I just don't know what to do with him...stuck in a rutt..

[ru-fi-do]

I've come home from the stables feeling really down today so sorry if the post ends up long.
I took on a project pony last December, he was very nervous and quite poor condition. I gave him the winter and start of spring to gain condition and trust before working him, when we started to bring him into work it appeared he wouldn't let anyone mount him he wold just shoot round in a circle although he never took the reins out of your hands or bolted, he was just very sharp, his teeth back and saddle were all fine. I got a local horsemanship man out that was recommended to me and he did some work with him and was able to mount him after an hours groundwork. Since then he has been fine to mount, he even suprised me last week, he hadn't had any work done to him for 4 weeks due to me having swine flu and then going on holiday, but still let me get on him with no problems at all, he only has a halter on too. He doesn't understand aids at all, when asked to walk on he does a turn on the forehand, a friend has been walking at the side of him with me on and he seems to be getting the hang of it. BUT my biggest problem is I can't catch him, I spent 2 hours following him round the field this morning and he just walks circles around whatever horses are out, if there are no horses out he will walk himself through the gate into the pathway and will let me catch him there fine

But just not in the field ( I could catch him fine through winter). In the end today we had to get the horses in just so he would follow, which isn't ideal.
Once he is in he is fine. I just feel like I've really hit a brick wall with him, he has a lovely temperament and has obviously had a real beating at some point, he has scars on his face but he just can't seem to trust.
I'm wondering wether I would be better off looking for a companion home for him but I'm worried about finding the right home, I would hate for him to be passed from pillar to post and feel awful about even having to think about finding him a home but I can't afford to keep putting money into him and getting no enjoyment from it and plus my partner has just been put on short time, I hope that doesn't sound selfish.
I really don't know what to do and I hope the post makes sense, well done for getting this far. Any thoughts welcome or advise on finding him a home.

 

[somethingorother]

If you want to work with him then the first problem seems to be catching him. You say he walks circles round whatever horses are out. If i was you i would keep herding him away from the other horses, not letting him rejoin the herd. In the end he will get bored with no being allowed near his friends or to stop and eat and you should be able to get gradually closer or herd him towards the gate to catch him. It used to take about 20min with some horses i've had to do it with but they do eventually get fed up and sometimes even follow you back if you turn away from them.

Other than that it sounds as if your boy needs re starting from scratch with his ridden work. If he was ever backed before it sounds like they did a bad job and he needs to learn the basics again.

If you aren't enjoying it and are struggling though i don't know if there's much point going on if your heart isn't in it. You might be able to find him a companion home on loan and then you could keep an eye on him.

 

[MagicMelon]

Do you know what sort of history he has? I assume from he was backed when you got him? If you could try and find out more about his history you can maybe piece together why he is so weird under saddle which may help you understand how best to deal with him.

With regards to catching, have you tried always giving him a treat (carrot etc.) whenever you do catch him? And once you do catch him, what do you then do with him - ie. do you always ride him? Perhaps you could try just catching him (eventually!) then giving him a carrot and letting him go again etc. When I had a horse bad to catch a few years ago, I did "join up" with him. It's ideal as you basically wait for the horse to come to you! It's very easy to do and helps with trust etc. as you're treating him as another horse would. Google it, there's plenty of stuff on how to do it.

You could try and sell him as a companion but you would need to be honest with them and perhaps say he's not suitable to be ridden (in case they chuck a little kid on him or something!). You could try selling him on as a project but again, you'd need to be very honest about him to ensure the new home would suit. Shame you're not nearer as I would maybe have taken him on!

 

[4leggedfurries]

No help really, but my exmoor is exactly the same to catch. Cant get anywhere near him in the field (think he's taken a beating too in the past) but when he's in the stable you can get him no problem then lead him round. I've got him trained that as soon as i open the electric fencing it means i want him to go in, so off he trots through the fencing , through the gate down the other field and straight into the stable where he waits for me. I've had him over 18 months and am no closer to catching him in the field, but am not going to freak him out by keep trying. He knows what i want him to do when i do it and it works for us. Best of luck though and i hope you can work something out!

