Loose horse in field with saddle attached(friends)

cellie

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How do you go about catching a horse who is evading us at all costs .Friend has took on a horse who was mistreated and has been making good progress.She started lunging him in brand new treeless saddle and he gave her the slip he is in a field with no head collar and the saddle is underneath his belly.Hes jumped 5 fields evading capture he has been given 10 acp tablets and is still loose .He has never been mistreated on our yard and has been handled well but has serious issues from past handling. The big issue is catching him any ideas welcomed.
Hes not scared just mis trusting he came to me tonight and snorted the apple out of my hand .Whe I placed the lead rope in his field he picked it up and ran round with it so I think hes just being a B*****R.Trouble is field is knee deep in grass and if we try and section it he jumps out.
 
Sounds very dangerous, especially as he has the saddle still attached. Has your friend rung the vet? They may be able to sedate him more heavily so that you can get to him, at least to take the saddle off if nothing else?
 
Shes ringing in the morning to find out if he can be sedated more heavily .Like you said we must at least get the saddle off him.Shes had enough 6 weeks ago he bolted in the school with her daughter and she bailed out which was the worst thing she could have done he panicked and kicked out because he is nervous behind and connected with her ankle and broke it.Time has come for him to go to someone highly experienced in problem horses.
 
Hmmm never heard of anything like this! Sounds quite extraordinary
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Some jump! with a saddle around its belly! how about trying.... put a whole bag of feed at the gate
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then quickly while he is eating slip an electric fence around him then when he is settled GO! hehe u never know it might work! Idea from chunk and myself!

x
 
ok im thinking massive amounts of treats...hay onthe floor...feed buckets...and someone wearnig hard hat, back protector and carrying a whip to get the saddle off....?
 
He jumped electric fencing tape and wire from a standstill over 5 ft last night into a walk way of only 4ft in width they tried similiar with lung lines last night .Thanks anyway
 
All tried he went through gate lunge lines and 4 people ,took the lunge lines and half the gate with him.Ran straight at people waving their arms to make him go back to safety of fields .
 
I'm looking after my friends horse at moment who is very like this. She was mistreated as a baby (owner has had her for 14years) she's now 18 and still very mistrusting especially of people she doesn't know.

She is a knighmare to catch - on occasions the only way to do it (if I can get close enough) is to pick up her feet leg by leg until I can reach up and get leadrope on.

I know this may not help you as a) you may not close enough b) he has not headcollar and c) it may not be safe.

Hope your friend can sort him out x
 
Well that should be a lesson learnt- always use a breast girth!

You have two choices- attempt to befriend him very slowly forget about being ina hurry and tame him as you would any other half wild horse or give him an effective dose of ACP or Sedalin- ie more than 10!
 
Yes not bothered in the least.They were up the yard until 10.30 last night .Spent 2 hours this morning and another 3 hours tonight .Will have to call vet out tommorrow I think.I would have called earlier but believe me hes not even bothered about the saddle( treeless )
 
well, i'd ring round the vets and get someone to come and dart him with sedative. i am quite serious, it's lucky he hasn't broken his neck, or escaped onto the road and killed himself and someone else, if the saddle's under his tummy.
we really do need more people in this country skilled with a lassoo...
otherwise, i'd take a mare who doesn't kick (or isn't shod behind) into the field, preferably ridden by a very secure rider, and see if he'll follow the mare back into a yard, i've done this before to catch an uncatchable one.
really hope you get him caught asap.
 
Is he on his own or are there other horses in with him? Does he like to have company? If so, try taking all the other horses out and leaving him alone, then go into the field and walk towards him, when he starts to walk off, turn your back on him and just stand there. Take a book with you if necessary. I did this with one horse we had who was a nightmare to catch. Hopefully he will be nosey enough to come up and see what you are doing. It may take time, but it does usually work. That way you could at least get the saddle off. Failing that, Vet with dart gun to sedate him.
 
What was she lunging him off if he has no head coller on? Does he have a bridle on now?? Does he have a lunge line still attached?
 
I sat on the floor for a hour tonight with my back to him.We have tried taking other horses out he jumps into next field over barbed wire.I hate wire and use electric tape inside my fencing.Looks like its going to be heavy sedation hopefully not a dart as hes had enough stress in his life already.
 
He had a lunging cavesson on and she went to tighten it up one hole he threw his head back and that was when he got loose.
 
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shoot it....then shoot the silly mare who was lunging it...
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Not very helpful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The yard area manage and stables are at the front of the fields and we were so worried about him getting on the main road because he was jumping the 5 bar gates.I might suggest riding my daughters mare shes lovely natured then I could possibly get line round his neck.Thanks for that.
 
I hate to say this but I'd be calling the hunt. The animal is a danger to itself and the public and is clearly VERY unhappy and scared to have jumped all those!

It'll be even more unhappy once caught and passed onto yet *another* person who thinks they can do 'something' with it.
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have the hunt out and ask them to put the poor animal out of it's misery whilst it's knee deep in said grass.
 
Is there any way you can herd him into a small space ie a stable? You probably have no hope of getting near him if he has the choice of running away. Usually once contained they resign themselves after a while...
 
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shoot it....then shoot the silly mare who was lunging it...
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Not very helpful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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NO??? i thought rather good myself....
 
cellie, don't try to get a rope round his neck, please please, especially from the back of another horse. just get him to follow the mare into an enclosed barn or large stable if possible, somewhere you can shut the door and he absolutely can't jump out. trying to catch him while he's still loose outside is a recipe for further disaster imho.
 
I am the last person to put a 'healthy' animal to sleep, but that poor horse has no life, and id agree with JM07 and Charlie, put the poor thing out of its misery
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cellie, don't try to get a rope round his neck, please please, especially from the back of another horse. just get him to follow the mare into an enclosed barn or large stable if possible, somewhere you can shut the door and he absolutely can't jump out. trying to catch him while he's still loose outside is a recipe for further disaster imho.

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agree...with ponies like this the worst thing you can do is force or bully (for want of a better word) them. You need to get it confined and or doped.
 
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cellie, don't try to get a rope round his neck, please please, especially from the back of another horse. just get him to follow the mare into an enclosed barn or large stable if possible, somewhere you can shut the door and he absolutely can't jump out. trying to catch him while he's still loose outside is a recipe for further disaster imho.

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agree...with ponies like this the worst thing you can do is force or bully (for want of a better word) them. You need to get it confined and or doped.

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whilst i agree this is the best way to catch it, what will happen to it then? Will it be passed onto another 'expert'? What will happen if they can't get it's trust? For an animal to go to that extreme to evade human contact something is seriously wrong, it clearly is very unhappy with life.
 
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