Difficult to catch - What's your technique?

JanetGeorge said:
I walk backwards to mine - last time tested was yesterday - with a bloody Arab x. With 12 other Irish Draughts and IDx trying desperately to be caught, Cassie didn't want it! But walking backwards towards her worked! Then stroking her neck and passing lead rope under.
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Love the idea and can see it may work. But if I tried this the inevitable result would be me flat on the floor..probably in mud or the local dunging patch!

JG invent a hat with a little periscope type device and your fortune is made!
 
Well, inspired by all, I went armed with a bag of carrot slices & did some more Touch / Click / Carrot training & after about 10 minutes, I COULD GET THE HEADCOLLAR ON HIS NOSE!!! Took it off, repeated a few times, gave him lots of fuss & left him to it. Another step in the right direction. Happy Mam. :D
 
That's the problem with positive reinforcement. Teaching people the fine line between treating and bribing.

Sounds as if Camillas Aunty Em has got it about right if she can now get the headcollar on.
 
Ladyinred said:
That's the problem with positive reinforcement. Teaching people the fine line between treating and bribing.

Sounds as if Camillas Aunty Em has got it about right if she can now get the headcollar on.
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Your not wrong there ladyinred:) I wonder how much plotin n schemin goes on in the pasture to get more carrot.
 
The carrot IS given for a job well done. He touched the scary, jangly headcollar, so he got a carrot slice. He let me put the headcollar on his nose, he got some more. Then he got lots of fuss & scratches & off he went to absorb the fact that headcollar means a pleasant experience.
 
Clicker train to target headcollar, the n to put it on - works a treat ;-)

It isn't bribery, it is positive reinforcement (i.e. reward). There is a difference. You are training the pony to be caught, for lasting effect.

Lots of clicker training to target on line - videos and tutorials.
 
I know some are more difficult than others, and well done on making progress. It just seems to me that catching is so fundamental to the relationship that a reward with food when the horse is surrounded by food dilutes the quality of the act of being allowed to be caught.
It's you who deserves the carrot :) His part in all this is a begrudging compliance. Why is the head collar scary? Why is does he not like the rope? He likes cuddles etc? so something happens after he's caught that he finds unpleasant. Get him over that and that would be a job well done. I suppose it doesn't really matter what technique you use, but reward with treats for obedience is a tenuous basis for good manners.
Horses that 'frisk' strangers have often been rewarded with treats for normal behaviour, amusing, perhaps dangerous too.
 
He's a 3 year old moor pony who has had upward of 4 homes in his short life. The headcollar means going in a horsebox & going to a show or being relocated to another home. I am trying to make his experience a bit more positive.
 
We cheat - my sister's horse is absolutely impossible to catch if he doesn't want to come in (which is most of the time!). Fortunately, he is only turned out with one other horse at present, to whom he is very attached. We bring her in first, and he can generally be persuaded to come in once she is out of sight! That said, we did rent a field last year with no stabling/ yard and had no way of removing his field companion from sight if only one of us was there (if we were both there, we would take her out and hide her behind the hedge, but that's not doable without 2 people). Techniques that worked - eventually - were leading his field companion into a sectioned off area by the field gate, releasing her, then hoping that he followed her in and closing it behind him. He still had to be caught in this area, but tended to give up sooner as it was quite small! On occasion I did have to take his field companion out of the field, hide her behind the hedge, wait for him to walk into the sectioned off area, then put her back in the field, and try to close the sectioned off area without scaring him away (it was a bit of a nightmare!). If you had lots of time, following him around the field until he gave up and let himself be caught usually worked, but could take absolutely ages. And in the winter we could always get him in the field shelter by bribing him with a bucket of feed, then closing the gate (easier with 2 people!). This didn't work in summer though, as he was more interested in the grass! He is in no way frightened and is the sweetest thing once he's been caught, he just doesn't like giving up and letting us catch him.
Another horse I worked with used to be a bit tricky to catch and would turn his bum on you as though he would kick (and indeed he did double barrel my boss once when he was trying to get him). I used to pick a few blades of grass and bribe him with that, but ultimately he improved a lot once he got more used to us all and was especially good for me as I had the best relationship with him. He is a naturally suspicious horse, so I think his problem was a lack of trust and once he built that up he improved no end. With ones like my sister's horse it's much harder!
 
