This is getting ridiculous now... help re Genie please!

miss_c

miss_c

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I need your help, lovely HHO'ers.

Genie has, in the last week, become VERY bad to catch. On Tuesday my sharer tried for 1 1/2 hours, then gave up, so I went up at about 10.15pm and got her in, getting home at 11.05pm. This evening my POOR sharer was out there for about 3 hours trying to catch the witch. My Mum went to help towards the end and while I don't like people giving up because she then wins, I really cannot blame them one little jot.

So tonight Genie is out, hunter clipped, with a fairly light rug on, and it's supposed to get down to about -6 tonight. This is just getting ridiculous.

They moved onto new grass a few days ago which has exacerbated the problem, but she was being a witch about coming in for a few days before that. I think tomorrow I will ask the YO if she can temporarily be moved to a smaller paddock that currently isn't being used until that grass has gone, but I'm not hopeful she will say yes.

Any suggestions? Bribery, chasing her away, ignoring her, etc does not work.
 
This isnt always possible, but my little sisters pony got like this, in the end we just shook a bucket and lead him to the stable without trying to catch him just with a bucket, obviously if this is going to be a hazard to other horses it may not be possible.

I feel your pain though!! xxx
 
Can you 'abandon' her for a few days?

Obviously check she's ok, but just leave her. She'll soon realise that coming into the warm for a bucket of grub or whatever is better than staying outside in the cold?
 
call me cruel if you like but my horse did this to me one night. my non horsey oh refused to stay and chase round the field after him so i had to leave him out.It may just be coincidence but that was the only time he ever did that.
 
xRobyn - I may just have to! Am worried about laminitis though as they've moved onto fresh grass and there is a hell of a frost at the moment.... plus her nickname is 'cave pony' for a reason!!!

luckyoldme - Genie's out tonight. I am hoping it may change her mind on coming in, but not too hopeful!

LandT - I'm afraid that wouldn't work with the setup we have. :( I'd either be trampled by the other horses, or get Genie and at least one other coming in. Perhaps I should try a lassoo? ;)
 
I'm surprised you are allowed to turn her out with a hunter clip at all!!! When I had my blanket clipped, she wasn't allowed out and I was accused of being cruel!!! Maybe had something to do with the lines being straight that time ;-)

As for a separate paddock, she is prone to laminitis, so no chance in hell there. Out with the herd on the grass and to hell with the suffering.

Good luck!!!
 
lhotse - Why's that? :) We have a small paddock that's been grazed right down but isn't being used at the moment, so I'm praying YO may agree to me putting her in there. Nightmare horses!
 
lhotse said:
I'm surprised you are allowed to turn her out with a hunter clip at all!!! When I had my blanket clipped, she wasn't allowed out and I was accused of being cruel!!! Maybe had something to do with the lines being straight that time ;-)
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I'm assuming you weren't putting them out naked - why should it matter if they're rugged up properly?
 
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Fi sorry to hear she's being a bit of a madam. I expect it is the grass that's the magnet. Mine is kicking at the door to get out in the mornings and you know how poor our winter field can be though it's good at the moment! When I had trouble getting mine when I first got him I did use carrots for encouragement, if I could get the headcollar on I then had a chance to get him down the field. Would someone else have a go to catch her as she may just be having you and your sharer on? It was just that tactic also helped with mine in the early days - element of surprise! Or maybe change her routine if possible between you so she comes in a bit earlier but that may not be possible with your working times. Does she tend to do it if the other paddocks around her have been emptied already or is she alongside horses that are still out? I guess if she's got plenty of grass and can see other horses staying out she'll be thinking that will be fine for me too thanks! She's fit and healthy so will cope with some cold nights. I reckon standing around in stables it can get well below freezing if not be colder for them so at least she'll be moving around the field to keep warm.
 
lhotse said:
I'm surprised you are allowed to turn her out with a hunter clip at all!!! When I had my blanket clipped, she wasn't allowed out and I was accused of being cruel!!! Maybe had something to do with the lines being straight that time ;-)

As for a separate paddock, she is prone to laminitis, so no chance in hell there. Out with the herd on the grass and to hell with the suffering.

