No idea what to do anymore!

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tired&frustrated

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I'm posting under a different account.

I've got a problem and it's getting worse. I bought a delightful little mare a few months ago, and she's perfect in every way except she cannot be caught in the field at all! Her old owner failed to mention this, although at her old home she used to just get a gate opened so she could walk into the stables.

She's the most vile little mare in the field. She's out with 5 of YO's horses (2 broodmares, a 35+ year old gelding, a 2 year old filly and another mare)
To cut a long story short, she won't let anyone near her in the field. If I try to walk near her then she gallops off, if I try to bribe her with feed, haylage, mints, carrots etc then she gallops off, if I hide the leadrope in my pocket as if I'm going to pat her then she gallops off. Even if I just stand at the field and stare at her she gallops off. I just don't know what to do anymore.

The average time for getting her in is 40 minutes with lots of people helping, although it's been known to be as long as 2.5/3 hours.

My current strategy is to bring one of the broodmares and the elderly gelding to the gate and normally the other broodmare will follow. Then try and get the filly (she's got dodgy legs so you've got to go very slowly) who is also my mare's best friend at the moment and then chase my mare and trap her at the top of the field. This doesn't always work as she's too fast, and she just barges into the other horses and knocks them out of the way to get away from me. It doesn't matter if it's rain, hail or shine; she never wants in.

She becomes accustomed to my strategies after a short time, so I need to keep changing what I do which is a major pain.

She is also turned out with a headcollar on, but she gets the filly to take it off her!

We've got a brilliant relationship out of the field but she's a completely different horse in the field :(

Someone told me the only way I can solve this problem is by doing Parelli and obviously I'm like :eek: ERR NO!

She even goes as far as chasing away whatever horse I'm trying to bring up in order to catch her! Most recently it was the elderly gelding who she had galloping around the field and he was clearly suffering which I thought was disgusting :( but I can't exactly control how she acts in the field unfortunately.

Any suggestions on what to do are welcome, I just have no idea what to do anymore! :(
 
Turn her out on her own in a very small paddock. The only high spot of her day should be your company and she will be begging to be caught in no time with this kind of regime. don't be in a big hurry to put her back in the herd, this routine is going to take some establishing.
 
Could you try her in a field on her own? Out of sight of the others? Sounds like she thinks she is queen bee and ruling the field so stick her on her own, turn the tables and make her want to come to you
 
Unfortunately I'm at a livery yard and there's no chance I could have my own paddock. She's a bit of a loner as well, the little filly follows her about and they get on, but my mare couldn't care less if she had friends. To be honest, she treats the filly like s***

You're right when you say that she thinks she's queen bee. She grew up at a stud, and her old field companions were weanlings, yearlings and then 2 year old fillies. The owner planned on keeping her but his circumstances changed and she was sold when she was 4.5 so there was a big age gap!
 
I would paddock her on her own - agree with watcher, you need to make you her world, bring her in not just for being ridden, but often just for a handful of food and a groom.

Just seen your reply, TBH I'd consider moving if that's the case - whats the point in paying livery if you can't enjoy your horse!! :)
 
I think either a) do as the watcher says or
b) When she runs away from you in the field have you tried actually making her keep running (i.e chasing her..) It might sound parelli-ite but I did this with my mare before I had even knew what parelli was!
Basically my mare used to try & avoid "capture" (lol) so i whipped the leadrope against my leg & made her trot on so that it was "you want to run, you run!" she soon realised it was more effort to trot/canter round her field.

This might be easier if she is in a field on her own (if she still won't be caught). Oh & I found you have to wait for the horse to stop, face you & put the head down.. if the heads up i found this was just a defiance with my mare anyway.

Good luck! :)
 
I agree with all the above, and my top tip for catching difficult horses is to send them away from you, and keep them moving. Partikcularly if they are on some nice grass - don't let them get their head down for even a minute to eat. It has worked on all my horses, although to be fair they haven't ever been as bad as you have described - just reluctant to be worked instead of grazing.

