urgent pls help - horse doesnt want to be caught

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wench

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all of a sudden my horse has taken a dislike to being caught. I caught him friday eve fine, and turned him back out. Saturday he ran off whenever I went near him.
Friend has tried today on own, he ran off.
Group of people have tried today as well, no luck, just runs off.
Food doesnt entice him near you.

We are supposed to be going out to comps next fri and sun, but if I cant catch him I will loose a load of entry fees (he also needs the excercise)

Nothing has happended to him out of the oridnary to make him like it.
 
Can you just try and go and approach him without a headcollar give him a titbit, polo or something, give him a bit of attention, does he like to be scratched anywhere at all, and then just go away. Dot his a few times and he'll look forward to seeing you and not see you as a threat? Worth a try? Or the only other option that I can see is take all others out of the field so he is on his own and then catch him then?
 
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Can you just try and go and approach him without a headcollar give him a titbit, polo or something, give him a bit of attention, does he like to be scratched anywhere at all, and then just go away. Dot his a few times and he'll look forward to seeing you and not see you as a threat? Worth a try? Or the only other option that I can see is take all others out of the field so he is on his own and then catch him then?

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Ive tried going into the field without a headcollar, still runs off.
Normally to catch him you have to take food anyway.
Tried just giving him food, but he wont let you touch him, as soon as you move your arm, he runs off. We could take all the others out of the field, but it wont make much difference as he is in a huge field, and just runs past you.

I was wondering if there was any kind of sedative we can put in some food for him, which might make him possible to put a head collar on him

Ets when he is charging around the field all the others blatantly ignore him, or give him a good kick or a bite when he is near them, as they are really annoyed with him
 
Is there a particular horse in the field he is friendly with? if so maybe leading that horse out of the field may entice him to follow? Just a thought.
 
no hes not paticulary best friends with any of them, so i dont think that would work
frown.gif
 
I'd be wary of using a sedative in the feed in case he tries to run off while wobbly from the sedation, plus sedation seems a bit drastic unless it's a medical emergency that he's caught.

Could you use electric fencing to make the field smaller, gradually making the area around him smaller until you can catch him? You may need to put aside the whole day but in a smaller area you should be able to catch him - if nothing alse then you should be able to walk him down eventually.

When you do eventually get him do something nice for him so he thinks being caught was a good idea!
 
Suppose we could try and rig up some electric fencing, only trouble is he is in a huge field (10 acres +) with about 10 other horses, which wont make the task easy!
 
If you have the time and the patience you could 'walk him down' which involves following him (preferably at a constant walk, but try not to let him graze) til he gives in, catch and feed him.
S
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thanks... I tried that for three hourse on saturday and it didnt work. Might have been more sucessful if he was in a smaller field tho
 
The mare i ride is a pain to catch so i walk up to her, let her have a sniff of my hand and if she walks (Or charges) off i walk away from her and go and make a fuss of the other horses. She ends up coming to me and nudging me until i show her some attention, only then will she let me catch her.
 
get a few of you out there corner him and quickly put up some electric fence round him, then try to catch him. We have done that with one of ours this afternoon that has been having none of it! Alternatively horses aparrently can't resist melon, so get a few pieces of melon, with skin and hopefully that should entice him over to you.
 
You could try the "don't look at them" approach - no eye contact etc....alongside the electric fencing option...and invest in a leather headcollar that he can wear all the time, with a short slip lead so that you have some hope of getting him in future....

My rescue dartmoor pony was totally impossible to catch and no interest in other horses so removing them didn't work either but he adores ginger nut biscuits....I have yet to find a horse that doesn't and the mere scrunch of the packet is enough to bring him over at a brisk trot now....it has taken time and I do appraciate how frustrating it is....my old horse was a pig to catch for the first 5 years or so - there is often a root cause somewhere.....pain or fear - saddle fit OK? is he fit enough to do the stuff you want to do or is he getting physically or mentally tired /fed up? In the long run, most horses are friendly creatures and like attention, so get him caught by cornering him if you have to, get a headcollar on that is safe to leave on perminently and take some time to find out what his problem is - and Sainsburys do double packs of ginger nuts for 54p and all of mine will do anything, but anything for a biccie!

Good luck!
 
We always did the 'don't look at them' thing, while munching on digestive biscuits and going 'mmmm'. Headcollar behind the back and as soon as he came near, arm went around the neck and put the headcollar rope around the neck before he can run off.

Easier said than done, I know. Sounds like using electric fencing to make his field smaller will be the best thing to do.

Isabelle
 
Things I tried with my "uncatchable" mare...

Go into the field and completely ignore your horse, give the other horses a treat/pat then go away. You might need to do this a few times before it has the desired effect of making your horse jealous!

Get someone else to catch your horse for you. This always worked with my mare, she associated me with being ridden, and other people with being brought it to get fed or whatever. She used to practically cry when she saw me waiting for her!
 
thanks for your help guys, much appreciated! we managed to get him last night after cornering him.
 
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