Horse that won't be caught!

[jessyickle]

Hi, I'm fairly new to these message boards so not sur eif i'm posting in the right place.
The title is pretty self-explanatory in the fact that my horse simply won't be caught, i've done lot of research into this problem but i'm struggling to find a solution.

I've owned my horse for about 2 years and he is now a young 7 year old. He is turned out in a paddock with one other horse and has always been good to catch until the problem started in around march time this year.

He is different to most horses that won't be caught in the way that a lot of the time (not all the time) he will come to me, let me groom him, pick out his feet, spray him with fly spray fuss him, give him treats but as soon as the headcollar goes over his nose or even near him he is off and there is no stopping him. After this has happened, he won't come anywhere near me until i try again later in the day. Sometimes he won't let me near him at all but follows me around at a distance and watches me constantly. On occasions I have opened the field gate and let him run to his stable by himself in desperate attempt to get him in at night ready for a show the next day. However once he has run in (which is not ideal i know) he won't let me near him in the stable and snorts loudly. It is very strange because the next day he is perfect and he is a horse that loves attention. Often, once he is caught he is absolutely fine.

I'm really unsure what to do next, I've tried all of the usual tactics. He is now living out and i just take him a net down in the evening and give him a fuss. I haven't been able to ride for weeks and i don't try to catch him everytime i go into the field.

any suggestions? thankyou lots! xxx

 

[ThePinkPony]

i have a pony like that. he will come for treats or fuss but as soon as he sees you have anything else in your hand he is off.

Usually i'll grab the leadrope and send him away with it, chasing him round and round the feild, not letting him stop until he starts moving closer to me with his head down. Then i'll send him on once more, trun and walk back to the gate. He follows and i'll whip the rope around his neck and then pop on the HC. luckily the big horse is a greedy whatsherface and comes to the gate for anything, in the hopes theres a bit of food.

Have you thought about leaving a hc on him once you get it on?

 

[SpottedCat]

Firstly, get yourself a cheap leather or field-safe headcollar and put it on him. The cheap leather/field-safe element means it will snap if he gets caught up. This means you don't have to put a headcollar on him to catch him, you can just snap the rope on. I think he's sussed out how to get out of doing what he doesn't want to do!

Secondly, do nothing with him in the field - he comes in for everything, from picking out feet and fly spray to treats and feed. He gets no attention/scratches/fuss until he is tied up in the yard. No net in the field, nothing. Make the field the most dull place to be, and make being in much more enjoyable. If you can, catch him in a few times a day, and do something with him - be that attention/feed/net/fly spray, whatever.

If he really persists, then I'd be giving him a very stark choice - either you work in the field, or you come to me and come in and have a rest. I'd do it on a day I had all the time in the world, and I'd keep at it until he was begging to be caught! Literally loose lunge him until he wants to stop, then give him the choice - you walk up to him and if he doesn't let you catch him immediately (by which I mean he does not so much as move a foot away from you), then he goes back out working again. This will work waaay better in a small area than a large one (you don't say how big your field is), so if needs be, use electric tape to temporarily pen him in a smaller area.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

You're not helping yourself by responding to him "snorting" in the stable. So he snorts, so what. It's just because he's got over excited thundering in on his own. When he comes in, does he have company in a nearby stable? I suspect this is part of the problem. If you're nervous of him and don't give him the leadership he needs then he will look to another horse (or person) to provide it. He needs company - the more the merrier - and he needs you to step up to the plate for him. Follow SpottedCat's excellent advice, and you could also try going into his field on a day when you have all day to spare. Take a chair or something to sit on. Sit on it. Read a book. Hum to yourself. Plan your shopping list/night out. Ignore him until his curiosity gets the better of him and he comes up. Give him 1 polo then LEAVE THE FIELD immediately. Don't touch him, don't speak to him, just go. Come back half an hour later and do the same thing. Keep doing this until he lifts his head and comes trotting over whenever you appear in the field. NEVER try to trick him, EVER. When you're happy with that stage, move onto giving him a quick scratch on the nose before he gets his polo. Immediately leave. Get the idea? Gradually increase the time you stand with him before he gets his polo. When you're ready to move on again (each stage may take an hour, a day or a week), pop the lead rope casually over his neck and immediately slide it off again. Tickle. Polo. Leave. You will eventually reach the stage where you can pop his head collar on (or attach the lead rope to a field safe head collar). Immediately take it off again. Polo, leave. Eventually, you can lead him 10 steps before polo, leave. Then lead him to the gate, polo, leave. Then just outside the gate and so on. Don't ever ever try to cheat or rush things or you'll make it 100 times worse. From what you have explained, I think his problem is anxiety due to your nervousness and his lack of company when he comes in. Good luck.

 

[paddy]

Some excellent advice above. The other thing to consider is, after you've tried to catch him and failed, bring the other horses in and leave him out. We have a mare on livery who has been a witch to catch, when she feels like it, for about 16 years. In her first week with us, she turned her heels to my OH and ran off up the hill. So he left her. Everyone else came in and was fed. She stood by the gate, wanting to come in for her supper. He ignored her. (Just to clarify, she was in the field closest to the stables and could clearly see the other horses and was not 'stressing'). Several hours later, he went out, slipped her headcollar on and brought her in. Not had a problem with her since. She was used to people spending hours chasing her - one friend had spent hours traipsing round a field trying to catch her on Christmas Day - but does love her food!