Good luck. I seem to spend most of my time going up to feed my horses than I do riding at the moment, and so both come cantering over every time they see me!!
 
jenki13 said:
I think either a) do as the watcher says or
b) When she runs away from you in the field have you tried actually making her keep running (i.e chasing her..) It might sound parelli-ite but I did this with my mare before I had even knew what parelli was!
Basically my mare used to try & avoid "capture" (lol) so i whipped the leadrope against my leg & made her trot on so that it was "you want to run, you run!" she soon realised it was more effort to trot/canter round her field.

This might be easier if she is in a field on her own (if she still won't be caught). Oh & I found you have to wait for the horse to stop, face you & put the head down.. if the heads up i found this was just a defiance with my mare anyway.

Good luck! :)
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Snap Jenki13!
 
Thanks for all your replies so far, they're very helpful.

Moving yards would be out of the question. Everyone there is great; I get on really well with the YO and she lets me ride & compete her horse. The facilities are great (outdoor school, indoor school, round pen, horse walker and big stables) There's no other livery yards that I would want to move to. One is full of arrogant teenagers and b******, another only offers part or full livery and the other one doesn't have any decent facilities.

I bring her in just to groom her quite a lot. She loves being groomed and bathed, and I always make sure she gets a treat as she goes out to the field but it doesn't seem to make a blind bit of difference and the carry-on starts the next day :(
 
I don't know what else to suggest as if you cant separate them that's my knowledge stumped :) hope you get it sorted out, I couldn't entertain a horse that wouldn't be caught.
 
Bangagin said:
I agree with all the above, and my top tip for catching difficult horses is to send them away from you, and keep them moving. Partikcularly if they are on some nice grass - don't let them get their head down for even a minute to eat. It has worked on all my horses, although to be fair they haven't ever been as bad as you have described - just reluctant to be worked instead of grazing.

Good luck. I seem to spend most of my time going up to feed my horses than I do riding at the moment, and so both come cantering over every time they see me!!
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Need a like button! :D
I think my horse gets caught at the moment because she knows she gets haylage afterwards haha :p
 
When you do catch her, could you just stand her outside the gate, feed her and then let her go back in again - that way she knows that when she comes to you she just gets feed and then goes back in with the others again - nobody asks anything of her..
 
I would be wary of chasing a horse in a field that is shared with one that had dodgy legs. So for that reason, I'd put her in a smaller paddock alone, preferably adjacent to others, then teach her to be caught. The problem with sending horses away in a herd is that they tend to try to hide behind the others, and then the others get agitated and run about. If you are focussed they will pick up on the fact that you aren't interested in them and stop after a while, but I don't think it's fair to risk other people's horses in the meantime.
The Parelli "You Can't Catch Me" game actually works really well, and no metal clip waving or beating with sticks involved. However, you do need to do it right, I've known a couple of people get themselves kicked mucking about with the idea.
 
Would your YO allow you to turn her out in the round pen just for a few weeks (or even days if need be, you would just have to do a lot more sessions in a shorter period of time). Personally I would do lots of walking up and treating and then just walking away, progressing to catching, treating and walking away and then to bringing in and feeding/grooming putting back out, of course these will only work if you can get close to her in the first place. I don't turn out in a head collar and we had a colt that was an absolute ar*e to catch, just refused to allow you to get a head collar on him and would bog off, but we could get near him to touch etc. I seriously dealt with this in one day, over several sessions of a period of about 10 minutes each (and in the big field) just by using treats. I suppose it depends on her attitude. Please don't lose heart and don't give up on her, you could always try an RA to see if that would help if you cannot find a way yourself.
 
