Loose horse in field with saddle attached(friends)

Dart it, don't wast any more time trying to catch it, this horse is a danger to himself and anybody else around him. then at least you can decide what to do for the best. Warning - when given the antidote they wake up very quickly and are just as wild as before they fell asleep
 
I agree with JM07 and Charlie too
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It is dangerous to itself, and the public and obviously isn't happy!
 
They are individual stables we dont have a barn and as they are at the front the big worry is the road .He will jump the gates.Such a shame the first owner never had a problem with him.Something has happened between her and my friend who is experienced with youngsters and has took him right back to basics, she had a foal so knows how to bring on a young horse .He is petrified of anything behind him we were told a male rider beat him badly.Beautifull horse cob/fresian .
 
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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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Have I issed something?.. How does he have no life?!
 
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They are individual stables we dont have a barn and as they are at the front the big worry is the road .He will jump the gates.Such a shame the first owner never had a problem with him.Something has happened between her and my friend who is experienced with youngsters and has took him right back to basics, she had a foal so knows how to bring on a young horse .He is petrified of anything behind him we were told a male rider beat him badly.Beautifull horse cob/fresian .

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What sort of training does your friend have? Does she have BHS/NH quals? Or does she compete?
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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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Oh come on... its clearly frightened because it has a saddle around its belly...thats why its acting so dangerously. I've seen many a horse/pony panic at a slipped saddle let alone a mistreated pony with one strapped to it wherever it tries to run to...
 
I think you need a dart gun and a vet licensed to use one. I might be wrong but my father worked as a zoo vet for a couple of years and he got called out to use it - if your regular vet can't do it, I'd contact your local zoo! In fact, I think I've hunted with the zoo vet at Norfolk Zoo, very nice lady and good with horses, might be worth a call!
 
He actually has a good life he is well looked after well fed groomed daily and handled very well.His schooling had made real progress from the ground you cant shoot a horse for having a bad moment.Better to give him a chance with someone with greater expertise .Hes not mean or bad tempered and has come a long way in a short time
 
It hardly has a great life, its been in a field with a saddle around it belly for days (since Friday?), and you cant get near it its so scared. How are you going to get its feet trimmed, or veterinary treatment if you cant even catch it? Leave it to rot in a field?
 
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Dart it, don't wast any more time trying to catch it, this horse is a danger to himself and anybody else around him. then at least you can decide what to do for the best. Warning - when given the antidote they wake up very quickly and are just as wild as before they fell asleep

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Agree with this.
I think shooting it is a little extreme tbh - the poor horse is clearly scared out of his wits trying to get away from the saddle underneath him. Ok so he may have issues in other ways but at least give the horse a chance!

Oh - and just to add, just because someone has 'had a foal' doesn't mean they can necessarily bring on/deal with a difficult youngster.
 
Glad to hear it and hopefully its just a hiccup but agree with others that he needs contained urgently..he sounds a danger atm to himself and others.

Agree with Arwen.. bringing on a foal is a world apart from dealing with mistreated horses/ponies.

 
i agree with you cellie, and i'm sure he's very frightened by having a saddle on upside down for this long. but trying to catch him out in the field when he's already so wary is impossible. surely you can try to get him into the stables, stop the traffic on the road while you do it if necessary, i'm sure people will be understanding for 5 minutes if you explain that it is a desperate situation and for their own safety. if it's a busy road, ask the police to stop the traffic for a while, until the horse is no longer a danger and you have him in a stable. i'd get him joined-up to a nice safe mare and i'd ride her straight into a stable with a top door, get everyone to hang back, have lovely tempting feeds waiting on the floor in there, get him in and then shut him in and deal with the problem in safety.
 
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It hardly has a great life, its been in a field with a saddle around it belly for days (since Friday?), and you cant get near it its so scared. How are you going to get its feet trimmed, or veterinary treatment if you cant even catch it? Leave it to rot in a field?

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Just read this post - has he really been there since FRIDAY with the saddle round his belly???
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If that is the case your friend should be ashamed of herself for not acting sooner with a vet. I am appalled tbh.
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whilst i expect your friend has spent much time with this animal and groomed it and fed it etc it just sounds like a nasty accident waiting to happen
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like your friend who's 'had a foal so knows how to handle youngsters' ? would that include adjusting a lungeing cavesson on something that has issues without having any other means to hold onto it?