Haven't read all the replies. However, I feel your pain. Where my sister and I keep our horses we help look after YO horses as well. One of hers is a little grey with pink nose and eyes, and he HATES sun cream. So this year we decided that he would come in during the day and go back out at night. However... He was an absolute b*gger to catch. You could spend hours trying to catch him and he would come up to you, let you stroke him etc, but as soon as you took a head collar out he wouldn't let you near him.

Thus the process began...

We would take some treats out with us, and just the lead rope, give him a good scratch around his neck etc, then slide the leadrope over the top of his neck and then quietly loop it under and around his nose (almost like a temporary headcollar). Cue lots of pats and treats. Then we would get the headcollar on him whilst the leadrope was still on his face (or else he would still run away) and then we would slide the leadrope out and attach it to the headcollar as normal.

He would always come in to a big bucket of feed and hay and have lots of fuss made of him when caught.

As others have said, if he really wasn't playing ball we would take his field mate in and that would make him more amenable to be caught.

Now all we have to do is slip the leadrope around his neck and then put the headcollar on. Unfortunately he is terribly head shy (not sure why/what from) so it will always be a bit of an issue.

It just takes time - this process above took about a month before he really became confident and it went from 30mins to catch him to 2mins.

Good luck!!
 
I have 'sweetened' a 2yo agressive youngster who would attack you in the field rather than be caught. He is now showing no aggressive tendencies and is the first across the field. All I did was showed him that people are nice to be around and being caught resulted in super nice stuff. It took a few weeks but the patience was worth it as he is now first across the field to be caught.
 
None of the above work for wily old boy here. Hasn't let me catch him for years, if I'm alone. But with two of us, no problem. Just gives in straight away. Also, if it's a child, he's totally biddable. His mind works in strange ways.
 
Mine is the same as you OP. However, if I chase her in circles she'll just carry on running and thinks i'll chase her the next time I catch her.

I leave a leather headcollar on - that seems to make her easier to catch.
 
OP mine was the same I used the technique I posted above and it worked very successfully. There is a big difference between reward and treat. Rubbing (never patting) just in front of the shoulder is also an effective reward and is proven to drop the heart rate 10 beats.

Mine was a 7 year old broodmare who just wanted to have foals and had very little attention over her broodie life so it took her ages to accept me and actually like me. She now canters to the gate to meet me and enjoys working.

I made sure she puts the halter on with my training above and she hasn't forgotten to this day. Her biggest motivator is bread I can do agility with her loose with no gear over fences etc with a small piece of bread.
 
I haven't read all the replies in detail yet, but another trick is to go to catch a different horse in the same field. You need to move as if you really mean it. Then, if the horse you are trying to catch shows interest, you can sneakily switch. Obviously this only stands any chance of working if all (or both) the horses are together.

Once you have caught the horse, it's important that the experience of being caught is pleasant - which could mean a food reward, or maybe just some nice attention followed by release. (Yes, it's worth practising catching simply for the sake of it.) Being separated from field mates in order to go and be worked would count as not pleasant.
 
I have one that HAS to be caught with food, normally take a couple of carrots, if he starts running off (he always lets me within a metre of him) i throw half a carrot on the floor and then he comes to me for the next bit. I am sure he thinks its a game now but i just don't have the time to chase after him for half an hour every day.
 
Liakp said:
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 :)
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This sounds so like Matty - when he wants to stay out he will just trot off a couple of paces when you get close. He is also really easily spooked so you can't grab him! This is a real pain in the butt when I need to get him in early so I feel your pain

I spent ages trying all sorts of methods from bribery to using his field mate but nothing worked for more than a few days - what worked in the end is so simple it makes me laugh every time...if he decides to trot off and avoid getting caught I just turn around and walk back to the gate. As soon as I touch the gate latch and make a noise like I am just leaving him there he comes running right over. Not sure why it works but it seems reverse psychology is the way forward with my 17 year old stubborn idiot so maybe it will work with yours
 
My technique is to put the damn thing on loan, then gift it to its loaner after 6 months. Then never ever, EVER buy another one that doesn't catch! Life is too short to be wasting it n horses that don't catch!
 
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