The catching game ...

[merlo89]

The title is very obvious as to what this is about

So, I know that this may not be the right section but here goes.

I have a part loan pony, who is a lovely horse, but just not been disciplined enough. The problem is she won't catch. It can take up to an hour to catch her, which I simply don't have the time to do every visit. However, she will be a saint to catch every so often and walk up to you. Mainly she just mocks me by trotting round me and showing off in her field to the point where other riders on the yard have had to come help (up to 4/5 people). She's lovely to ride, just not amazing ground manners.

The question is how long would you spend trying to catch the pony and do you have any tips on how to?

P.S lunge lines and cornering her aren't an option, also I have told the owner and quite frankly she isn't that bothered.

 

[ThePiebaldMoomin]

When I first got my mare I spent 2.5 hours chasing her around her field and I still couldn't catch her. For the first month or so I kept a leather head collar on her with twine attached to the ring underneath as soon as i could grab that she just stood there. I think with mine she was afraid that if caught she would be hurt. Now she normally hangs around by the gate when she sees the car come up the track or just stands munching grass and I can go up to her. I did find though having a lead rope around my neck to throw over her neck was always handy made her stay still long enough to get a head collar on.

 

[Palindrome]

have you tried bucket of food (just a handful of pony nuts might do) and fieldsafe headcollar?

 

[merlo89]

I'm not sure if I would be able to use a headcollar as she has just broken one just being tacked up, so may not be the best, also doubt the owner would let me as I only see her twice a week. I've tried the lead roper around her neck and i'm never quite fast enough for it.

 

[merlo89]

I usually have a tub of sliced up carrots or in extreme cases a massive bag of treats, just don't want her to think that misbehaving gets her food.

 

[FfionWinnie]

First of all, ask the owner what you should do?

I wouldn't give in til I caught her personally however if you are only there two days a week just take a bucket or loads of carrots whatever it takes to catch her. However as she's not yours you'll need to see what the owner says.

 

[be positive]

I do not really see a connection between being undisciplined and being tricky to catch, what does she get as a "reward" for being caught? is it only when you want to ride that you try and catch her? does she have a routine or daily feed?

If she only gets caught when ridden then she has no incentive to cooperate, most horses are easy to get into a routine if they benefit from being caught, so my answer with the odd one that may be tricky is to go out and just give a treat a few times, ideally that quickly becomes getting caught and coming in for a token feed, then being ridden so they connect the feed with being caught not just the work.

You do need to make an effort but in the long run it will be worth it, I cannot remember when I last had a horse that was difficult to catch for more than a couple of days as they associate me with nice things rather than just work, horses react to what is going on around them, they do not mock you she probably senses your impatience, even if you are trying to hide it, and reacts to that, on the good days she is possibly more relaxed and so are you so she is easy, does she then get a reward for being good, if not you need to show her that you are pleased by giving her something.

As for how long I would spend probably not very long, I would get a bucket if required and they will usually come to that, if the pony was really nervous, I have had a few of those, I would keep it in a small area until it was easy and only turn it out in a group once I could catch it, most of mine come to call or at least move in the right direction.

 

[merlo89]

I've asked the owner and quite frankly they aren't that good at catching her either and don't really have any tips that work anymore.

 

[Iwantakitten]

When I first got my boy, he was difficult to catch. I thought oh god what have I let myself in for as previous horses have always come running when I call.

So if he turned away from me when I walked into the field, I would send him away by approaching him straight on, give eye contact with both hands raised to the side palms outwards. I would then keep him moving until he gave up and turned to me. At that point I sent him away again. Only after I sent him away twice did I accept him coming to me when he gave in. First day only took 10 mins, next day slightly less. Now he comes straight to me in the field.

I always make sure I approach him with eyes down, lowered head, and to his shoulder, not straight at him, he approaches in a similar way.

