ridefast
Well-Known Member
I was just going to say this, especially the eyes, sounds very much like a horse I knew who had rapidly deteriorating eyesight
Help - Can't catch horse and need ideas?!
- Thread starter Applesauce
- Start date
I was just going to say this, especially the eyes, sounds very much like a horse I knew who had rapidly deteriorating eyesight
fburton
Well-Known Member
That was the first thing that came to my mind. An unpleasant experience with the intensity of an electric shock is well capable of changing behaviour in this way.
Tern
Well-Known Member
Once you have managed to catch her and had a full check over, if nothing is found to be wrong then I would be leaving in the field for 2-3 weeks with no handling and only checking that legs etc are not hanging off.. Lots of people won't agree but think of it as a holiday. Of course, this may not be possible.
Applesauce
Member
Thank you so much for all the ideas everyone. I will print everything off and show to my friend.
Regarding the electric fences, we only have post and rail, so that's not a possibility.... she does tend to bolt through the gateway sometimes though... so perhaps something has happened here...
Regarding the electric fences, we only have post and rail, so that's not a possibility.... she does tend to bolt through the gateway sometimes though... so perhaps something has happened here...
chestnut cob
Well-Known Member
You will need to buy some electric fencing then - i've had to.
Applesauce
Member
No, sorry - we have electric fencing, but a few people had asked if she could have had a shock when being brought in, and my answer was no because it's all post and rail.
We have electric fencing we can section the field off with.
Apologies - obviously I wasn't very clear
laurenn1010
Well-Known Member
BBP
Well-Known Member
Any chance there are electric cables under the gate? When my employers had their fences wired up for cattle the workmen buried the cables underground under the gateways. Straight after the horses started bolting through the gateways, turned out one was live and shocking the horses via their shoes. It was a massive whack too. Long shot as I don't think many places do this but thought it was worth a mention.
Kat
Well-Known Member
We had a similar problem and it made several normally good horses tricky to bring in.
SarahWeston
Well-Known Member
It's worth considering each of her senses and addressing each aspect. Be careful if you use electric fencing to create a corral, particularly if she has not met it before. Horses tend to look before they leave, so if she looks as if she might jump the fencing or go through it, then there is a risk that she will.
http://sarahwestonrecommendedassociate.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/15th-march-2015-close-ups.html
http://sarahwestonrecommendedassociate.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/15th-march-2015-close-ups.html
aintgotnohay
Well-Known Member
this is exactly what i used to do.keep them moving.i had a mare called cherie once was impossible to catch.so we used to do this and sfter a few weeks she got the message.
ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
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
Very patient Y/O I would not be out there that long.
I would review her diet and take her of the Alpha - A and maybe do some bloods to see if any other underlining issue there. In the meantime put her in a tiny paddock where there is less room for her to cause havoc
ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
maybe put her on a calmer for the moment and in a small area, practice some join up in the school. I always use an apple which I throw up and down when I go out and when I do this they know it is an apple, even if they running around the apple thrown up and down gets their attention. It works with us on 96% with my horses within 5 minutes as I have trained them to this action.
Dry Rot
Well-Known Member
I watched this video this morning and promptly tried it out on a nine month old colt foal who is being a bit of a pain. It worked! Previously, I had been using treats which was working but very slow. But I wouldn't like to have to try it in a five acre field. I used a 60 foot round pen.
I often see training methods but can't agree the commentator's reasoning. This was another like that. It made sense to me when I thought what I would do if someone insisted in walking behind me. I'd turn to face them, of course, especially if there was no other escape! Then, if they insisted in following me but turned their back and walked away whenever I faced them, I might decide the safest place to be was with them, square on and in my direct line of sight (especially if I was a horse!).
The video also made sense of join up which I was not previously able to rationalise to myself. Why on earth would a horse associate with human body language except when the human is acting like a predator? I believe that is simply pressure-and-release as some have suggested and the horse language stuff just marketting.
As for catching a hard to catch horse, I'd attempt to give it a "reward" every day, starting by tossing half a carrot near it. Then walk away, Then reduce the distance (threshold) every day so it gradually comes nearer in anticipation. I might do this several times a day until it would take the carrot from my hand. Then gradually up the "ask" a little every day until I could get my other hand on the horse to do some scratching/stroking. It is a small step from that to dropping a rope halter over it's neck. Once head collared, a bit of fussing and a reward, then release again. I also thought the description on Kelly Marks's page excellent. The horse is already getting feed so this approach must be half way there.
HufflyPuffly
Well-Known Member
This is exactly the approach I used on my unhandled youngster who is turned out in a 22 acre field, and we also added follow the carrots (which was also follow the human) so I could get her into the smaller paddock, which helped get her use to being near me and following me.
I can now catch her and she doesn't need a head collar left on her any more, patience is key and no sudden grabbing that could alarm her. It was probably only a couple of weeks before she went from 'never going to be caught' to 'happy to be clipped onto a leadrope for a slice of carrot'. However its taken longer to properly halter break her, and we are still at the leadrope round the neck first then head collar on stage.
x x
Dry Rot
Well-Known Member
At the risk of sounding a know all (which I am definitely not!), are these of any help to you? My knowledge comes from training other species, so my approach is often unconventional but sometimes works!
https://youtu.be/IyQ_HHbMn-A
https://youtu.be/RzvqQTCClew
Orangehorse
Well-Known Member
There have been some very good suggestions, but just to say that you are not alone. My little pony has been hard to catch. She doesn't care if my horse comes in and we leave her out (with him screaming the place down) and isn't intersted in food.
I think that the grass is growing and she isn't hungry, and would rather stay in the field, alone, thank you.
Eventually I managed to catch her and now have her in a little pen, with electric fencing, which I was thinking about doing anyway as she is very small and I was thinking of laminitis danger.
She seems very comfortable with me now, and is not exhibiting any of the "I am scared of you" signs she was before. It is a mystery, as I have been catching her every night all through the winter and all I want to do is to have her in the stable next to my horse and give her food.
I think that the grass is growing and she isn't hungry, and would rather stay in the field, alone, thank you.
Eventually I managed to catch her and now have her in a little pen, with electric fencing, which I was thinking about doing anyway as she is very small and I was thinking of laminitis danger.
She seems very comfortable with me now, and is not exhibiting any of the "I am scared of you" signs she was before. It is a mystery, as I have been catching her every night all through the winter and all I want to do is to have her in the stable next to my horse and give her food.