If you can catch it, you can have it!

Diddleydoo can I ask why you disagree with keeping them moving? Just out of interest as it seems to be the only thing that works for so many of us. If it is related to the fact that you kept seeing your horse disappear I get that as it was useless with mine in a huge field but works great in a smaller one where I can keep up with him :)
 
I feel your pain, and the worst thing is when it is unpredictable. If we're competing I have to keep her in incase she decides she isn't being caught!

I dont have any suggestions but it seems the majority of people that have this problem own a mare? Is that just a coincidence?
 
Also agree keeping moving is the best, did this with Andy one day for about 30mins he was galloping full pelt up and down a 30acre field. He was knackered but I caught him fine and he hasn't been naughty since.
 
I can sympathise with you big style. I went through this last summer with new loan mare.

Go out without a head collar, lead rope round your neck but the ends not swinging out, tuck them into jods or something, and go up to her but instead of trying to catch her, chase her away before she thinks of running. It takes a while, and a lot of huffing and puffing but it worked for me. Once she lets you near her properly, or more likely comes to you, give her a pat, put the lead rope round her neck, more pats then let her free and walk away. Don't shout or be aggressive, just be dominant. Positive reinforcement and all that.

Also sounds like you need to do some ground work in the school. If you have an arena can you do some free schooling with her? Sending her away from you and commanding with your voice?

Very stubborn mare now comes to call and doesn't need a giant bucket of chaff to catch her! She has an occasional "I'm not going to be caught" and trots off, but calling her name she'll soon stop and realise it's not in her best interest to beggar off.
 
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I do have an arena but one of the yard rules is that no free schooling, only riding, leading or lunging.
Don't get me wrong though, once you've got her, you couldn't ask for a better behaved horse, she is extremely well behaved and very polite, wouldn't dream of barging etc, she will never mug you, even if you are clearly holding a packet of polos and looking at her, she will stand next to you with a hopeful look but will not mug you. So its just the catching part we sometimes have problems with, nothing else. :)
 
Emma86 said:
I feel your pain, and the worst thing is when it is unpredictable. If we're competing I have to keep her in incase she decides she isn't being caught!

I dont have any suggestions but it seems the majority of people that have this problem own a mare? Is that just a coincidence?
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Tbh, from experience with mares i would say it isn't a coincidence, as geldings tend to see you and go 'hey you're the one that gives me food and scratches' 5 min later once caught 'ooops i forgot that you want me to work before food and scratches' and a mare is more like 'don't you try to bribe me with all that yummy stuff, i know exactly what you're doing, and i know that i will have to work my butt off before i even get to smell the yummy stuff so no thanks, i will manage without'
Thats in my experience anyway :)
 
Wagtail said:
This always cracks me up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWd_r2sOPhs
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Love it. That sketch literally saved me from madness - it's what gave me the idea to round up my completely infuriating mare who drove me mad! I used to have one long length of baler twine which I'd loop over a fence post, then herd her down to the other side of it before unravelling it so she's suddenly fenced in the corner of the field. Luckily she was scared of the string, epsecially when it shook all snakily at her. Within a few weeks she would give in as soon as she saw you get the wound-up long string out - but you almost always had to take it with you.

One thing I think made it worse is that when she was just coming in for dinner and bed, I'd let her basically bring herself in because it was so much easier. But when it was work I would have to go and get her... now i would always always catch a horse in exactly the same way whatever it's for.

PS That French and Saunders sketch is also spookily accurate in every other way ha ha.
PPS I have also only had catching problems with mares. Both chestnut mares as it happens. Minxes. Feel your pain OP, it is so maddening.
 
Jeepers my heart goes out to you! Not sure if this is any help BUT when my mare first arrived she was like this ( now no where near as hard to catch ) but she would take feed then chuck head in air & gallop off ( not easy to catch a horse on 30 acres that doesn't want to be caught ) tried the whole feed thing & she would snatch it & the minute you went to slip head collar on she was off!

So what I started to do was go to field & pet her & couple small treats & walk off back to yard, then would go & catch our pony make a big fuss & bring pony in while ignoring her... she soon feckin learnt that she was getting zip if she didn't co-operate! She is now at the stage that she is put out if I catch pony when she isn't allowed to come in aswell!
 
There is a very apt saying, goes something like this,
Ask a mare, tell a gelding and discuss it with a stallion.
We have two mares, both opinionated, the first one now lives down south with my daughter, the only horse so far I could easily put a bullet in, our newish mare knows what she wants and I often have to get tough, our gelding is cheeky at times, but I growl at him and he imediately thinks oops I've gone too far and behaves.
Have to say though, never had a problem catching any of them
 
Oh how I feel for you ! Luckily I don't have too much of a problem now but my old NF gelding who I loved dearly has been responsible for wasting days of my life trudging round an enormous field.
Everyday I would have devised a cunning plan, which very nearly worked, then resulted in a mexican stand-off, followed by a John Cleese rant about 'All the things I do for you - and this is how you repay me'. His response was a telepathic 'and ?? your point is?'
I now have a few acres of sectioned off paddocks :)
 
i had grey mare with sense of humor whilst rest of horses in field galloped over to be caught she would walk sedately into boggy pond in corner of field till she was hock deep a long piece of reed hanging from her mouth you could nearly hear her say 'if you want me come and get me' this was of course doubly funny if i lost my wellies in the mud, the only person who she was prepared to be caught by was my dad who carried bone shapped dog biscuits in his pocket and never did things like ride her!
 
