket is rattled, unless the blighter has special psychic knowledge which he seems to possess, that the dentist or vet are scheduled to come..........

So: take a bucket and smear in the bottom of it something that you know your horse likes. With my trad, its Marmite, he just adores it. But other horses I've used it with prefer black treacle, golden syrup, etc.

Then get some apples (or carrots), or horse cubes, and spread over the bottom so that they will stick to the gooey mixture.

Then take a headcollar and drape the nose part of it around, with the side-pieces spread out around the bucket; so horse will put his head into the bucket and start licking away, meantime you then shift up the headcollar and calmly and collectedly buckle it around the head, and hey-presto, one horse caught!

Its not failed me yet.

 

[Elsbells]

My method for what its worth: my trad is usually fab to catch and will come to the gate if a feed bucket is rattled, unless the blighter has special psychic knowledge which he seems to possess, that the dentist or vet are scheduled to come..........

So: take a bucket and smear in the bottom of it something that you know your horse likes. With my trad, its Marmite, he just adores it. But other horses I've used it with prefer black treacle, golden syrup, etc.

Then get some apples (or carrots), or horse cubes, and spread over the bottom so that they will stick to the gooey mixture.

Then take a headcollar and drape the nose part of it around, with the side-pieces spread out around the bucket; so horse will put his head into the bucket and start licking away, meantime you then shift up the headcollar and calmly and collectedly buckle it around the head, and hey-presto, one horse caught!

Its not failed me yet.

THAT!................is so devious!!
LOVE IT!!

 

[Cowpony]

I leave a field safe headcollar on mine, and give her a minty treat every time I catch her. She still won't come to me, but she now stands and waits for me to go to her. Sometimes I just go up to her, check her over, give her a treat and then leave, so she doesn't think that being caught always means work.

 

[Auslander]

Spike is a git to catch when he's in "that" mood. The moment he puts his ears back and steps away, I push him into trot, and keep him trotting til he's begging to stop. Then I make him trot a bit more. After we've had one of these stand-offs, he's fine for a couple of months, then he regresses again (Dumblood - goldfish memory). Every time we have the discussion, he gives up quicker.

 

[taraj]

Depends on the horses temperament! My welsh has always been hard to catch, had a hard start in life and even after me having him for 8 years is still scared of his own shadow. Had a Pirelli lady out who chased him around the field....we couldn't catch him for a week and it took ages to gain his trust again so that doesn't work with him! Now if you try too hard to catch him, if he gets wound up, he will just panic and jump anything in his way. We have a routine as in depending on which field he is in he either goes into his field shelter or as suggested above we make a small corral (with high fencing). He always wears his field safe head collar and always has a treat/carrot or his favourite bread oh and always has to be caught from the off side!? (have had eyes tested!)
If this fails his mates are bought in first and I take his feed out to the field and clip his rope on quietly, it is soo frustrating sometimes especially if someone different has to bring him in!

 

[Brightbay]

Investigate target training. I've successfully taught a horse not only to be caught, but to follow the headcollar and put his own nose in when it's held out. It works every time, it works if I don't have to catch him for weeks, and he lives in a herd in a 20 acre field. No need to chase, no need to trick the horse. A similar approach is used in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wvr5YO1vVE

 

[sidsmum]

One of mine can be like this - I take a scoop with some pony nuts/treats in it. Bizarrely crouching down on the ground seems to work fairly often too, I think he wonders why I'm not playing with him all of a sudden!

 

[Liakp]

Depends on the horses temperament! My welsh has always been hard to catch, had a hard start in life and even after me having him for 8 years is still scared of his own shadow. Had a Pirelli lady out who chased him around the field....we couldn't catch him for a week and it took ages to gain his trust again so that doesn't work with him! Now if you try too hard to catch him, if he gets wound up, he will just panic and jump anything in his way. We have a routine as in depending on which field he is in he either goes into his field shelter or as suggested above we make a small corral (with high fencing). He always wears his field safe head collar and always has a treat/carrot or his favourite bread oh and always has to be caught from the off side!? (have had eyes tested!)
If this fails his mates are bought in first and I take his feed out to the field and clip his rope on quietly, it is soo frustrating sometimes especially if someone different has to bring him in!

You could pretty much have described my boy here (also a welsh). I don't know whether he had a hard start in lift but he's always been spooky and has been know to just jump over fences if penned into a small space.

The other issue I have is that he has a few lameness problems so I'd rather avoid him running around. Thanks for the advice though, given me some things to think about

 

[taraj]

You could pretty much have described my boy here (also a welsh). I don't know whether he had a hard start in lift but he's always been spooky and has been know to just jump over fences if penned into a small space.

The other issue I have is that he has a few lameness problems so I'd rather avoid him running around. Thanks for the advice though, given me some things to think about

Glad its not only mine then! Everything has to be calm, like you couldn't care whether you catch him or not, though some days I just want to throw what ever I have in my hand at him!

 

[flirtygerty]

Not quite sure how I did it, but all of mine come to a whistle, the 4 yr old cob canters to be first at the gate, so food must have been the attraction, I really can't remember, but I did spend time in the field ignoring the one I wanted, fussing the others till my target came up to me, rope around it's neck, headcollar on, job done, now I whistle, they all come and I take who I want, easy peasy

 

[McFluff]

My secret weapon is an apple. I start to eat it when I call her, she has worked out the sooner she gets to me the more apple she gets. Ive also made a fuss of her field mates successfully too. It's only in summer, in winter she waits at the gate. My boy comes to call and always has.