 

[wildcard]

My older horse used to be what sounds like the double of your horse.. we tried all of the above polo's leaving headcoller on you name it we did it. We got told do some reverse phychology with him if he wants to run away then make him run. At the moment this is his game and he's in charge of it. Some people may think its cruel and not a good method but when youve tried everything else.. youll give anything a go.

we got 4 of us togeather i went to go catch him as usual and same old stood to be rubbed and patted but ran from me as soon as went to put head coller on so we chased him everytime he stopped to eat we made him run it was no longer his game.. It took about an hour for him to realise we wernt guna give up and he went and stood near the gate and we walked straight up to him put head coller on and was absolutely fine... So we thought bingo has worked and luckily for us it had. next time we went to go catch him he did at first run away so i went to chase him away and immediately he ran to the gate and stood quietly for me to walk up and put the headcoller on. This happend a few more times until eventually he new life was easier to just stand in the field and have the head coller put on!!

Its a battle of who's in charge and sometimes you have to show them who's boss!! Im sure some people will disagree with this method but the horse wasnt injured and neither were we and it got the result we wanted so to me was a great success!!

Keep us updated with how you get on and good luck.

 

[Pinkvboots]

My Arab gelding would do the same thing, he wanted to come in would walk over to me then as soon as the headcollar is lifted to go on he would be off.
I started leaving a leather headcollar on him in the field and if he did run off I would turn my back on him and just stand still no eye contact, he would then walk over on his own accord and be caught, I agree the snorting in the stable is from him running in on his own, but do the same if he turns away in the stable, don't look at him turn your back and wait.
My gelding also does not like going through his stable door with tack on, so he will stop before going in, I just wait stand still but no eye contact and he will walk in after a few seconds, if you try and force him he will charge through the door. Good luck just remember no eye contact when the horse approaches you.

 

[traceyann]

One of mine is like this he lets me go up to him do anything soon as he see headcollar again he of so i slip leadrope round his neck first without him noticeing. then i put headcollar on .

 

[soulfull]

This time of year it happens a lot

Seems to be they go slightly feral, in that they prefer to be in the pack and we are no longer the respected leader as they spend too much time in the herd

With a horse like this I would do what ever it takes (good advice already given!!) to catch him EVERY day and keep him away from the others for a few hours to restore the status quo in your relationship

 

[jessyickle]

Hello,

thankyou to everyone who has given me some great advice. After i posted this message I went straight into the field and ignored him, sat in the barrow and listened to my music for 5 hours!!! he came up to sniff me in the end and as soon as i moved as foot to sit up he was off. I then made a small paddock and made him run until he gave in (as mentioned) which was ace, i caught him 5 hours after i entered the field! gradually he got better each day but i still had to do the same routine. HOWEVER he has now learnt to avoid being caught by jumping the fencing - back to square one. This has been going on for months so all the usual - leaving him out, leaving a headcollar on, bringing all the others in doesn't work!
i'm at my witts end now, back to square one!!!

xx

 

[littlemisslauren]

How good is his grazing? We have a non catcher and luckily he puts weight on when he looks at grass so we can keep him in the small bald paddock. They tend to catch better when they are hungry!

 

[daisybe33]

I have a very similar problem - pony goes through fencing to get away :0(

It's a nightmare and I'm really at my wits end, tried all of the above and he resorts back to square 1 whenever he feels like it. It doesn't help that my lad is not food orientated at all or clingy to others.

 

[Enfys]

Very frustrating, you'll have lots more suggestions and experiences I am sure.

If it was one of mine then he'd be in a small dirt paddock or even a round pen and there he'd stay, with a halter and long rope on if necessary, exactly the same as I'd do with a wild or unhandled horse until it decided that being caught/handled was the way to go. Not politically correct of course, but a better option than an owner getting so fed up that the auction stockyard is the next stop.

I know plenty of people who would hobble him as well (also not PC in the UK. Hobbling doesn't work so well after a time because they figure out how to run)

 

[jenniejester1]

Yes, my horse will go through short periods of playing up when being caught and I find the chasing away trick works every time. I think because it mirrors herd instinct: When a new horse comes into a herd, the lead mare chases it away and that makes it want to come back to the herd even more.

I didn't believe it would work, but it does and it only takes a matter of minutes.

Horses are very strange creatures !

 

[alithirdtimelucky]

i know this is a very old discussion, but was looking for some inspiration with my boy that has decided after 5 months that he doesnt want to be caught. glad to read that my sending him away and making him work is the way forward. he gets to sweaty that when I get him in the stable i have to wash him down, which he also doesn't like, but i am winning the "battle" he also doesn't like his belly/sheath area being touched but has had a washdown with a large sponge. and we still have a stable roof! we are so blessed.