Dummies guide to catching gelding needed!

[LaurenM]

I've had my gelding for 12 weeks now and up until 2 weeks ago he was still coming in at night with the rest of his herd. They are now all out 24/7 over way too many acres of land.

The only way that I can catch him is to work out which mare he's buddied up with for the day and then seperate them both off from the herd. This is normally done by taking mare out of field or locking them in a seperate field to the rest (they have the run of 5 at the minute). As soon as the mare is out of the field/by the gate he'll allow me to walk calmly to him and stick headcollar on.

If I try catching him by walking up to him (sideways/head down/ relaxed body language etc) without mare he will just walk off and hide behind the others.

I feel like he's still abit unsure of me/taking the mick despite him being settled with me when he was stabled.

I just want to know if anyone has had any experience of this as I want to make it easier for us both.

I hope it gets easier as I just want to enjoy him

 

[mudmonkey17]

Hi, i have the same problem with my gelding who is turned out in the day with around 8 other geldings. He goes through phases of not letting me catch him and uses the other horses to keep me away. Have tried everything can think of and nothing works. It is getting really frustrationg.
Sorry thid doesn't help you or answer your question but just letting you know that you are not alone and i know exactly what it feels like.
Hope you get some help soon and then can enjoy your horse x

 

[LaurenM]

I've caught him the last 5/5 times so I know that I can get him. I would prob be too shocked for words though if he suddenly started walking up to me!

 

[flyingfeet]

Does his get scrummy tea when you bring him in?

If not then you need to appeal to his basic needs to make him think coming in is a good idea. Otherwise the grass is good and he probably cannot see any good reason to leave his mates.

 

[Shay]

I have a gelding who runs on his tummy and another livery taught me this one.

Take a pocket full of carrots get to within 10 feet or so of him, turned slightly away, and eat the carrot. Loudly. If he looks up ask him conversationally "Do you want one?" or similar. Hold it out as if it was his, then bring it back and eat it.

For mine this usually starts his front feet moving a bit. We find once he has started to step toward us he will usually come the rest of the way fairly quickly.

Ignore him. Perhaps take a step backward and eat another carrot. Repeat the holding out etc. By now he will be about 3 feet away stretching his neck out to get the titbit without getting close enough to be caught. Don't let him get it - it will be the last you see of him for the day.

Step back out of reach. Turn away slightly and ask something like "are you hungry" or "are you coming in now?" (I talk a lot!) Still munching the carrot. Only when he is nuzzling at you can he have the carrot and only if he has consented to put his head through the headcollar. (You might need to practice doing up the top strap with one hand so he doesn't snatch the carrot and pull back at the same time. Alternatively turn him out in a field safe headcollar and just clip the leadrope on.)

You can do this with apples too - and it is great toward your 5 a day. Don't get desperate to enough to have to try it with pony treats. Partly because they're too small to make a convincing display of and partly becuase they soon realise you're not actually eating them. If you are desperate enough to eat them I don't want to know about it!

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

You need to take Shay's excellent advice one stage further. When you've finally given him a treat (doesn't have to be a carrot - could be a polo or anything your ned likes) and popped his headcollar on, give him a scratch on his withers, rub his face, take the headcollar OFF and walk away for the day. Next day, same thing but this time you could walk him to the gate, scratch, head rub, headcollar off and leave. Next day, same thing but bring him in - NO WORK!!!! tiny feed, good groom, straight back to the field. Next day you can ride him. Day after only a head scratch in the field, headcollar off, walk away. Get the idea? Make sure he never, ever knows if he's coming in to work or to have a good time. If you are 100% consistent with this, never cheating and always playing fair, I guarantee he will be ready to be caught every day within a couple of weeks. Good luck x

 

[vikkiandmonica]

You've been given very good advice, and I used to have the same problem as you.

My gelding is serious attatched to my mare, and really didn't catch when she was out with him and the grass was coming through. What I found really helps, is to give all the other horses in the field attention, and even some treats, but completely ignore him, and once you've fed the other horses (just a carrot or something), if he hasn't come over to investigate, walk away. I usually then give the horses more attention, walk over to Wings, if he starts to walk away from me, I march off in the other direction, and he normally looks at me in a confused way. Eventually, after about 10 mins (if not less), he gets interested in what i'm doing, and comes over. I then give him a carrot, stroke him, and leave him for the day.

The next day, I do the same, but try and get the head collar on, before taking it off and leaving him. It also helps that, if he doesn't catch, he doesn't get fed, so normally his stomach gets the better of him after a couple of days.

That all happened last year though, which was our first year together, and now we are much closer, and whenever he sees me walking towards the field now, he comes over, without me having to shout. He will sometimes still be a little awkward, but this method works very well with him.

Hope this helps