Does your horse always get worked when brought in? If so they most likely associate you with being taken away from their friends and made to do stuff. Often I will bring my boy in, feed or groom and then turn straight out again. When I first got him sometimes I wasn't even wanting to bring him in, just catch, out head collar on, lead towards the gate, give him a treat and then turn loose again so I wasn't associating me turning up with a head collar as him being removed from his friends and made to work.

Hope that made sense!

 

[merlo89]

She has very poor ground manners, and causes her to become impatient, as if you take to long to put her headcollar on she'll run away. It has been suggested to me that I do that but I don't have the time to constantly go down and give her treats to see me. I've been making an effort for the past 4/5 months but she's gradually getting worse. She enjoys work, particularly jumping and if we don't jump we just do some plodding round the arena in a relaxed manor. I generally do give her lots of treats as she's always happier when she's praised. She's not nervous as she is use to me and her routine that I have. I can't keep her in a small area as it's not my horse.

 

[Iwantakitten]

but I don't have the time to constantly go down and give her treats to see me. I've been making an effort for the past 4/5 months but she's gradually getting worse.

You have to put the effort in, there is no quick fix with this kind of thing short of keeping her in a stable 24/7 so she is easy to catch. Maybe spend some time on the ground teaching her some manners?

 

[merlo89]

I would love to put effort in but at £6 a day on top of my riding lessons its quite expensive as we don't have that much spare money. She point blank refuses to go in her stable as she plants her feet and sways to the side, plus I don't have the strength. I would love to do that but I feel I don't have the experience to teach her ground manners as I was hoping to learn stuff from her, although I know stuff I do not have the confidence.

 

[highlandponygirl]

If she responds to praise, it could be worth exploring clicker training with her or even another unique sound just for her (e.g. whistle etc) you can associate a treat to the sound/click by rewarding her after schooling, completion of basic ground handling movements etc and teaching her to associate that sound to something positive, wether it be a treat or a big fuss made of her (if she tolerates it) Gradually incorporate it into a game where you stand at the end of the lead rope and use the 'sound/treat' to encourage her to come towards you and plenty of praise (even if she only makes 2 steps forward at first) and gradually build on it until you can get her to respond to 'her' sound in an enclosed area first, if available, then ultimatelly from her pasture.

It will take a lot of perseverance and I would suggest you come up with a plan with the owner about making it a joint effort as it is really frustrating when you make progress for it to be undone if consistency isn't there.

 

[merlo89]

I would try clicker training but I do not have the time as I have my GCSE's coming up this year. So, it would be a struggle as it already takes her 2-3 hours to get caught, groomed, ridden etc. and I have to get lifts which means that I can't spend the appropriate amount of time.
Also, the owner wouldn't help as her attitude is "it's your day, not my problem"

 

[Palindrome]

If you give her feed/treats when catching her, you won't be rewarding bad behaviour, you will be rewarding her for letting herself be caught.

 

[highlandponygirl]

I reckon you need to tell the owner to take charge of this and sort it out, offer to help in anyway you can and if she continues to be uninterested in her horses behaviour I would tell her where to go and find another share that is more suitable for you.

 

[be positive]

I would try clicker training but I do not have the time as I have my GCSE's coming up this year. So, it would be a struggle as it already takes her 2-3 hours to get caught, groomed, ridden etc. and I have to get lifts which means that I can't spend the appropriate amount of time.
Also, the owner wouldn't help as her attitude is "it's your day, not my problem"

As you are paying for the use of the pony it is fair enough to expect to be able to catch up and ride, the owner certainly should not expect you to pay if you wanted to go up a few times to just spend time with her, as she sounds as unhelpful as the pony why don't you look elsewhere if you are struggling for time, as it gets into winter the pony may be easier but if she is not it will be worse for you trying to catch her in a wet muddy field.


I don't understand some owners attitude, they are happy to take cash from someone keen to be with horses yet don't support the person when they have problems, I have always had one or two youngsters coming here to spend time with mine, they ride, do some jobs and do not pay as they are helping me keep my horses exercised, the only thing they pay for is entries when they compete, one livery pony is ridden by one of my "helpers" the owner is extremely grateful he gets some extra exercise each week and the thought of charging would never cross her mind, the rider also gets to do a few competitions and the owner is more than happy.