 

[suffolkmare]

I am following keenly for advice! Mine does the walking away thing but not for long, so isn't that hard to catch. However he's now worked out that if he refuses to walk through the deeply muddy gateway then I can't do a lot about it ("so carry me out the gate then!" he seems to be saying, ). If I have help he knows he is outnumbered. My latest tactic is a handful of hay, but not convincingly successful.

 

[Kallibear]

My big enthusiastic youngster occasionally becomes too excitable to want caught. My failsafe is walk off without him whilst rustling something. He just can't resist and shots over straight away with that 'ooooo!! Wot you got? !' face. If he's been particularly awkward I then keep turn my back on him until he's about to self-combust with curiosity and practically climbing into his head collar. Makes me giggle ever time.

On a more practical note, have a think about WHY he doesn't want caught. Is he always worked hard? Does his tack fit? Or does he simply dislike his headcollar?(I had a cob who HATED his headcollar on but was almost impossible NOT to catch without it. He was broyghtin with a rope round his neck instead)

Also try getting into a pleasant routine and use bribery. A mini-likit (mollasses) can be really effective. And less likely to encourage mugging and biting than handfed treats. Maybe start giving a tiny feed in a bucket as soon as he's caught too.

 

[Liakp]

My big enthusiastic youngster occasionally becomes too excitable to want caught. My failsafe is walk off without him whilst rustling something. He just can't resist and shots over straight away with that 'ooooo!! Wot you got? !' face. If he's been particularly awkward I then keep turn my back on him until he's about to self-combust with curiosity and practically climbing into his head collar. Makes me giggle ever time.

On a more practical note, have a think about WHY he doesn't want caught. Is he always worked hard? Does his tack fit? Or does he simply dislike his headcollar?(I had a cob who HATED his headcollar on but was almost impossible NOT to catch without it. He was broyghtin with a rope round his neck instead)

Also try getting into a pleasant routine and use bribery. A mini-likit (mollasses) can be really effective. And less likely to encourage mugging and biting than handfed treats. Maybe start giving a tiny feed in a bucket as soon as he's caught too.

Ah mine's too wise for that I used to be able to catch him in a similar way but now I think he's just not interested enough in the treats.

I don't think there's any particular reason he doesn't want to come in, he just never has . I've owned him for 5 years and he's always been the same, on our old yard I was able to herd him into a smaller area where he would give in and be caught so I might try putting some fencing up in our field so I can herd him into a smaller area.
Me and my sister were saying he's just very 'in the moment' so when he's out in the field he loves it and doesn't want to come in but when I do catch him he's happy to be caught and just wants cuddles.

 

[Dry Rot]

Never ever try to grab a horse! Softly softly does it.

Visit your horse regularly in the field at odd times and give a treat. If you can't get near, toss the carrot or whatever near his/her nose on the ground.

Eventually, the horse will learn to take the carrot from your hand.

Work up to your horse only getting the carrot when you scratch his neck at the same time. Tip: Have the carrot in your left hand and hold your right hand out. Then negotiate with your left hand so the horse brushes past your right hand. i.e. the horse moves closer to your hand. Your right hand stays motionless.

Once you can stroke/scratch the horse's neck, slip a rope halter on.

Learn how to put on a rope halter properly! (Most don't know how, trust me!). To do that, scrunch the head collar up in your right hand holding onto the long end with your fingers, rub the horse's neck and drop the halter over while still holding the long end. At the same moment, stick the carrot in the horse's mouth with your left hand and then reach under it's neck to take hold of the head collar. Gotcha! Now you can tie the head collar properly with the quick release knot.

There's a video here:

http://youtu.be/RzvqQTCClew

 

[Sprig]

The chasing thing does tend to work and having a small area to herd in to helps too. Apart from that I would try not carrying anything (lead rope hidden around your waist/under your coat) so he does not think you want to catch him. With mine I would not even take a bucket of food as he knew that meant I wanted to catch him. Also try not wearing riding boots etc to catch as then he will know he is going to be doing some work. I quite often had to walk up to mine backwards, avoiding eye contact, and aiming for the shoulder. If you have a head collar left on then try not to grab the nose, go for under the chin, that way you are less likely to have him pull back and skin your hands! Another thing that worked a few times with mine when I could get close but not catch was to go up to his middle and then pretend I wanted to check his legs. Pick up a foot and then it is easy to reach back and grab the headcollar while he is on 3 legs and can't really run away!

 

[thatsmygirl]

I can chase my mare away as much as I like until she is dripping in sweat but will not give up. I just open the field gate and drive my car up in the field and drive her down to the stables. Luckily she only does it in summer when she dont see the need to be ridden

 

[pansymouse]

I'm a good horse catcher - I've never failed to get one but sometimes it takes a good while. My golden rules are:
Never run
Never grab,
Never lose your temper
Never shout
Avoid eye contact
Approach in a arc towards the shoulder
If they run just keep walking towards then but not directly
Don't let them stop to eat
Talk in a soft voice all the time
Have a reward in your pocket
Catch feed release for the first few times then move onto catch, groom, feed and finally once that's drama free add riding and other stuff into the equation. If you go backwards at the riding point check your tack, it might be pain related.

Ponies without a doubt are the hardest to crack.

 

[fburton]

Try looking at Kelly Marks, she has a book called 'catching made easy'. I'm not really into parelli stuff but her ideas really work.

As far as I know, Kelly Marks doesn't "do Parelli".

 

[MoonRiver]

My welsh is the very devil to catch, you can't run him down, even when exhausted he won't stop. Would go through or over any corral. Got wise to treats.He had spent his early life just being herded into stable and field I believe. Just have to make sure he ALWAYS has a leather headcollar on,then you get one chance only to sneakily clip a leadrope on before he shoots off. is the friendliest thing otherwise, just have to admire him from afar