hch4971 said:
Would your YO allow you to turn her out in the round pen just for a few weeks (or even days if need be, you would just have to do a lot more sessions in a shorter period of time). Personally I would do lots of walking up and treating and then just walking away, progressing to catching, treating and walking away and then to bringing in and feeding/grooming putting back out, of course these will only work if you can get close to her in the first place. I don't turn out in a head collar and we had a colt that was an absolute ar*e to catch, just refused to allow you to get a head collar on him and would bog off, but we could get near him to touch etc. I seriously dealt with this in one day, over several sessions of a period of about 10 minutes each (and in the big field) just by using treats. I suppose it depends on her attitude. Please don't lose heart and don't give up on her, you could always try an RA to see if that would help if you cannot find a way yourself.
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This is pretty much what I did with my feral welsh c when she arrived. She was in overnight and turned out in the school for a week, I would walk up, give her a treat and then walk away - fairly soon she would be looking for me. After that I would clip the rope to her headcollar, walk her down to the other end of the school, give her a treat and then let her go. Then I would progress to a small field, to a bigger one etc.
I won't lie she was the type to "test me out" randomly so did have days where I took ages to catch her, however I used to send her on and she realised that she couldn't get away with it so would be good (for a few more weeks anyway!).

ETA: when my cob went through a naughty phase I used to make him jealous. Every other horse in the field would get a treat but him, if he came up to me I walked away until he was literally attached to my shoulder! I should say though that he isn't a violent type towards others, and the others were usually more interested in grass than me!
 
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jenki13 said:
Need a like button! :D
I think my horse gets caught at the moment because she knows she gets haylage afterwards haha :p
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I did this with my youngster only needed to do it the once and is possible with other horses in the field, i just had another field that if my youngster went to go near the other horses they shooded her away, we only had to play this for about 10-15 mins and did not need to repeat it, now she is no prob weathr on a herd or pair group

dope was meant to be quote ing what bangagin put, about chasing the horse away
 
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If you do decide to give a treat and walk away, then PLEASE be careful. I'm not opposed to giving treats etc but this was what had been done with my first horse and he learned to take the treat turn, kick out and gallop off. It became dangerous.

I would also be wary of chasing them around, if one is old and another has dodgy legs as you don't want them getting hurt. I tried the chasing thing with my mare and she would run til she dropped literally. I stopped in the end as she was soaked with sweat, still running flat out, breathing really heavily and I was getting no-where near her (she was ina paddock by herself as I'd removed my other mare).

In the end, patiently and constantly following around the paddock, not letting her graze was my only way of catching her.

Would it be possible to remove the other horses from the field when you do try to catch her or can you section off a part of the field if you can't get your own paddock?
 
Bought a mare last year that is an 'uncatchable'. Tried every method already mentioned and a few more and finally discovered what worked for her. Very strange but it does the job- I sing a refrain 'Hello, hello, hello pretty darling...'
Feel a right numpty doing it, but she is a lamb when she hears it and stands to have the headcollar put on.
 
tired&frustrated said:
Someone told me the only way I can solve this problem is by doing Parelli and obviously I'm like :eek: ERR NO!

Any suggestions on what to do are welcome, I just have no idea what to do anymore! :(
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One of the things NH is great at is teaching horses that do not want to be caught - to catch you, that is to come to you. You do not need to chase them.

You can keep doing what you are doing though if that is working for you.

Obviously she is a smart little bunny and has a good sense of humour.

I do enjoy being able to turn up to our paddock and all the horses come to us. My ISH was naughty when he was young, and also one of the kids ponies re being caught and it is so good to not have to waste time. So please reconsider having someone come and teach you how to teach your horses.
 
The Parelli catching game never fails, but of course, you have to know what your doing and do it right or it won't work. I noticed from your post that you do not think Parelli is for you, so obviously, thats a non starter in your circumstances.

However, if you do get someone in who uses Parelli, they should be working in level 3/4 rather than someone mucking about with a carrot stick, who watched a DVD once.

Anyway, best of luck with it.

You could try the singing idea, I quite like that one. lol.
 
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Fence a small area if the field off.
Making a point if catching her, then.letting her go.
Eventually she should respect you and let you catch her then return to the main field.
 
blucanoo1990 said:
Fence a small area if the field off.
Making a point if catching her, then.letting her go.
Eventually she should respect you and let you catch her then return to the main field.
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Ditto this.