 

[oldie48]

I take a rather different view to most of the posts on here. Rather than rewarding a pony for allowing itself to be caught I will make a pony work if it won't be caught. Go in to the field to catch the pony, if it walks away, make it trot. Keep it moving using a lunge whip or the end of a lead rope. let it canter but don't let it stop and graze. you need to be prepared to keep going, so a comfortable shoes are a must. I'm an old lady so if I can do it, you most definitely can too. Keep it moving but watch it carefully, when it stops, chews and turns towards you, don't make eye contact but quietly walk up to it. If it trots off, make it canter and keep it moving. you may have to invest a bit of time but I promise you eventually it will allow you to catch it. Just praise it and give it a pat. next time you go to catch it, the moment it starts to move away, send it away with the lead rope and keep it moving. Horses like to conserve energy and like to eat, if you don't allow them to do either they will very quickly decide it is an easier option to be caught! Good luck. My old Tb was a complete pain to catch and had been kept on his own as a result, when he first came to me, I never knew if I could catch him or not but when I tried this method, it completely transformed him!

 

[gnubee]

I take a rather different view to most of the posts on here. Rather than rewarding a pony for allowing itself to be caught I will make a pony work if it won't be caught. Go in to the field to catch the pony, if it walks away, make it trot.

I used to believe in this method as a long term solution. I has used it successfully a lot volunteering at riding school etc when I was younger. Then I got my current mare. She has always been a bit cagey about people approaching her space, and as the summer grass came in got increasingly less reliable to catch. She does join up very easily in the school so we both understand the principles of this catching method. In the field, I still haven't figured out whether she saw it as a game or if she was increasingly perceiving the whole catching saga as a terrifying experience, but even with her head collar on catching her was near impossible. It reached a point where every time I want in the field I could keep her in trot and canter for over an hour before I got anywhere near her. She was the fittest she has ever been despite never being ridden to avoid baking catching a negative thing for her. I firmly had the attitude that I couldn't let her win and she would get it eventually. Finally realised how bad it had got when I went in to give her her feed bucket and she ran circles round me for over 90 mins before I could get the bucket under her nose. By which point I had to take it away anyway cos she was too sweaty to feed
So over last winter I stopped catching her. I would take the bucket in and she could be fed, or not be fed. I do not approach her, she has to come to me. Same as if I go into the field to catch her- there is always a treat, and she can come for it (and maybe be caught of maybe just get a treat) or not and I will give it to her field mate instead. We've been about 95% on our catching this summer and it never takes more than 5 mins cos I won't let it. She always has a field safe headcollar on because having her stand for it when freshly caught is a step too far.

Problem in your situation though is any real solution needs consistent application and therefore the owners but in. In your position it does sound like you might be able to manage if there was a head collar on. Ask the owner if you can buy a field safe to be left on her. If not then tbh I would probably give up the share as it's only going to get more frustrating. Always catch with a large treat (like a carrot) and don't give it up until you have hold of the head collar safely.

 

[merlo89]

I have spoken to the owner and honestly, I'm not experienced in anyway but even I can see that the owner has caused this and now lacks an interest or care in the pony.If I knew how to help I honestly would but the owner just seems to ignore me asking for help. I have also been looking around but as winters approaching everyone in the horsey world seems to have gone into hibernation, so it is proving difficult. The owner also expects to pay even if I can't make it down or I can't catch, so it is very much a money thing. I have tried the chasing after her tactic but the pony is 20 and don't want to risk her slipping in her field or injuring herself; I also learnt that her new field mate is very energetic and gets wound up by the simplest of things, so not the best option for the situation now.

 

[Barnacle]

Try this: http://intheequinemind.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/my-horse-just-wants-to-be-free.html

It'll be time-consuming the first few times... Then never again.

