Help - Can't catch horse and need ideas?!

[Applesauce]

Hello All

Posting on behalf of a friend that is having major issues catching her horse all of a sudden.

She is on full livery and the same person (yard manager) turns out and brings in every day, about 6 weeks ago the mare became difficult to catch for the yard manager... just ran from her as if scared. (just of note she has never laid a finger on the horse, there's no reason as far as we can see for this behaviour).

The owner however, or in fact anyone else on the yard, has always been able to catch her, however it has now escalated and the owner spends an hour in the field trying to catch her too. She comes up spooky and nervous of everyone and everything.

She is a WB but normally has the personality of a cob, and nothing bothers her.

She had Alfa A added to her feed to give her more energy about 4 or 5 months ago, but nothing else has changed in the 2 years she has had her, apart from a new horse being introduced to her field about 3 months back which she didn't particularly like but that seems to have settled now.

Does anyone have any ideas at all about what could have caused this, or what she can do about it?

Many thanks

 

[catwithclaws]

What happens if all the other horses are brought in first? Does the horse then come in or is it still a struggle?

 

[Applesauce]

No difference unfortunately, she just canters laps around the field when anyone comes to catch her

 

[chestnut cob]

TBH I'd say you need to get a couple of people to help and section off the field with electric fencing. If the horses are down one end of the field, run a line of fencing across the middle (or as close to them as you can get) then gradually move it in so the horses are corralled into a smaller space. I would then take away the other horses and keep reducing the size of the patch the mare is on, until it's small. Take in feed, put in hay, carrots, anything so she has something to concentrate on.

If you can get her into a small patch you should find it easier to catch her. Going by personal experience, I'd say no matter how immensely frustrating it is, go onto the patch and do something else like poo pick. Don't make eye contact with the mare, basically ignore her. Take feed/ carrots and keep them near you. When mine went through a phase of this, I'd just ignore him, poo pick and keep a lovely, sweet and sticky feed (someone's competition mix or something like that!) with me that he could see and smell, but had to come over to get it.
I also will walk near the horse holding a carrot but never make eye contact and don't make a beeline for them, walk to the side and almost past them.

If you can get to her, get a headcollar on and leave it on. That saves a lot of time and effort!

Also once she's caught in a small patch (you might need to put up a couple of lines of fence if she's the type to jump out), you can easily change her direction if she starts trying to run/ canter around. I watch which way mine is looking to go then calmly walk so that I head him off and he has to change.
If she panics on her own then maybe keep a friend in the patch with her, who you can feed/ give treats to so she realises something good is happening.

Hopefully that will make sense, just a QR and lots of random thoughts/ things that have worked for me.

 

[Applesauce]

Thank you for that... she is in a large field, so perhaps a smaller area would be helpful.

She is not normally one to panic about anything, but it seems everything is terrifying at the moment.. so may keep another with her and see how it goes.

 

[be positive]

I am not one to immediately blame the feed but in this case it may well be that she is reacting to the alfalfa, if she is sensitive to it then it may well take a while to develop, I would cut it out and see if that helps her relax, something seems to be making her nervy if there is nothing else going on it would make sens to remove something that is known to cause sensitivity in many horses.

 

[Sukistokes2]

Have to say I am with be positive on this one,Alfa A is a great food but does not suit all horses. If I wanted to add weight to mine I give them something like calm and conditioner. Alfa A sends one of mine nuts and gives the other hives!

 

[Applesauce]

Apologies if silly question... but could it take 4-5 months of being on the feed to have this effect?

If so... would we be looking at the same amount of time off the feed to notice a difference?

 

[be positive]

Apologies if silly question... but could it take 4-5 months of being on the feed to have this effect?

If so... would we be looking at the same amount of time off the feed to notice a difference?

Yes it could do, the grass is coming through now so it could be a combination of the two, it should not take long, if it is the feed, to come out of the system, certainly nothing like as long as it can take to build up, a week or so at a guess.

