Major catching issue -_-

S

SarahRicoh

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 September 2010
Messages
1,105
Location
Cheltenham, England
Visit site
Well iv had my boy for about 4 months now & when i got him lady warned he could be difficult to catch.
Hes in a 20acre field with 2 other horses & his headc stays on (not great i know but impossible otherwise-hc breaks away) .

He used to be a bit difficult first month when he didnt know but aftr being rewarded with a sweetie he soon got a lot better..
Been fine for couple months (bar occasionally not letting one othef livery catch him)..

BUT
last couple weeks hes been awful. Hes really pally with his little friend & if andys in i can catch him ok.
If andys out its impossible! I used to catch andy then i could catch pony but now andy isnt keen.
Results in me walking over,im a couple feet away. Pony walks off,anfy follows then they both gallop off.
Iv tried food.. Tried chasing him away but andy follows & it turns into them just galloping around. Tried standing there & ignoring him (sat in field for hour & not once did he even wander close)..
Its got to the point that i either ride early morning or very late when others are in so he wants to come in but i often go up.midday to ride but its proving impossible atm :/

Im at my wits end :( cant put him in a smaller field as no paddocks left. Cant fence off a bit as he'd jump out.. Grass will come through soon & there will be 4 more horses in field come May (so i cant take other horses out to make him want to come in)..

Any ideas? :(
 
Daughter used to ride the lady round the corner's Sec A. She was easy to catch to start with but soon cottoned on being caught = work. So on a day when I had plenty of time I went to the field, caught her, headcollar on, gave her a treat then let her go. Went back to the field later on caught, treat, let go, and repeated a couple of times more. She was then fine to catch, but randomly I did go to the field, catch treat and let go, so she never knew when it was treat and when it was work. She's been out fo work for 2 years since daughter outgre her, but we had to ride her prior to a potential loanee riding her at Christmas, and she walked straight up, happy to be caught, she hadn't forgotten
.
 
Try this:

Walk up to them, allow an extra 10 steps before they normally would run and then you turn and walk away, walk in a big circle around them. Walk towards them again, allow 9 steps then turn and walk big circle around them again. The aim is to slowly decrease the distance between them and you but don't actually get to the point of them moving away from you (hence why I say allow extra distance from where you can normally get to them).

Do this up until you get to the point that they would normally turn and run. Throw a treat on the ground in front of you (don't throw it at them!) and then turn and do as above. Go back to the start of allowing an extra 10 steps but start this from a different spot in your circle.

Work your way, decreasing the space again but this time throw the treat when you are a bit further away from them.

You don't want to go to them, you want them to come to you.

If they turn and run without figuring out there is a treat doesn't matter, just pick up the treat wait for them to settle and start again.

When they do finally (and I say finally because this is going to take a while, he clearly finds this game of his hilarious) start to come towards you, walk away from them. If they follow randomly drop treats as you walk away. If they stop following you, go back to step 1 and start again.

When you ultimately get to the point that they come to you. Give them a pat and walk away. Don't catch him, don't try to hold on to him, don't restrain him in anyway. You want to reward him for coming to you willingly and following you willingly.

You are in his territory (so to say) and you can't tell him he has to come with you, you need to make it so that he wants to come to you. That takes time and patience. A lot of patience ;)
 
He doesn't hate you, he has discovered an awesome game and loves playing it with you!!

I have dealt with many (many) horses who were uncatchable to everyone else but I always managed to be able to catch them myself (granted, some took a lot of work over a long period of time!).

The most important things to focus on when you are working with him:

1. You have all the time in the world. Literally. Don't go in to deal with him in a set time frame because it won't work.
2. There is no such thing as failure. If you can get him to take even 1 step in your direction that is a huge success!
3. He can't run forever. Sure it will seem like that and if your own fitness is low than you will tire faster than him but he cannot literally run for the rest of eternity. He will stop, you will catch him.

Let me know how you go wtih what I have suggested, would love to hear how you are both doing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top