It buggered off and obviously jumped it's way into the field... so was clearly scared of something.

And you already said it bolted with a rider.

It doesnt sound too safe to me
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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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I would assume the horse was ok to have the saddle and lunge cavesson put on in the first place, so that's a bit of an extreme assumption isn't it? Shoot it and ask questions later?

Oliver was mistreated, I believe, in a former home (not JM's I hasten to add) and had some trust issues when we got him. He's fine now. You just need to earn their respect and trust. Not all mistreated horses are broken goods without a hope of turning out balanced.

To the OP, is the horse food orientated? I would assume that's how you've managed to feed it the ACP's? Won't it follow you for a tub of pony nuts if you shake the bucket? Could you lead it straight into a stable that way?

I sometimes struggle to catch Tweenie, granted she's not panicking about a saddle under her tummy at the time, but she's a sucker for the rustling sound of a bag of crisps! She'll follow us anywhere then.
 
Shilisdair
She bought him from a young girl who was scared of him.Her daughter competes and does pc club and daughter took on her horse when they had to retire pony .She has a 5 year old that she has brought on from 6 mths old.She has no qualifications as such but before she bought new horse she phoned previous owner to find out his suitablility he had done local shows and pc and was a dream to handle.I know this post is long and you prob havent been able to keep up with posts but he has had a beating in between owners .She has worked really hard to gain his trust he is not a mean boy .She has realised that she is not going to be capable of riding him but from a handling point of view she is very knowledgable in a self taught way.I have suggested project horse and she would welcome the right person to help him forward.
 
By this stage it shouldn't be scared, bloody uncomfortable but not scared. It will have become desensitized to the feeling of the saddle of the saddle round it's belly. Have no idea how you'd get hold of it though. Seems like darting is the only option.
 
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Shilisdair
She bought him from a young girl who was scared of him.Her daughter competes and does pc club and daughter took on her horse when they had to retire pony .She has a 5 year old that she has brought on from 6 mths old.She has no qualifications as such but before she bought new horse she phoned previous owner to find out his suitablility he had done local shows and pc and was a dream to handle.I know this post is long and you prob havent been able to keep up with posts but he has had a beating in between owners .She has worked really hard to gain his trust he is not a mean boy .She has realised that she is not going to be capable of riding him but from a handling point of view she is very knowledgable in a self taught way.I have suggested project horse and she would welcome the right person to help him forward.

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Ah. I think she's very wise to consider passing him on to another person if she can....but please pick someone professional - with qualifications or a serious competitor...
I agree with Mother_Hen (I hate it when I have to agree with HER) that you won't really have an alternative but to dart it in the short term - but you have to work out what you're going to do with it once darted.
If you don't have anywhere to put it that it won't escape from, perhaps you could dart it with quite a dose...and drive it very speedily to a yard with a stallion paddock/barn etc? I don't see an alternative, tbh.
I asked about your friend's quals as, if it had already 'bolted' once, I wouldn't have been putting a saddle on it on the lunge - bridle, cavesson, side reins and roller, maybe...
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Hope you catch it...
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Hellooo..anybody in the REAL world, eh???

my answer WAS tongue in cheek....



get a bucket of chaff, soak it with hot water and a tube of sedalin, feed...and wait....


then shoot the person who was lunging it...
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In reply to your original post, my impression is also that he is being a B*****r!!!

I would go with putting a good horse in with him, preferably a mare and leading her out in the hope he will follow. At no point approach him, just let him follow. Otherwise i think you have no choice but to dart him. Once you get him, then your friend is going to have to rethink his management. Not really sure how she is going to keep him in really! Especially if she is at livery.
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Mind you a horse that jumps that high, if it can be tamed must have a bit of potential in the right hands!
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Long term, if she keeps him, she might want to investigate Join-up. This has worked really well for a friend with a difficult to catch pony. The pony follows her round now. Im not advocating it for all and have never used it myself but I think this one might benefit if its done correctly. Just a thought although i think in your friends case an indoor school would be needed so may have to move yards!

I wouldnt give up on him but find a way to deal with him. I dont think he is unhappy i think he is thinking, way hay! Im in a field full of grass and those stupid humans are not going to remove me! Sounds more like a clever one to me!