 

[Kub]

My 2 year old did exactly the same in the field when it came to catching. He would walk to other side of horses to use as a barrier so you couldn't get to him, otherwise he'd walk off and away from you and just keep at such a distance that you couldn't catch him. I tried bribing him with carrots, but he'd just stretch out, yank it out of my hand and run off. He was an absolute fiend and drove me crazy.

So I tried to associate him being caught with food. I took a bucket of food out (though don't do this with other horses around) and used the noise of it in the bucket to get his attention. He did the whole 'come close, nab some and run' a few times but I carried on until he stood still for me to put his head collar on, making him wait before eating from the bucket.

I did this for a couple of times, feeding him as soon as I had his head collar on. Then I started putting his head collar on, walking him to the gate and feeding him. Did this for a few more days. Then I stopped taking the food in with me, I'd stand at the gate (if he could see me) and call him, shaking the food to get his attention. Slowly yet surely, he started coming to the gate by himself. Last night (for the first time), I went into the field and walked straight up to him, no food in hand. No backing up, throwing his head around or walking off. I gave him a stroke and walked away, and sure enough he followed! All the way to the gate, head collar on, no problems!

I'm still feeding him at the gate (nothing much, a few horse cubes), but I'm hoping to stop doing that soon too.

You may have already tried this, but it's the only thing that's worked for me, and I had to use something other than just carrots and hay. Has taken a couple of weeks, sonot too long, but worth it

 

[ru-fi-do]

His history is very vague, basically I got him from a dealer that a friend knew, she rescued two of them out of a field in Ireland that were just being left, she knew nothing about him. When I was following him around today he just kept playing hide and seek behind the other horse, I will try and video it tomorrow so you can see what I mean. He accepts a saddle and lets you mount no problem at all but just doesn't understand aids at all, we have started from scratch and have been longreining him, lunging etc which he is also fine with. He is headshy around his ears but you can geta bridle on if you loosen everything on it, which has come on in leaps and bounds, when we first got him we struggled to even get a headcollar on. I have taken my time with him and never pushed him. I don't work him every time I get him in, sometimes I just bring him in give him a feed and turn him back out. He is approx 14 so no spring chicken so i wonder if it is like teaching an old dog new tricks. I'm not interested in making him a showstopper but just to be able to get him to the point where you can get on him and take him for a plod round the fields would be nice. He hasn't done anything horrible or nasty when you get on him so I do think that will come.
When I turn him out I always give him a treat and stroke around his body and he is also fine, he isn't really food orientated and will only eat the biscuit treats! It is really such a shame as he is lovely, moves nice and very handsome. He is in overnight as from tonight now so I will spend time in the day just going and giving him a treat.
It's a shame you are not closer Magic_magpie you could've come and seen what you think.
This is him, you can just make out the scars on his nose.

 

[ru-fi-do]

Thanks for the reply kub, I have tried the food route but he just isn't bothered by it, he never even finishes his feed when he comes in, I might try it with a bucket of all the veg he likes though.

 

[Kub]

Harry really wasn't bothered by carrots and things, I think the noise in the bucket had quite a lot to do with it. Then again, he lives for food so that made things a bit easier hehe

 

[Paula18]

Dont give up!! It sounds like you have taken on a serious project but you have made some massive achievements already. he is beautiful and is evidently building up his trust in you for him to have come so far. If he is 14 and you have only had him less than 12 months then it is possible that he has had nearly his whole lifetime of being ill treated. In that case 12 months is no time at all to him. You mentioned that he is okay on the lunge, what about trying to ride him on the lunge so that he gets used to your basic aids but also knows he is to move forward as he knows what lungeing is.
I'm re-schooling mine and it is a long hard slog with times when we come on in leaps and bounds and times when we hit a brick wall. Its so frustrating and disheartening but it sounds to me like this boy deserves a chance.
My friends horse would often not be caught and if you tried to take him away from his mate he would kick out. Is it worth a bit of extra work to bring a mate in for him to follow then feed him at the gate for a short time to get him used to it? The best advice i was given for catching a horse was not to give them eye contact and it works! Good luck with whatever decision you make, let us know how things go.