Pony Refuses To Be Caught Based on His Mood

[Papyrus64]

Hi! So I have an 18 year old New Forest gelding (with some stallion tendencies) who is extremely inconsistent in whether or not he'll let me catch him. He's like this every summer (keeping in mind he's in the fields all year round). He's very intelligent and also very greedy, so he's almost always interested in treats or food but he is inconsistent, and I'm not really looking to train him to only come when he'll receive treats. I've spent the past three weeks going out multiple times a day to help remedy this and his slight headshyness, and I was getting real consistent progress until a few days ago. He's right back to being moody again and only will come up to me if he feels like it. There was no trigger, and his headshyness hasn't returned. I know part of the problem is he's severely out of work and so he's acting like a field pony, but to exercise him I have to catch him first! I'm pretty sure I've already ruled out pain or fear, he simply acts like it's a game and runs around with his tail in the air before stopping and staring at me, or just avoids me all together. I have tried approaching him with different attitudes, either going softly or openly or with a more determined attitude as he can act quite dominant....nothing seems to make a change. I'm already trying to restrict his eating but he's gaining weight quickly on fresh grass here and I'm becoming concerned about his health too I'm at my wits end, please help if you can! Thanks ahead.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

How I catch hard to catch horses depends on whether they are fearful, resistant to work due to possible pain or whatever or simply would prefer to eat grass than be worked or have a break from grass. Then it is more like dragging a toddler out of a sweetshop!

If that is the cause (and it's not clear as you are also describing some anxiety like head shyness) then I basically go out with the sole aim of the horse either coming to me to work or working in the field. So I will take a rope and I will approach with soft body language and I will 'invite' him to come to me with pressure/release. If the horse is looking at me I stop and wait, if the horse takes a step towards me I take a step back. etc. BUT as soon as the head drops to graze I drive the horse off and make him circle me. Essentially lunging without the rope. If he offers to stop moving and looks at me I go back to 'inviting' him in. But the instant that head drops to graze the horse is sent back to work. The choice is simple; come in and work or work in the field. Eating and resting are off the table options. But I never ever do this with a scared horse. It works very well with a greedy lazy one though.

 

[AdorableAlice]

I apologise now, but I can't resist posting this ! I have a horse that can be tricky to catch and plays games with me at certain times of the year, certain weather conditions and basically whenever he feels like taking the proverbial out of me. This cartoon sums him up nicely.

 

[Equi]

He’s exercising himself and if you chase him enough you’ll catch him. Two birds one stone lol

 

[Shilasdair]

Why would he want to be caught by you? Especially if you make him work.
If I was lounging in a field and saw my employers coming, I'd be off too.

Seriously, I'd make him a smaller field (with electric fencing) and then if he didn't come to me, I'd loose school him in walk/trot/canter until he did.
When I caught him I would give him a treat/carrot.
And then I'd take him to the yard and give him a nothing feed (chaff, something nice tasting but low in feed value) while I tacked him up.
Finally, when turning him back out into the enclosure, I'd stop on the way and let him graze in hand for a minute or two, giving a last treat as I turned him loose.

 

[Goldenstar]

I bought a horse years ago that was very difficult to catch .
She had been bottle reared and she was quirky .
I was young then and fit so I cured her by just keeping her moving round the whole time I never let her stop her friends made a game of it at first but pretty quickly they gave up and abandoned her the first time I was there for four hours before she gave up , she walked towards me I turned my back on her and she walked up behind me and stood and that was that .
After that she was never as bad again .
Every now and again I would need to drive her around a bit .
She became the field leader and a great ally of mine .
I was doing this in a six acre field a smaller one would have made it much easier .

 

[fredflop]

Have you got your own land or on livery? If the latter you may be restricted in what you can do.

however easiest way will be contain pony in small area of field. Put a field safe headcollar on him, and go and catch him several times a day if possible. Whilst I generally don’t agree with using food to train horses, this is one scenario that warrants it.

when you can catch pony in small area, gradually make it bigger and bigger. Bring him out of his “pen” every day and feed him. Therefore catching = nice things. Start brushing him after feeding him… more nice things. Throw in a bit of easy work now and then, gradually building up.

the main thing is to train the horse to want to be caught. It’s no use getting him a bit better to be caught, and then hammering him with work, he’s likely to go backwards

 

[Illusion100]

Maybe an unpopular idea, but leave him in a field safe headcollar with a length of rope attached, in a smaller paddock with no abundant amount of grass for a bit.

If he comes to you voluntarily, he gets a treat and a fuss. If he doesn't, he won't. You walk away and leave him.

If his field arrangement is more enticing than you, why would he leave it?

 

[Nudibranch]

Mine come to a handful of feed in a bucket. It means they come to call, every single time. I'm not interested in trying to make them "want" to be caught. They see me, they canter up from wherever they are, even when they're out in a 25 acre.

 

[Jenko109]

I have one who is bad to catch.

I have a pen set up in his field sometimes. I leave it closed normally, but when he's a sod to catch, I open it up, have a long length of electric fence creating a funnel into it and just herd him in. Once in there, I close it up and work him on a circle until he gives up and let's me catch him.

The long and short of it is, the pony needs a smaller area, either permanantly or an area set up to herd him into when needed.

 

[J&S]

I had a NF pony for my daughter at one time, (not my wonderful mare but a older gelding ex RS pony). He was fine to catch all winter as was happy to come for his feed/haynet but in the summer he had a different idea, like yours!
I could always go to him and catch him but he would then use all his strength to either not move or turn away and tank off in the other direction. I over came this by taking his tack into the field and tacking up and riding out! I realise this is a slightly different problem to yours but what you need to do is use your mind to find a way round your problem, they may have the brawn but you have the brain.
Smaller patch in the field and a hungrier pony might be the answer as suggested by others.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Why would he want to be caught by you? Especially if you make him work.
If I was lounging in a field and saw my employers coming, I'd be off too.

