Feral pony won’t be caught

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motherof2beasts!

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Good morning ,

This pony is not mine, I met him through a local plea for help Facebook post on a local equestrian page.

Said pony is a Shetland , out with 6 other ponies (all the same owner) none are ridden. He has a rug on which hasn’t come off all winter so god knows what’s underneath. Yesterday I went for first time armed with treats, managed to win the others over but not him, he is fast. The owner has tried making the paddocks smaller but they have 2 who just run straight through fencing so they are on a large 9 acre field. I went back in the afternoon with a friend and owners, we managed to get them all into a small area where she parks the car With fresh grass, again the second you get within 20 feet of him he smashed his way through the electric fence , back into the big paddock.

Owners said previously he had a head collar on and wasn’t so feral but local kids have harassed him and he’s been untouchable for months.

Owner reports their vets don’t dart gun, plus he’s in a thick rug.

Rug desperately needs to come off as big welfare issue in heat, plus who knows what’s under there….

Any ideas? His fear trumps his stomach would eat carrots thrown a certain distance but not it anywhere near a person.
 
bonny said:
Is there any buildings nearby ? Sounds like he’s not going to be caught outside so if possible I would try and bring all of them inside. If some can be caught the rest should follow.
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Unfortunately not , only a small field shelter not big enough for more than 3 of them .
 
Any local zoos with someone that could dart him? I say that half jokingly but it would actually be ideal!

Given you don’t have time on your side, someone needs to build a corral with something solid like wooden stakes and rails, catch the ones that can be caught and herd the rest in there. Gradually separate out the others until it’s just him, then walk him down in the smaller space. You need an entire day available and to start this first thing.
 
Could a lorry, with raised sides fitted to the ramp, be parked in the gateway of the field, and the pony herded up onto it, along with the others if necessary? Then he could either be transported to somewhere more suitable for rehandling, or the lorry closed up and used as a temporary pen in situ.
 
Probably cattle fencing would be better, won't they jump sheep fencing?

There are mobile cattle pens and races available. Of course they are gate like in construction, so there is always the danger that they will try to escape and get legs caught. I think the only hope is to get him in the stable.
 
Jenko109 said:
Catch everything else on a halter and then put a drugged feed out for him.
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This is what we had to do once when i stupidly turned a nervous pony out in a big field with no yard/ shelters etc to herd him into. Id thought catching the others and taking to the gate would work but as there was no routine of catching and coming in it didn't.
I think i put a dose of dermosedan in a big bucket of yummy stuff and sat it out eventually with the others tied to the fence outside the field!
 
Well he’s not mine but I tried and I tried. There are 3 nervous /feral ones who won’t be caught and they feed off each other. We managed to corale them but they jumped the sheep fence and went through the electric.

Thankfully a local natural horsemanship instructor is spending time down there and thinks they may be catchable after 1 more session.
 
How long have you got? I think expecting him to come to you and take feed from the hand is too much. I would start with a week of giving him a high value bucket feed, simply standing near to him whilst he eats. You need to make your presence a positive and not expect anything in return at this point. Once he is comfortable with proximity I would then go to approach and retreat. Then after that it would be approach, touch and retreat. I just did this with an unhandled cob colt I just purchased, it's not the quickest method but it earns trust.
 
What does the RSPCA say about this situation? Ragwort, feral rugged pony,what are their hooves like? The situation sounds like a welfare issue that needs reporting.
 
mcgreggor said:
How long have you got? I think expecting him to come to you and take feed from the hand is too much. I would start with a week of giving him a high value bucket feed, simply standing near to him whilst he eats. You need to make your presence a positive and not expect anything in return at this point. Once he is comfortable with proximity I would then go to approach and retreat. Then after that it would be approach, touch and retreat. I just did this with an unhandled cob colt I just purchased, it's not the quickest method but it earns trust.
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This is the approach I've been using with a Shetland I acquired almost 6 months ago. It took me 2 months to be able to happily get a headcollar on and off and groom all over, 3 months to be able to pick up from feet easily and at 5 months am working on hind feet. Very slow progress and that's with spending time EVERY day on her but I hope to end up with a pony who trusts me and enjoys being in my company.
 
It takes half a day to a day to build a corral large enough for your needs, with round posts and half round rails, easily available if someone has a vehicle large enough to get them. This really would be your best bet.
 
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