Also, note, it doesn't matter what the owner does (it does only a little). Horses are wonderful in that they do know the difference between different people and will treat you accordingly. Once you've established this dynamic, you'll be able to catch her. The owner will probably still struggle though and you can then enjoy the result since she can't be bothered to put any effort in herself!

 

[Kaylum]

I agree with the moving on approach. Get a lunge line and everytime the horse trys to stop move it on. Never let it stop. Its what Monty Roberts calls join up but he does it in a small pen which is obviously pretty easy to do. So you have to do the same but in a large field. This might take an hour to being with but you keep it moving. Eventually your horse will decide it doesn't like it in fact it hates it and should submit and try to be near you. when this starts you need to turn your back to it and walk slowly away. I did this a few times with my horse and also put a fieldsafe head collar on and he now comes to call without a head collar. I also did a lot of ground work and loose schooling. The same principle applies. Move them away keep them moving and then they submit and actually follow you. There are no quick fixes for situations like this and you need to put the time in I am afraid.

 

[LHIS]

My boy occasionally does this to me, he'll see me walking towards him, squeal like a piglet and leg it. Longest it's taken to get him is 30 mins. His field is big, but I manage to treat the exercise like a big join up, and after indulging his silly side for a bit I stop moving him in and turning him, do the turning away from them, and up he comes, not usually right to me, but close enough to sling a lead rope over his neck and reel him in.

 

[Princess16]

The title is very obvious as to what this is about

So, I know that this may not be the right section but here goes.

I have a part loan pony, who is a lovely horse, but just not been disciplined enough. The problem is she won't catch. It can take up to an hour to catch her, which I simply don't have the time to do every visit. However, she will be a saint to catch every so often and walk up to you. Mainly she just mocks me by trotting round me and showing off in her field to the point where other riders on the yard have had to come help (up to 4/5 people). She's lovely to ride, just not amazing ground manners.

The question is how long would you spend trying to catch the pony and do you have any tips on how to?

P.S lunge lines and cornering her aren't an option, also I have told the owner and quite frankly she isn't that bothered.

Do you have a shelter in the field? If so take a bucket of feed up once inside munching away throw lead rope around her neck and put head collar on then.

 

[learn2horse]

It seems to me that you are between a rock and a hard place. This issue is totally fixable, but you must have time, patience, discipline and the freedom to try a few things out (what works for one might not work for you and you have had plenty of very good suggestions).
If I were you I would be straight with the owner. Tell her you can't catch the pony, but would like to try - (leaving field safe head collar on, food in pocket, or whatever option you go for). Say if you can't catch him then it is not worth you paying out to ride him and you will have to look for something else. And stick by that. After all horses are expensive and the pay off is the pleasure they give you. If they are not giving you pleasure because you can't catch - can't ride - is it worth it?
There are plenty of people looking for help with their ponies - and most won't charge as they very glad to have their horses exercised! Anyway, I hope it works ou - keep us informed.

 

[Princess16]

I take a rather different view to most of the posts on here. Rather than rewarding a pony for allowing itself to be caught I will make a pony work if it won't be caught. Go in to the field to catch the pony, if it walks away, make it trot. Keep it moving using a lunge whip or the end of a lead rope. let it canter but don't let it stop and graze. you need to be prepared to keep going, so a comfortable shoes are a must. I'm an old lady so if I can do it, you most definitely can too. Keep it moving but watch it carefully, when it stops, chews and turns towards you, don't make eye contact but quietly walk up to it. If it trots off, make it canter and keep it moving. you may have to invest a bit of time but I promise you eventually it will allow you to catch it. Just praise it and give it a pat. next time you go to catch it, the moment it starts to move away, send it away with the lead rope and keep it moving. Horses like to conserve energy and like to eat, if you don't allow them to do either they will very quickly decide it is an easier option to be caught! Good luck. My old Tb was a complete pain to catch and had been kept on his own as a result, when he first came to me, I never knew if I could catch him or not but when I tried this method, it completely transformed him!

All good advice but this can take ages and OP hasn't got the time. I have previously spent 2 hours plus doing this and still stubborn ****** won't be caught!