Seriously, I'd make him a smaller field (with electric fencing) and then if he didn't come to me, I'd loose school him in walk/trot/canter until he did.
When I caught him I would give him a treat/carrot.
And then I'd take him to the yard and give him a nothing feed (chaff, something nice tasting but low in feed value) while I tacked him up.
Finally, when turning him back out into the enclosure, I'd stop on the way and let him graze in hand for a minute or two, giving a last treat as I turned him loose.

As well as this, I think they need to be in a routine. I would work on getting him to expect to be caught at particular times. I would just give him a small, tasy, bucket feed - maybe grass chaff, or Agrobs Wiesencobs and turn him back out, until he is used to the routine. I would keep the routine going year round, so that he just comes automatically for his feed.

 

[nikkimariet]

Some horses are just like it… Rooni is caught at all different times, but every day without fail. Sometimes I go up to him with a treat and walk away. Sometimes he’s brought in. I’ve practiced bringing him in just to turn him back out again. He’s actually rarely brought in just to work as I ride straight from the stable in the morning.

I can’t get close enough to reach a short rope length and he jumps the fence if I split it into a smaller patch.

Super frustrating but generally I I on one him and he gets bored I just build a bit of extra time into getting him ready but it stil stresses me out!

 

[huskydamage]

I have an NF x who is awful to catch, ive had her 18 years and tried just about everything with varying success. She is quite mean about it and kicks out, does the 'circle of death' cantering round me kicking out and turning in at me with teeth and if I dont leave she gallops at me with ears back and chases me out the field. I do not mess with her in that mood! The trick is to get her to want to come to me nicely. I've got a million tricks but the easiest thing is just feeding her main shortfeed in the field, which I do at all different times (shift work) so she never knows if I'm coming to feed her or something else. Still need to be quick as soon as she wises up theres only a token in the bucket ? (Thankfully my other horse is a dream to catch! My pony runs off and looks at her like she is nuts!?)

 

[Antw23uk]

My new horse is a tool to catch sometimes. It can be fear based (only god and himself will know why!) and sometimes he just gets it in his head he is better off in the field. More often than not he will bugger off in the direction of the yard and i just allow him to walk onto the yard (its open 24/7 anyway) then close the gate and voila, i have him but it does annoy me (I could never let my frustration show, he'd take it VERY personally!)

If i have the energy and time i work him in the field (its fairly small so i can keep him moving) but i swear i would never turn him out in a big field with a herd because i would never see or catch him again!

 

[paddy555]

I couldn't catch my first horse a 7yo light welsh type x cob. He wasn't prepared to negotiate and would have laughed at AA's cartoon. Tried to drive him and even with an open gate couldn't get him through.

I was successful every time I went to catch him and he never learnt.
I took the corner of the field, a right angle, tied a long rope to the hedge on one side (which I left there permanently) and then laid it out across the corner to form a triangle. Put a bucket in the corner and left him.
Made sure I was in a good position and when he had his head in the bucket pulled the rope up and tied it on the other hedge so he was in a triangular pen.

Now he was in a very tiny "paddock" he had no where to go and we finalised the procedure. `Did that for years. Make it a really NICE feed in the bucket.

 

[DirectorFury]

Mine come to a handful of feed in a bucket. It means they come to call, every single time. I'm not interested in trying to make them "want" to be caught. They see me, they canter up from wherever they are, even when they're out in a 25 acre.

I agree with this ^. Mine can be a pig to catch and wildly inconsistent with it unless you have a scoop of feed at which point she becomes an angel! So now I just take a scoop of feed with me and there's a sealed tub stashed in the hedge in case she needs to be caught immediately because of an emergency.

Some battles just aren't worth fighting and she's not on a yard where I could split or make her turnout smaller (full livery, herd turnout, huge fields). I tried walking her down once, the field was 6 acres and after 7 hours she wasn't about to give up -- so at that point I just decided to work with her and use bribery.

 

[Annagain]

The only time mine get treats is when they get caught and when they are turned back out. They all come to call. I couldn't care less if they're only coming to me for the treat, they're coming and that's what I want. The two oldies are usually dealt with in the field in summer so they get headcollar on, treat, check over, feet picked out, sun cream and fly spray on, treat, off they go. They queue up for it. Whoever gets there second knows he won't be seen to until the other one's been dealt with so he'll wait for his treat and to be dealt with.

 

[Sealine]

I bought a horse years ago that was very difficult to catch .
She had been bottle reared and she was quirky .
I was young then and fit so I cured her by just keeping her moving round the whole time I never let her stop her friends made a game of it at first but pretty quickly they gave up and abandoned her the first time I was there for four hours before she gave up , she walked towards me I turned my back on her and she walked up behind me and stood and that was that .

I'm often called upon to catch a difficult horse for a friend and interestingly he was bottle reared and is very quirky. I've always managed to catch him and I start by approaching his shoulder at an angle very quietly, head down, no eye contact just to gauge how close I can get before walks away. Once I've worked out the optimum distance I stand with a carrot but still no eye contact and at an angle looking away from him and often he will approach me. If he's in a nasty mood he will walk towards you then turn around and try to double barrel you. As GS and others have said, I keep him moving and don't let him graze. You have to be confident with him as he will try and kick but I'm too bloody minded to let him win and he usually ends up cantering to the gate where he lets me catch him. If you're scared of him he knows it and you don't stand a chance of catching him.