?? how to catch it! ??

A

Aoibhin

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 April 2009
Messages
1,249
Location
north cambs
www.emmaevans.barefootbooks.com
a friend has just brought a new mare, 17h 3" IDx who she went to view twice before committing to buying her. was told at the time she has a nervous disposition but was very laid back & as bought from feild was ridden lightly by seller's son & friend (very slow & steady) seller delivered her last thursday for an fuel money.
Laura wasnt there when they arrived (3 hours earlier than aggreed) & they just put her in the big 6 acre feild with her old boy, left passport in carrier bag on fence & left.

NOW she cant catch the B!£*&. she has no headcollar on but is wearing a stable rug that is soaked through & just has to be got off. so far we have taken Max out due to her bullying him & set up an electric fence to corner her into half an acre to make catching her easier but she went straight through it. she wont come to food & just charges about madly for as long as you are in view.
seller is now not answering the phone she has the day off tomorrow & intends to be driving up tospeak to them in person.
it is looknig more like the mare was doped up to be sold & she is furious with herself for not listening to those of us that told her to get it vetted, despite i diddnt with mine but
then ive never spent over £200 on a horse yet (im lucky:) )

any ideas on how else to catch it? any help appriciated.

choccy's & yummy stuff if you got this far.
 
Speak to the vet, and see if they'll prescribe ACP (sedalin) - mix it with a very small amount of feed, and wait for it to take effect ? Then either get a fieldsafe headcollar on, or bring in and take it from there..

Good luck x
 
shysmum said:
Speak to the vet, and see if they'll prescribe ACP (sedalin) - mix it with a very small amount of feed, and wait for it to take effect ? Then either get a fieldsafe headcollar on, or bring in and take it from there..

Good luck x
Click to expand...

Ooh, now that is crafty.
 
good idea Shysmum, do you need a vet out first? i have some still for SWA as where we used to be had a thing about randomly having firework partys & i had some on standby for when he lost the plot about it (he is a sec A with the brain of a TB!).
if we dont i will head over to hers with it now & try it.
 
I would just speak to the vet on the phone if your worried, but if you've got the stuff, go for it. Only word of warning - try and use very soft food (speedibeat or sugar beat, or even molasses) to totally reduce any risk of choke.

let us know how you get on ! sm x
 
To add to the sedative idea, leave horse for ages after giving it so they are completly relaxed of they just fight it off, My 14hh pony took 10 ACP tablets and fought it all off and still managed to nearly decapitate the farrier :o

Massive ISH has 3 and collapses on the floor :p :D
 
I can imagine if she is as bad as you say then she will just fight the sedalin. Can i ask why she has been turned out in a stable rug??

I would just get a big bucket of feed and then its all about patient, i would also just have one person trying to catch her, not lots of people in the field at the same time as she sounds to me like she is scared.

Were bloods taken at the vetting as you can have these tested.

She might not have been drugged though, she could just not be settling at all well in her new surroundings. Some horses can take ages to settle.
 
Try and see it from her point of view? She has been loaded up, driven to a strange place, dumped in a strange field with a strange horse, and knows nobody. Not suprising she feels a bit "ansty". I know I would!
If it were not for the dripping wet stable rug, I would leave her to settle for a few days, but as its not an option, will she not even follow the gelding onto the yard? You would have a better chance of laying your hands on her then.
Failing that, sedalin/acp is going to be your best option.
 
Patience.
Crouch quietly in the field and let her come to you. You will need patience & possibly lots of it. By crouching down you will become less 'threatening' to her. This is what I would do to gain her trust. Usually works in the end.

Oh and what an idiot the previous 'owner' is :rolleyes:
 
Grab a good book and go sit in the field with your back to her may take the whole book but she should wander over and see what your doing.
we just to have a pony that escaped on a regular bases when tied up (he had tiny ears and just slipped head collar if you didn't watch him) use to go sit in the hill near him with back to him if he walked in front I'd just turn my back to him looking at my hands he just hated it and had to see what I was doing ended up nuzzling my neck and then I know I had him.
 
can you take in another horse that is guaranteed not to kick, either lead it around or ride it around until she follows it, and then let her follow it back into stable yard? i had to do that with 1 of my mares to catch a friend's gelding who had been uncatchable in a 20 acre field for 6 wks...
or, oodles of time, patience, and someone who understands the body language of 'join up'. there are a few things it is very good for, and this is one of them...
 
