HELP !!! my horse is difficult to catch

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Horse-Rider

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i was wondering wether people have the same problem about catching their horse and how do they cope?
summer is slowly approaching and i am dreading turning my mare out because she is so difficult to catch when out in the field :( i have tried bringing her out just for feeding and not ride her, and putting her in a field with little grass but nothing is working. i go and see her once a day when shes out but i can only catch her probably , 1-2 times a week ? :O
I was thinking about a horse whisperer but i dont know.

AND just for the people who do abuse people on threads like this >
NO I DO NOT HIT MY HORSE :p
 
Is she in the field with others?

I have a mare that is difficult to catch - particularly for other people. I find keepin a routine where she comes in each day - even if only for an hour or so helps - give a small pretend feed when she does, and don't always ride then. When we keep a routine and the horse knows, she comes to us.

I think keeping her in a smaller paddock, if poss, away from others may help too. Leave the headcollar on perhaps? I do. Give a small titbit when she does come to you/allows you to be caught.

With my mare, it really helped that the others that she goes out with always come to people in the field - two of them run to the gate if you call them, so she has no allies to herd away.

On really bad days, I chase her away - which throws her off keel, and she always comes back. I do this a few times - shooing her away, with her returning.

Shes a funny mare. She now comes to the gate with the others, but has to come in last - its like a little understanding we have!
 
We occasionally have horses who come to us with the same problem. The method we use works but you have to allow yourself alot of time. The important thing is to stay calm, don't get upset, angry or impatient and remain consistent.

Pursue her at a walk, relentlessly follow her. If you see her thinking about changing direction, change your direction to block her. Eventually you will be within a few feet. Do not apporach her unless she stops and looks at you. Keep your voice calm and soothing. If she pulls away as you put the halter on, stay calm and just continue the pursuit. She'll learn that running away is pointless, tiring and boring - you are never going to give in so she might as well come and be caught when she sees you. Always praise her when you have her in a head collar, so that being caught becomes a good experience for her.

The very worst offender we had took four hours to catch the first time. Within two weeks she was coming up to have the head collar put on and the owner tells us that she now never has a problem.
 
i can agree with classicalfans method of chasing them away and blocking there way. my mare is difficult to catch so we do this following her around for a bit, i take her a banana which shes only allowed when i can get close enough to her. when she takes the carrot i put a leadrope around her neck then put the headcollar on and she'll stand. shes just an awkward bugger!!
 
the first year i moved yards, i had a nightmare catching cleo. she would literally RUN away from me. i fixed it last year by literally getting her brought in every day, so she has a routine and she knew that she had to come in. my friend brought her in for me with her horse, the two used to come in together.

if i left her for a couple of days without catching her i knew i would have a nightmare.

we also left her headcollar on when they were opening a new field or something.

i am at a new yard again though, so i am dreading the summer as well!
 
I have had two horses difficult to catch, with one I did join-up and it worked really nicely, horse came to me.

The second I did the slowly walking catch method, fed a small treat after head collar was on and then another at the gate, my horse now comes to the gate (without treats).

The above method can be more difficult if she is out with others but not impossible if you are subtle.
 
Mine is difficult to catch - I leave a headcollar on all the time. Part of her issue is having the headcollar itself on, not always the being caught.

Mine LOVES being in, she walks far faster in than she does out, and some days chooses to spend the day in bed. So it is very bizzare that she hates being caught.

I find that if I try to walk her down, she just gallops around the field - that can go on for hours, I have tried, and involves her needing bathing afterwards!!

I try to work her into a corner, then block her in. Sometimes it takes a couple of attempts, but eventually she drops her head and gives up the game. Weirdly she always has her ears pricked when pissing around being caught!

Once caught, she sets off a 100mph to go in, and I have to scoop the other girl up on our way past - luckily she comes running, is caught, then 'parks' at the gate!
 
Horse-Rider said:
i was wondering wether people have the same problem about catching their horse and how do they cope?
summer is slowly approaching and i am dreading turning my mare out because she is so difficult to catch when out in the field :( i have tried bringing her out just for feeding and not ride her, and putting her in a field with little grass but nothing is working. i go and see her once a day when shes out but i can only catch her probably , 1-2 times a week ? :O
I was thinking about a horse whisperer but i dont know.

AND just for the people who do abuse people on threads like this >
NO I DO NOT HIT MY HORSE :p
Click to expand...
this must be the most frustrating thing
ive know some horses whove been hard to catch
if you can leave a headcollar on with a piece of rope tangly down..not too long so she can trip on it but just enough to hold to
try not to look them in the eye when you approach the horse when trying to catch
at times just go in the field with no intention to catch but just to get as near as possible to the horse/touch then walk away(do you poo pick if you do just spend time in the field no eye contact and she'l learn to come over to you and say hello)..building up the trust and praise with titbit etc
talking softley and never shout or get angry..which can be hard esp when you gotta bring the horse in quickly due the vet/.farrier coming and you have 10 min to do so
agree with other s advice..small paddock etc
 
I think Haycroft has some good ideas.

I have had 3 horses,all either rescues or "damaged" project horses who were impossible to catch, I have 2 of them now still and they are so much better.

Its all about routine and building trust. I tried all the techniques mentioned on here, they worked for 1 or other horse but the thing I have found worked with all of them is clicker training.

Basically you can teach your horse that when you click it means your horse has done the right thing and so it gets rewarded. Clicker is all about breaking the problem down into little pieces which ccan be build up as you make progress until you get the result you want rather than trying to do it all in one go, which as you say, more often than not doesn't work.

I started by clicking and treating when they came up to me, they soon learned and were happy to approach me/let me approach them. then i brought a headcoller into it. so i'd click and treat when they came up to me with a headcoller in my hand, from there it was clicking and treating whenthey touched the headcoller with their nose, next step was letting me put it over their nose, then around their head, then clicking and treating when they let me do it up etc.

the trick is repetition and I only moved to the next step when they were very comfortable with the previous one. I practised for a 5 mins twice a day and I could catch them easily after a week or so.
You can look up Alexandra Kurtland "the click that teaches" she has a book which I recommend which teaches you how to teach your horse. Probably good to start now so that by the time she's turned out, shes easy to catch!
...phew... that was long!
 
Well, it depends on how brave you're feeling. In the good old non-PC days I was taught by a farmer/dealer to kneel down. Horses, like cattle, are fascinated by anything untoward, and will come right up to you to have a look and even a nudge. Do not try to catch them at first, just give a titbit, moving as little as possible, and then very quietly get up and walk away from them. You are not a threat because you are lower than they are.

I've used it and it works (also works if you sit on a stool); but it is NOT advisable if there are several horses in the field. One other is probably the max. After a while our difficult ones would come to us. But y ou must be careful - obviously.
 
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