I've not read the entire thread but just a suggestion - my horrible-to-catch mare would stand still in the field out of sheer nosiness while a 'stranger' walked straight up to her, so maybe ask your friend to try?

It worked surprisingly often!
 
Not read through the whole thread so might be repeating advice but 2 things that have worked for me in the past, Chasing him round and not allowing him to stop to eat or rest, go armed with lunge line/whip and headcollar for when he gives in, dont attempt to catch him first, just go in with the intention of moving him around, my horse got fed up with this very quickly and turned round and walked up to me. Or, and if your horse is in with others you will need 2 people, drive him into a corner using a strand of electric fencing, slowly though, dont panic him and hopefully you will be able to bring him to a halt where he will give in gracefully. Obv, if he tries to jump the tape or panics, you will have to be ready to let go to avoid hurting him and you! I appreciate this is not an ideal fix in a field with other liveries but you might be able to enlist some help initially.
 
dorito said:
I've not read the entire thread but just a suggestion - my horrible-to-catch mare would stand still in the field out of sheer nosiness while a 'stranger' walked straight up to her, so maybe ask your friend to try?

It worked surprisingly often!
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Like i said earlier in the thread, i asked my friend to catch for me and cowbag just did the same tp her, so it's not just me.

MyBoyChe said:
Not read through the whole thread so might be repeating advice but 2 things that have worked for me in the past, Chasing him round and not allowing him to stop to eat or rest, go armed with lunge line/whip and headcollar for when he gives in, dont attempt to catch him first, just go in with the intention of moving him around, my horse got fed up with this very quickly and turned round and walked up to me. Or, and if your horse is in with others you will need 2 people, drive him into a corner using a strand of electric fencing, slowly though, dont panic him and hopefully you will be able to bring him to a halt where he will give in gracefully. Obv, if he tries to jump the tape or panics, you will have to be ready to let go to avoid hurting him and you! I appreciate this is not an ideal fix in a field with other liveries but you might be able to enlist some help initially.
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I chased her round for quite a while, and it didn't work, but next time it happens i will have to try chasing her again.
And like i said eariler in the thread, it's a 3-4 acre field with 8 other horses in it, will be extremely hard to corner her, plus, she is a SJ horse, she jumps anything thats in her way, hence i can't separate her off with electric tape into a smaller paddock because she either goes through the tape if the battery isn't strong enough or if the battery is stron enough, she will jump the tape.
 
We had a liveries pony who no-one could get near. I ended up taking my book out and siting in a field with her until she couldn't help but potter over.

She had the headcollar on while turned out and I'd hold the leadrope ring and bite off (key) a piece of carrot for her and then I carried on ignoring.
Every time I walked past I'd wander into field and turn away, each time she'd get the same treatment.

After a few days all it took was biting the carrot and she'd come trotting over at the noise.

It took consistant work though. Miss a few weeks of catching and it would take a few days again.

Pan
 
My friend had one and just attatched a rope to it and thay solved the problem.
And no it never got caught on anything never injured her or the other horses lasted for ages then she was good to catch after that
 
When you eventually get youre hands on her... leave it in a stable, dont turn out for a good few weeks, then put her out again. if she wont let you catch just keep waiting and leave her in again. Its the only way i got my old horse to behave- take away all privileges like a naughty child
 
Zargon_91 said:
When you eventually get youre hands on her... leave it in a stable, dont turn out for a good few weeks, then put her out again. if she wont let you catch just keep waiting and leave her in again. Its the only way i got my old horse to behave- take away all privileges like a naughty child
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I am not sure horses think like that... Wouldn't they more than likely think there is no way they are going to be caught because they would be kept in and not allowed out?
 
LOL :D
Update no 2:Today, Cowbag saw me coming down the track towards the field gate, she screwed up her face, put her ears flat back and started walking down the field towards the furtherst corner away from me. So i walked into field, and ignored her, i went up to my friends horse instead, that was stood near her. She stopped, turned around, looked at me with ears up for a bit, stomped her feet and reluctantly came up to me, she got a polo for that, so then i grabbed her headcollar before she could take a step back and dragged her to the gate. She wasn't impressed :D :rolleyes: i got her out the field, gave her a bucket of feed, waited for her to finish and shoved her back in the field, walking away from her before she could walk away from me. The confusion on her face was very amusing :D I promised friend that i'll check on her ponies and bring the oldie in, so i went up to them, gave them treats and cuddles, caught the oldie and walked off, all the while ignoring my mare. She stood there staring at me, not eating, just stood there. I swear that if she were human her jaw would have dropped open. She look puzzled and didn't really know what to do after i ignored her and walked away from her with a different horse, so she just walked round in circles, and finally settled down to eat, but i think i thoroughly confused my pony today :D
 
havent read all erm 9 pages!!!

but you have my sympathy!! my mare is a cowbag to catch in a big field!!!

luckily she is in a smaller field but she does still haveher off days!!! where i literally cant catch her - its sooo annoying!!!

with mine i kept walking and walking following her until she gave in....taken two years but she finally realises i dont give in!!! :D

the days she gets away with it it those where i really dont have time to catch it!
 
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