 

[oldie48]

Well, time spent doing this saves hours of time in the future and with regard to another post, horses do know the difference between people. The old TB can still be a pain for someone else to catch but NEVER for me. If he takes one step away from me when I go to catch him, which when the grass is good and the sun is on his back, he may do, I shake the lead rope at him and he sighs, looks at me and stands still. OP don't worry about a 20 year old doing too much, just keep her walking!

All good advice but this can take ages and OP hasn't got the time. I have previously spent 2 hours plus doing this and still stubborn ****** won't be caught!

 

[madlady]

OP you have been given some very good advice but it is up to you whether you are prepared to put in a few weeks of effort to see if any of them work.

I understand completely that you just want to turn up and ride but horses aren't just about riding they are about a lot of other things as well. I also understand just how frustrating a bad catcher can be. We too had a 'more mature' pony on loan for my nieces - she wasn't the best at being caught but eventually we (us and the pony that is) came to a compromise. The first 3 weeks of summer turnout we stopped trying to catch her as it just wound us all up, so we let her have a holiday when they first went out and after that she was rewarded for allowing herself to be caught and ridden - sometimes it took 5 mins sometimes it took 15 mins. We did it by making sure we had carrots and she got her reward when she came out of the field. For a few weeks all we did was catch her, bring her out of the field, give her a fuss and some carrots then put her back.

She was never brilliant to catch and she could be particular about who caught her but we found a workable solution.

You will need to decide whether you want to do something like that - if not then give up the pony and look for another share.

 

[misskk88]

I have spoken to the owner and honestly, I'm not experienced in anyway but even I can see that the owner has caused this and now lacks an interest or care in the pony.If I knew how to help I honestly would but the owner just seems to ignore me asking for help. I have also been looking around but as winters approaching everyone in the horsey world seems to have gone into hibernation, so it is proving difficult. The owner also expects to pay even if I can't make it down or I can't catch, so it is very much a money thing. I have tried the chasing after her tactic but the pony is 20 and don't want to risk her slipping in her field or injuring herself; I also learnt that her new field mate is very energetic and gets wound up by the simplest of things, so not the best option for the situation now.

You have had lots of sound advice and how to catch a tricky pony, but from your last post, I get the feeling you may be feeling slightly disheartened by this, and that you feel perhaps your experience doesn't lend itself to the situation? I guess that the owners lack of support only contributes to this, and makes addressing the situation harder. Unfortunately as it is their horse, it is their decision and prerogative if they choose not to bother, or strictly want to keep the loan agreement business like i.e your days are your days, and that is that.

I can completely understand at 15/16 you wanting to be able to pay to have a horse on loan/share that you are responsible for on your days, and that you are able to go about looking after relatively stress free. However, ponies and horses don't want like that and sometimes they do require extra work, time and A LOOTTTTT of patience!!

It sounds to me like you are both sensible and reliable in many ways. If the situation is causing you too much frustration, you feel you don't have the support of the owner, particularly as you lack the experience, then why not save the money you are investing into this pony, and start looking for another?

Alternatively if you want to continue riding, why not have lessons in the meantime, so you still get a horsey fix, can work on your skills (including groundwork), and then you will be in a better position in the near future, particularly once your GCSEs are out the way?

 

[Annagain]

Does she view it as a game? My old boy did. The second I started to chase his eyes lit up and it made him 10 times worse, he thought it was great fun. 9 times out of 10 he'd be great but that 10th time I could tell from the moment I walked into the field I was in for it. The best way for me was to ignore him. I would take a bucket of food, a chair and a book, put the bucket under the chair(it needs to be tall enough that she can't get her head into it), sit down and read. Within 5 minutes he'd be sniffing around me and the bucket, at which point I'd get up and walk away, taking the feed with me. 10 minutes later I could go back to the field, call him and he'd come running but often I'd leave him to the next day when he'd be begging me to catch him! Only once did I have to repeat the chair thing again.