 

[Applesauce]

Okay thank you.. she has been off the Alpha A for a couple of days now, so hopefully will notice a difference in the next week or so

 

[FairyLights]

what happens if you put some nuts in a bucket and rattle them?

 

[Applesauce]

She is not remotely interested. We have tried everything "straight forward" ignoring her, taking a bucket of feed out, leaving her until last, bringing her in first on her own, treats etc..

 

[oldie48]

If the mare's behaviour doesn't alter with the change of diet, you may like to try this especially as she isn't interested in treats. My old boy came with a history of being tricky to catch and was therefore always turned out on his own, which I don't like. I put him with the other horses in a smallish field, got the other horses in first and if he wouldn't be caught I made him work. Basically I chased him with a lunge whip every time he put his head down to eat. The first time it took me a long time before he stopped, looked at me, starting licking and chewing and allowed me to walk up and put a head collar on. Gradually he got the message, he could stay out on his own but if he did, he couldn't eat and he had to work. Within a week, I could just walk up to him and bring him in. We both lost a bit of weight but it worked and it's never been a problem since. Just occasionally, he decides he's like to stay out a bit longer and I just flick the lead rope at him and send him away, he's always willing to come in then. Good luck, it's a complete pain but it is solvable.

 

[Applesauce]

If the mare's behaviour doesn't alter with the change of diet, you may like to try this especially as she isn't interested in treats. My old boy came with a history of being tricky to catch and was therefore always turned out on his own, which I don't like. I put him with the other horses in a smallish field, got the other horses in first and if he wouldn't be caught I made him work. Basically I chased him with a lunge whip every time he put his head down to eat. The first time it took me a long time before he stopped, looked at me, starting licking and chewing and allowed me to walk up and put a head collar on. Gradually he got the message, he could stay out on his own but if he did, he couldn't eat and he had to work. Within a week, I could just walk up to him and bring him in. We both lost a bit of weight but it worked and it's never been a problem since. Just occasionally, he decides he's like to stay out a bit longer and I just flick the lead rope at him and send him away, he's always willing to come in then. Good luck, it's a complete pain but it is solvable.

Great - thank you!

 

[WelshD]

hopefully its the alfalfa, try adding salt to the diet too

Is the mare out with others? could it be that another owner is chasing her away when bringing their own horse in?

 

[Applesauce]

She is out with others, but generally, they are all brought in together or 2 at a time by the yard manager as everyone is full livery

 

[Annagain]

I used to have issues with my old boy. He thought catch was great game. I could almost see him laughing as he trotted round me in 5m circles and then b*****ing off as soon as I took a step towards him. The only way I could catch him when he started was to take a book, a chair and a bucket of food. Put the bucket under the chair, sit on it and read my book. He'd be begging me to catch him after a few minutes so I'd ignore him, pick up the bucket and walk out of the field. The next time I went back to gate and called, he'd be there before I could finish shouting his name!

The fact she seems scared is a bit of a worry though. Once you've caught her, it might be worth a check over in case she's not wanting to be caught as she's anticipating pain?

 

[asmp]

There's no way a member of the public could have hurt her, is there?

 

[Applesauce]

There's no way a member of the public could have hurt her, is there?

No - our fields are all interconnecting and she is right in the middle.

They managed to catch her yesterday after 2 hours, and she was very spooky once caught, but okay when ridden. It's all very strange

 

[ROMANY 1959]

I took my sons mare off alfa A 6 weeks ago, and her behaviour has changed for the better... She is on molichop chaff with apple now.. I took her off alfa A as she was being picky about feed, and it's pure coincidence we have noticed her being much calmer and amenable to catch!!

 

[_GG_]

Honestly, I would keep her in next time you catch her and have a vet come out and give her a full check up. Changes like these should be investigated. She could have hearing or sight problems or she could be in the early stages of neurological issues/brain tumour. I realise that this is a bit dramatic sounding and I'm not saying it is any of the above, but I really would want to investigate her physical health as it is so out of character for her.

