Uncatchable Warmblood!

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damsel

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Hi i am new on here and i was wondering if anyone could help me or let me know that i am not the only one struggling with this,

I have a 5yr old Danish Warmblood 17hh gelding, I have had him since October 2007 and he was unhandled when i bought him.
Since then he has been stabled and easy to catch when he was coming in every night. He started to live out because i had a shoulder operation and got a bit full of himself and it was a bit of a struggle to catch him but i could always get him in the end. i then stabled him every night again. Then he started to live out again and the plan was for him to come into the yard for a feed and some handling.
I took him to his 1st show two weeks ago and he was fine, took it all in his stride.
I tried to catch him 3 days ago and all of a sudden he is avoiding the headcollar, running away from it squealing acting scared, he is not scared of headcollars or leadropes and has no reason to be.
When i approach him i am relaxed and i scratch him all over and give him a good rub then i go to put the headcollar on and he runs off and then stands in the corner striking his foot at the ground (it is not aimed at me).
I have tried to catch him for 3 days now and i still feel like i am not achieving anything. I feel like he is taking the mickey out of me and he is winning as he comes into a pen runs around a bit eats the grass then goes back out to play.
I would love some suggestions as what to do, as what i am doing isn't working and he is not usually like this.
 
i have tried and he hates anything around his neck. Last time i tried that he just spun round in a circle and i had to let go. It is so frustrating.
 
Thankyou for helping I have attached a pen onto the field so i open the electric fencing gate and let him in. I have tried feed he is ok until he sees the headcollar and then he is off and just stands away from me, Unfortunatly he is not ruled by his stomach like my others.
 
I had this problem! It took 3 or 4 days to solve !

I started off by just doing little jobs in the paddock and ignoring her and then progressed to walking towards her but veering away before I got too close.

Then I'd go back towards her and eventually got near enough to give her a treat and a scratch but not attempting to catch her.
It all sort of fell into place after that.

The other thing to try is driving him away from you, like reverse psychology I suppose
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Well, I'd start by working out his motivation for not being caught - what changed when his behaviour did?
Did the catching problem start after the show? In which case he maybe moved about a bit in the lorry/trailer and his headcollar may have got caught on something and frightened him?
If he's been a good lad up til now, then you really must take him seriously when he says he's worried.

I'd set aside a couple of hours (or however long it takes) and walk him down til I can go up to him, and maybe groom him all over (still loose in the field - wear a hat), then feed him and leave him.

Next day, I'd again walk him down, and groom him, but this time holding a rope folded in two, so it rests against him as you groomed. Again, fuss and feed.

Third day, hang rope over neck, as though it's no big deal, groom him, and feed him - as you feed him give a couple of gentle tugs on the rope, and praise him simultaneously.

Fourth day, same, but hold the rope a little more....or if it goes well, do the same thing, but with the headcollar headpiece. Always stop and feed while you are still in his comfort zone.

Fifth day - as above, but fasten the noseband of the headcollar if you can, or at least play about with his nose as he eats the feed, if you can't.

As soon as you can get a headcollar fastened on his head, leave it on (use a leather one or 'fly free' one so it is field safe) with a little string attached.
Then you should be able to visit him, feed him, and subtly clip a rope on the loop of string as he eats.
Then take him in casually, and make sure he has a nice time.
When you turn him back out, unclip the rope, and always give him a treat so you leave him on a positive note.
You need to sort out the show/travel problem separately, though.
Hope this helps.
S
grin.gif
 
get a few mates and drive him onto the stable yard or barn or whatever you have...

use long poles/lunge whips/leccy tape to keep him contained until he's in an enclosed area..ie the yard/barn
 
Hiya; Don't make the process to stressful for him with whips etc. He doesn't sound like he's being naughty, it sounds, from the way you've written it, like it's fear. Consequently if you start punishing him for coming in, i.e. by herding him places, the whole process of catching will become scary for him and a nightmare for you. Agree with S, you need to work out why he has a sudden fear of headcollars. Is he out with another horse, and is it possible that someone else on your yard may have chased him away with a headcollar etc when they went to catch your horse? If you try and put a headcollar on him in the stable, what is he like?
 
Thankyou he is out with the other gelding we have who is laid back and loves coming in. I don't think anyone would have chased him as we rent the whole field and noone else goes in there. He is fine if he is in the stable and i put a headcollar on. It is just frustrating when he has been fine up until now and it was ever since i took him to the show, He usually loves coming in and hated it if i ignored him, but now he doesn't really care if i ignore him or not.
 
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