Can you section off a smallish area with electric?
In my experience when you keep them moving away from you if they won't let you approach it's not 'chasing' them.......it's moving them, consitently at a slow pace, just enough that it becomes increasingly uncomfortable for them (and you unfortunately! :D )
When she turns and look at you back off.

It could take days of this but you obviosly have to do something.....
Good Luck :)
 
When beau walks away from me, she's stabled in the day on a diet at present and not tom impressed, I tell her firmly 'beau stand' and she does as if being lunged. Lottie though I have to follow her round the field for a bit. 5 mins normally does it. She's 31 and not much hope of improvement but she only does it when peeved at me. She used to be worse and chasing worked. Also a reward once she had her head collar on. My sister die some join up with one that was difficult and it became a real little cling on coming for attention at the have every time u went in the field. Better than not being able to catch it though! Good luck.
 
This may sound silly - but try turning her out in a grazing muzzle. I have know other, difficult to catch horses, once in a grazing muzzle beg to be caught.

Once caught, give her a feed, make a fuss of her and turn back out, with the muzzle. Make bringing in a nice time and build up a relationship with her on the ground. before you bring her in and work her.

Good luck.
 
A lot of mares can be like this. Especially the herding the others away thing!

With my mare, a proper routine helps. Ours are pretty much roughed off and living out this year as I've just had an operation, but they come in for four hours a night - one of the reasons for this is to keep my horse in a routine of being caught...

If you get on well with the YO, I would ask if you could fence off part of the field that she shares with the others - if you provide the elec fence, and agree where to have it with the YO, I can't see that it would be an issue. It wouldn't at my yard. It would also mean that she had company nearby, without being able to boss it around.

It also sounds as though this filly needs a bit more work throwing at her perhaps, to stop her getting so cocky and dismissive of your authority? I don't mean breaking her in, but more groundwork and leading out in hand etc.

I'm not a fan of treats in general, but with my mare in her bad to catch days, I did take a feedscoop with me, that she could visibly see me with. Occasionally I still have a carrot in my pocket even now, six years later, but not always.
 
tired&frustrated said:
Thanks for all your replies so far, they're very helpful.

Moving yards would be out of the question. Everyone there is great; I get on really well with the YO and she lets me ride & compete her horse. The facilities are great (outdoor school, indoor school, round pen, horse walker and big stables) There's no other livery yards that I would want to move to. One is full of arrogant teenagers and b******, another only offers part or full livery and the other one doesn't have any decent facilities.

I bring her in just to groom her quite a lot. She loves being groomed and bathed, and I always make sure she gets a treat as she goes out to the field but it doesn't seem to make a blind bit of difference and the carry-on starts the next day :(
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Would your YO let you temporarily electric a bit of the field off just to try the theory ?
 
I agree with sectioning a part of the field off and turning your mare out in that, once she can be caught easily in a small section you can increase the size until you wont need it anymore.
Advance and retreat works well with mine if he doesnt want to be caught - which is every summer when theres grass really!!
 
the watcher said:
Turn her out on her own in a very small paddock. The only high spot of her day should be your company and she will be begging to be caught in no time with this kind of regime. don't be in a big hurry to put her back in the herd, this routine is going to take some establishing.
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This^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
I am no Parelli fan but in all these practices - Parelli, NH etc you can take snippets of what they do and adapt them to your circumstances. It's about understanding horse behaviour and the whole 'join up' / sending away technique does work - Maybe it would be helpful to get a professional in to hlep you and give you some techniques that you can implement? I am thinking Richard Maxwell, Kelly Marks etc. We are not talking bouncing balls or carrot sticks or anything like that - just an understanding of what your mare is thinking and how to get her to do what you want.

In the meantime or if you are not prepared to do that then i would electric fence a section of the field off (i can't see why the YO would object) and then you can practive sending her away and inviting her to you etc.
 
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