 

[Applesauce]

Honestly, I would keep her in next time you catch her and have a vet come out and give her a full check up. Changes like these should be investigated. She could have hearing or sight problems or she could be in the early stages of neurological issues/brain tumour. I realise that this is a bit dramatic sounding and I'm not saying it is any of the above, but I really would want to investigate her physical health as it is so out of character for her.

I will definitely suggest that. Thanks

 

[Applesauce]

I took my sons mare off alfa A 6 weeks ago, and her behaviour has changed for the better... She is on molichop chaff with apple now.. I took her off alfa A as she was being picky about feed, and it's pure coincidence we have noticed her being much calmer and amenable to catch!!

Ahh that is interesting.. thank you! Fingers crossed it is the Alpha A

 

[Kikke]

Sorry no help at all but our very relaxed belgian draft was impossible to catch when on AA. Took a few days to get out of his system and he was fine again!
We did put a field save head collar on him and that did help with the catching.
Hope it get sorted quickly because it is so frustrating not being able to catch a horse!

 

[Applesauce]

Sorry no help at all but our very relaxed belgian draft was impossible to catch when on AA. Took a few days to get out of his system and he was fine again!
We did put a field save head collar on him and that did help with the catching.
Hope it get sorted quickly because it is so frustrating not being able to catch a horse!

No that is helpful! Nice to know that it could be the AA and hopefully once out of her system she will be okay... it's not nice to see an animal usually so calm completely change!

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Honestly, I would keep her in next time you catch her and have a vet come out and give her a full check up. Changes like these should be investigated. She could have hearing or sight problems or she could be in the early stages of neurological issues/brain tumour. I realise that this is a bit dramatic sounding and I'm not saying it is any of the above, but I really would want to investigate her physical health as it is so out of character for her.

^^^^^^^^this

 

[Tiddlypom]

Lots of helpful suggestions already. Another possibility, could she have accidentally been zapped by an electric fence or gate when being turned out/brought in? Maybe she remembers an unpleasant experience?

 

[Penny Less]

I do the corralling on a smaller and smaller patch, Its difficult if theres only you. I gradually shorten in a piece of white electric tape (not on ) as hes scared of the white. I have two and if I bring the easy one in sometimes the other one will come to the gate. Always a worry when I go away as he wont let anyone else catch him. It doesn't happen in the winter though !

 

[Red-1]

I agree about removing the Alfa A, especially now it is warm enough for grass to grow. I also agree with letting her know that she is free to stay out, but will have to "work" while she is out.

What I would say is that I love that you trust your YM, but it occurs to me that your horse may not. Years ago we had a staff member who we all liked, but I did notice my horse did not, and a couple of others became bad to catch. We thught the staff member was great, and trusted her, and never thought anything untoward was happening.

The sad thing is, especially if people have "stuff" going on in their lives, they can do things they never would normally do. Another staff member had cause to review the security CCTV and found that the lovely, trusted staff member was doing nasty horrible stuff when alone. It was out of stress, but it was awful all the same.

If it were my horse I would invest in a little camera, and leave it where it will record the turning out. If it is all fine when reviewed then all well and good (and no one need ever know), but if not you will be able to congratulate yourself for listening to your horse, unlike me who kicked myself for not, as I totally believed in the staff member.

I would get a wildlife camera, and obviously I am interested in the wildlife in the area!!!

 

[Tnavas]

Once you have her caught have a chiropractor check her over. Not wanting to be caught is often a sign of fear of being ridden. She may have had a fall in the paddock and hurt herself.

Someone has mentioned that the spring grass is coming through, so I suggest that you add this mix to her feed.
1 Tablespoon each Epsom Salts, Dried Yeast, Dried Thyme, Baking Soda. Feed this twice daily while the grass is growing and then reduce to Dessert spoonfuls daily. This will address any problems with Magnesium deficiency or mycotoxins on the grass.