Good luck!!!
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Really? That is crazy!

Fi, sorry to hear she is being a madam!
One of my old ponies would be silly this time of year and at spring, we can only guess due to grass changing and we found ignoring him made it better.
If he wouldn't be caught we'd just turn around and leave him.
Some people may think this sounds cruel but at the end of the day they are horses so will survive overnight in a lw rug, especially given that Genie is a Welsh D. Or next time you catch her just sick a fleece underneath/heavier rug incase she's silly again.
How is your sharer catching her? Does she approach her the same way that you do and does Genie have as much respect for your sharer as she does you?
 
Do all the horses come in at night?

Usually if she is the last one she will want to come in, try food, leave a feild same headcollar on will a small amout of twine hanging from it.
 
Another vote for pushing the ignore button. My gelding did this in summer once the boys were turned out together.

New friends = don't need mum now. Git.

Ignored him for a whole week and he got fed up and when my car drove along the side of paddock he trotted along with, and even put his nose in the headcollar!!

Hah!!! Friends not so good after all eh????
 
I'd be marching in with my electric tape and fence posts to section her off into a corner, before anyone even tries to catch her and before she even thinks of giving anyone a run around, that's if it is really important that you catch her and must come in, then reward her if she's been good and then leave her be for another 20 minutes, then go catch her and bring her in.
 
One of mine always gets silly after the first few days out hunting and won't be caught to be bought in for his afternoon hay...so he stays out. Simple, I certainly don't chase him around and I absolutely wouldn't expect anyone else to waste their time trying to catch him. He soon learns after a couple of days that if he doesn't come to call he doesn't eat. He's a cob..belly ALWAYS wins over head eventually.
 
There were times when my mare would take one look at me and resolutely refuse to be caught. She would, however, happily give herself up to ANY other random person passing that I would accost. In her case it was me = work, anyone = stable and food. It sounds like your mare also has company that is staying out which won't help your case. I would go for your idea of small paddock, solitary confinement and see if the idea of stable and work is more appealing!
 
lhotse said:
I'm surprised you are allowed to turn her out with a hunter clip at all!!! When I had my blanket clipped, she wasn't allowed out and I was accused of being cruel!!!
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What?! Blimey I wish people would keep their opinions to themselves, especially when they talk crap like that!!

I do wish we were on a livery sometimes but when I hear comments like that I count myself lucky!
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

YO has said no to her going in the small paddock. :( Not sure why really but her place her rules so not going to argue, but may ask again tomorrow! I went out there just now for half an hour with treats (not to get her in, just to see her), managed to get close enough for her to take just one, then she was off again. Then tried ignoring her and fussing all the other horses but she just kept grazing.

She's in a herd of 7 and 4 of them are still out at night so she has company, and we've found in the past that she doesn't care about being on her own anyway, even when there's no grass. I've been in tears over it today, have a lot on my plate at the moment and this is turning out to be the straw breaking the camel's back.
 
If it's stressing you out, then why not just say for 7 days she's just out and leave it at that. That way you take the pressure off yourself and she doesn't feel your stress when you go in the field. Every January I give my boys a month off, because I know by then I'm so stressed with trying to keep them fit over winter that I am not enjoying them and they certainly don't want a owner who is grumpy and slightly resentful (I'm not really but sometimes I just think why oh why!!).

So give yourself a week, you know she's safe and okay out in the field, and then next weekend start again with new resolve and hopefully you'll be relaxed and she'll be happy to see you and want to be in your company.
 
Fihunt - Does Genie have a sense of humour?

I ask because my welsh cob does and we went through a time when he decided being caught would become a game on his terms. I wasn't prepared to play so I would go up to him and if he decided to spin away and not be caught I would just walk straight back out the field. This wasn't the game he wanted so he doesn't tend to do it any more.