But at the end of the day she has to get to him to get the saddle off, and if darting is needed then that is what she has to do. Not ideal but the best option short term.
 
God no it happened last night and they spent 3 hours trying to catch him .Then another 5 today with acp.Please read all the post before jumping to conclusions .A vet is not going to come out at 10.30 to dart a horse in pitch black she thought it better to sedate this morning but as that hasnt worked will be calling someone out in morning.He is not stressed he has rolled in/on the sadde.We were looking for useful tips to bring him in without causeing undue stress.
 
This was the next stage in desensitizing she has asked for expert help and this was the advice she was given.Lots of ground work etc etc. building up to lunging with saddle.She only wants the best for him he has been able to have his feet trimmed which hadnt been possible with previous owners .They couldnt even groom him he is groomed daily twice a day to desensitize and give him plenty of hands on.He has made such a huge step forward jsut seeing him jump she realises she doesnt have the seat to do him justice.
 
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God no it happened last night and they spent 3 hours trying to catch him .Then another 5 today with acp.Please read all the post before jumping to conclusions .A vet is not going to come out at 10.30 to dart a horse in pitch black she thought it better to sedate this morning but as that hasnt worked will be calling someone out in morning.He is not stressed he has rolled in/on the sadde.We were looking for useful tips to bring him in without causeing undue stress.

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I didn't jump to a conclusion? I asked if what had been written was true. I am glad it isn't but I do think if he hasn't calmed down by the morning you may need to dart the poor boy. I hope it works out & you manage to catch him ok, poor lad.

JM07 - PMSL - I thought you were for real...
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This was the next stage in desensitizing she has asked for expert help and this was the advice she was given.Lots of ground work etc etc. building up to lunging with saddle.She only wants the best for him he has been able to have his feet trimmed which hadnt been possible with previous owners .They couldnt even groom him he is groomed daily twice a day to desensitize and give him plenty of hands on.He has made such a huge step forward jsut seeing him jump she realises she doesnt have the seat to do him justice.

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She is scared of him. You can't work with a horse you are scared of. Who was the 'expert' who advised her to do this? (not the name, just the professional standing?)
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sheep/cattle dogs to herd it in?
Probably give it a dog phobia tho!
I would have suggested a group of people walking it in with sheep gates but as it is jumping 5 bar gates that probably wouldn't work.
They only other thing I can think to suggest is that you keep him moving either on horse back with bikes whatever. Not so he runs or panics just so he doesn't get to stop and graze hopefully he'll get fed up and decide coming in is the better option.
 
He was in the school bu we have aoutdoor and she has 2 other horses and a daughter to consider,he just jumps everything .He needs to go to someone who can bring out his full potential he is bold and fearless and very clever.She did join up with her youngster but as he is fearful from anything behind she kept to a lunge line he walks forward and retreats on command and is very quick to pick up new things he will walk trot and canter on verbal commands. Like you said he is very smart.
 
has anyone tried just sitting within view of the horse with some food? we had one at my yard that took 3 days to be caught (allthough he didn't have a saddle on didn't jump fences was just nifty with his back end). What worked in the end was someone went up there with no intent to catch him, sat down in the field and had a few polos, sat there for 4.5 hours! then horse came to him and allowed himself to be caught. All he did was sit on the ground moving an inch or so closer every 15 mins or so. Takes a long time but if it works surely its worth it
 
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God no it happened last night and they spent 3 hours trying to catch him .Then another 5 today with acp.Please read all the post before jumping to conclusions .A vet is not going to come out at 10.30 to dart a horse in pitch black she thought it better to sedate this morning but as that hasnt worked will be calling someone out in morning.He is not stressed he has rolled in/on the sadde.We were looking for useful tips to bring him in without causeing undue stress.

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undue stress??? hes taking the piss...

run the bugger round, like monty roberts would do, round and round and round his paddock, then when he's tired, run the bugger again...and again..and agin...until YOU want to stop...he'll be SOOO glad to come in after a 5/6 hour session of running....

the little toad wouldn't of beenout in MY paddock for more than 6 hours..let alone half the time the bugger's been out in your's...
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i cannot for the life of me see how it has come to this....
 
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