ok the 4 ACP tablets i had diddnt seem to touch her (Grrr) put them in a small handful of speedibeet & a pear sliced up then nipped up to KFC and brought the kids lunch at the drive through & left them munching in car, she had had about 15 mins then & bucket was still in same place & empty. but the second i sipped through the gate she set off again at break neck speed down the feild & took out the electric again. ive sat down there for an hour now & whilst im in the car she was happy to just graze right up untill i got out each time.
i like your idea Kerrelli but dont know of anyone that is willing to risk their horse for her, Laura took Max out as this mare (Tilly) was kicking seven bells out of him & he has never lashed out in the 27 years she has had him & my two are no use asa my little one is a bigger softy than Max whils my big gal is a right bossy bugger & would just boot her back.
she did spend most of saturday sat in feild doing her revision as she has an exam in a few weeks & Tills was on edge all day, although by the end she was just trotting about rather than the mad gallop it started out at.
Poor max is loathing being shut in the cattle shed with the cows but its the only place she has for him if he cant be out in paddocks & untill she has a fence up that is Tilly proof (or she stops trying to kill him) he is sort of stuck for his own good.
so glad its not one of mine for a change. stupid thing is if it wasnt for that damned rug Laura wouldnt be bothered so much about catching her right now.

would vets come out & dart it?
 
Personally if going down the route of ACP I would go for half a tube of sedalin in the feed. ACP tablets have no effect on any of mine, yet sedalin works a treat.

What type of electric fencing are you using? Are we talking 3ft or 4ft posts? Tape, wire or rope? How far from the field to the yard/stable? Is it safe to move her between the two loose? If it were me, I would set up an alley of electric fence (4ft posts and thick 40mm tape) make it reasonably narrow and herd her along it (perhaps give her sedalin to take edge off before doing this). I would try and herd her into a stable/pen.

Failing this, do you have or can you hire heras panels/round pen panels - similar approach to above, heard her into the pen and then at least you have a confined space to work with.
 
hannahmurphy said:
Patience.

OK, I agree that patience in this situation is good.

Crouch quietly in the field and let her come to you. You will need patience & possibly lots of it. By crouching down you will become less 'threatening' to her. This is what I would do to gain her trust. Usually works in the end.

I wouldn't crouch down. Think of it from a predator/pray angle. What does a cat do when it's stalking it's pray... it crouches down!

I've had to ask dog owners to stand up in the past so that I could go past them. They had asked their dogs to sit (fantastic :D ) and then crouched down next to the dog (not so fantastic) as soon as I explained why I wanted them to stand and thanked them for being so thoughtfull, everyone was happy.

The worst was a blackberry picker that hid behind a bush. My friends horse had a huge panic about them, luckily my mare was being brave that day and I was able to go over and say 'please would you come out from there so the the other horse can see that you are a human and not a lion that wants to eat him, thank you'. :)

Oh and what an idiot the previous 'owner' is :rolleyes:

Agreed
Click to expand...

I think that the sadative (sedalin) in food is a good idea. I'd put the bowl of food in the field and then retreat out of sight for 1/2 hour or an hour. Good luck.
 
Friends of mine had to have a horse darted after trying to catching it for 8 weeks - took down every type of fencing, tried all sorts of ACP/sedalin type calmers .... Darting cost nearly £400 :shock:
 
used the 4 ACP tablets i have for SWA (dont have any more in tack room) but was worth a try.
the current electric is 4ft posts & the wide tape, the cattle sheds are about 100 yards up road opposite side but not a closed yard, its a shame the cattle are in or she could be hearded into cattle shed.
will see if she can get any heras panels tonight. its got me all worried & its not even mine.
 
You could try driving her away if it's safe to do so. It sounds mad, but if you won't allow her to stop where she wants, in the corner or with a friend she'll get fed up and worried. This worked for my mare and in the end she was begging to come into me.

Worth a try maybe?
 
Does she have any sort of headcollar on?

I think the idea of a local cowboy and lasoo is not a completely daft idea! I was thinking of that one myself.

It is going to be all about trust unfortunately. Try walking backwards towards her, sometimes helps - mind you if she just bolts when you enter the field...
 
Faracat - Sat in an open space with your back to the horse & without eye contact you are not a predator, this is basic natural horsemanship. Has worked many times for me, even on a couple of wild ponies I've had to deal with .... in the end!!!
And those dog walkers .. hmmm! I usually get them kindly stop & hide in the bushes ones too!!! Errrrm :-S ha ha ha
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top