I only realised the game when one day I kept trying to catch him and he kept coming up to me and then running off, head down and graze whilst watching me, after a bit I became fed-up of this and decided to just walk out the field, I caught him pick his head up and watch me go with a what's up mum expression on his face, why aren't we playing any more. Next day he was as good as gold. He does sometimes still do it but I just wont play and he knows if he isn't caught then he doesn't get any fuss, nothing to eat (even if only a scrap in the bottom of a bucket) and at this time of year no warm stable with a haynet.
 
fihunt said:
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

YO has said no to her going in the small paddock. :( Not sure why really but her place her rules so not going to argue, but may ask again tomorrow! I went out there just now for half an hour with treats (not to get her in, just to see her), managed to get close enough for her to take just one, then she was off again. Then tried ignoring her and fussing all the other horses but she just kept grazing.

She's in a herd of 7 and 4 of them are still out at night so she has company, and we've found in the past that she doesn't care about being on her own anyway, even when there's no grass. I've been in tears over it today, have a lot on my plate at the moment and this is turning out to be the straw breaking the camel's back.
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I feel you pain. See my post from today. So frustrating!!
 
This is just a few things I do when when my youngster is being difficult to catch. By the way he's in a herd of 9 in a very large field, loads of grazing and he couldn't give a monkeys if he's out there on his own!

He's massively motivated by grass so if when I approach him and he goes to avoid me then I just keep him constantly gently moving so he can't stop to eat, it's more of an irritant than exhausting myself chasing him round. He might break into a few strides of trot but he can't really be bothered so then he goes back to walk and I just keep him moving all the time, I keep diagonally just slightly behind him, eye's on his eyes, making jerky movements or slapping my coat with the rope, I don't have to run or shout anything at him or be aggressive the idea is to keep him moving round so he can't stop and get his head down, it's all body language. If he stands still then I approach him as if to catch him, eyes down, if he walks off then it all starts again but if he lets me catch him (which is usually the case after a few mins because what's the point in being out if he can't eat?!) then lots of praise and a nice feed in the stable. If he turns his attention towards me at any point then I make my body language passive and just turn myself slighlty away from him and see if he approaches me, which sometimes he does also.

The other I've tried is going into the field and totally ignoring him and just fussing the other horses. But you can't go out thinking right I've got 30 mins and get frustrated you have to really be not bothered and ignore them completely. He'll keep watching me the whole time and eventually will come over to see what's going on (incase he's missing out on something!), I might give him a stroke and then go away again. No pressure.

Sometimes I'll carry something interesting in my pocket like a light or something shiny (not food) and go to catch him as normal with it in my hand, or turn and fiddle with it. He becomes more interested in what I've got becase he's a nosy type and forgets I'm there to catch him and voila! He's caught before he realises it, distraction tactic!

If you do manage to catch her, hold her for a couple of minutes and really make a fuss of how good she is and then let her go again. Repeat this several times within a short space of time to reinforce that being caught isn't forever type thing. I wouldn't get into the habit of giving her a treat because she'll start to snatch it from you at just close enough range and then peg it. Maybe don't give her the treat until she let's you touch her neck or the head collar or place the rope over her neck first and build up from there. If that makes sense?

It's probably just the grass as you say but I know how frustrating it is. Just make sure when your going out to catch her your not giving out the 'go away' body language or transmit your own frustration at not being able to catch her as she'll pick up on it. I have to think up really creative ways to catch my youngster as he's just so darn clever!!!

Hope you find a solution.
 
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Had another thought...on the basis that mine would go through a fence for one I reckon as he can smell them at 20 paces....Polos?!
 
Tried them MD!

Archie07 - That's what I've been doing with her. I never usually use treats when catching as she's very lippy at the best of times, but at the moment I'm desperate. She didn't even come to Mum last night, and she usually comes to call for her as she is the 'mint lady'.
 
I think I would go with the 'abandon' her route, leave her out for a week or so, obviously checking on her but not making any attempt to catch or approach her. If she comes to you during this time then I would give her a treat/pat etc but then walk away and leave her out. By bringing her in the minute you can catch her the problem may continue when you turn her out again.

Good luck, it must be a nightmare!


In regards to the not turning a blanket clipped horse out I think that is very old school, all my old horse care books say that a horse with a hunter clip should always be stabled with rugs, bandages etc but now rugs are warmer, more breathable etc I don't think it is as much of an issue. 'Back then' only horses in very heavy work where hunter clipped but now it seems to be a more common clip.
 
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