I have an old guy-but I have noticed this behavior in other horses–everyone wants to come in-maybe certain horse does not get to come in first—(somebody has to wait) He may walk (or trot even canter the fence line)–obviously wants to come in-- but will not let you catch them? Some part of the non-thinking brain has been triggered? Literally will turn away from me at the gate with a treat ready to bring him in for dinner…and trot back down the fence line and back again at me–without stopping–forget trying to catch him… Generally at this point, I will just walk away and let him fuss (as long as he is not endangering himself) for 5-10 minutes–after which he will finally allow to be caught…so obviously I am not the horse whisperer…and I don’t think I am consistent as to who comes in first (good or bad?) .
Has the brain shut off- or have I conditioned him to do this-not sure what the reward is?? Thoughts appreciated. 
When I boarded, my TB I’d owned then for 15yrs started doing this when his turnout group was increased from just him & DH’s horse (TB was “boss”) at the previous barn, to 8-10 geldings.
Not just me, he’d pull the same shtick for BOs.
I told them just leave him out overnight, he won’t starve or die & being last to come in should change his mind.
It did.
Once I had him home it became a non-issue, as my horses are out w/access to stalls 24/7 & come in for grain by themselves 2X daily.
3X if you count nightcheck at 9-10P or later.
That was enough incentive for him to come in on his own & if I needed him when it wasn’t feedtime, a cookie offered would suffice to let himself be caught.
My TWH was gifted by a friend who told me of her 4 pasture-kept horses, he was the one who had to “go walkabout” before coming into the runin where they were haltered & tied to be fed from mangers.
Here - after 9yrs with me - he’ll still walk toward me & at the last minute turn away to do his thing before going sedately into his stall on his own. Back doors to stalls are never shut, but he waits - along with my other 2 - for his hay & grain to be delivered by Room Service (me).
My mini is the Easiest.Catch.EVER, since he sees himself as my Assistant & comes in the service door with - or ahead of - me to “help” by pillaging the stacked hay while I mix grain.
He also self-serves his TC Sr, but I cut his ration by whatever I estimate he’s eaten while I prep the other two pans of oats.
Anyone who doesn’t recognize they are individuals isn’t paying attention 
how many horses in your herd and where is the old guy in the hierarchy?
can you catch him easily at non-meal times?
is he an anxious horse in general?
If he is anxious, maybe not knowing when he will come in is revving him up. The anxious ones really thrive on consistency.
I have one who wants to come in but doesn’t want a halter put on her head. Also possible that she’s trained me that she won’t let me put her halter on without paying the treat tax first.
My first horse walked away when I got within a certain distance of him. I don’t remember how I figured it out, but if I stopped and stood still he would walk a circle around me, staying the same distance away from me. When he stopped I could walk up and halter him. Over time the distance he walked got shorter, and the size of the circle got smaller, until he entirely stopped walking away.
If you stand inside the gate, does he keep going back and forth out of reach until you leave?
Good point–he can protect himself but does not bully-right now he is just in a two herd-with another two horses right next to him. But maybe --he needs to be first and know he will be first.
Yeap!
What are they thinking–or not?
many years ago I read a method of catching an unwilling horse. as you walk towards the horse, if he starts to walk away, you stop. when he stops, you walk towards him again. etc. it’s the opposite of everything I’ve read since about catching horses, but it’s always worked for me.
I think that what may start as anticipation to a specific activity (being brought in) can morph into a generalized state of moderate excitement. Once in that state I think that some of them get a little stuck in being antsy and in a bit of a self preservation state.
I haven’t had this with any of my personal horses but remember it more than a few times across the barns where I worked.
One thing that worked really well at one barn was that everyone got a loose flake of hay about 20 before coming inside. It really knocked the edge off of the excitement of coming in and made things super chill with the added bonus of a good forage buffer before grain.
I call this the “cookie monster”.
Horse will come in hopes of cookies, a fresh flake of hay being thrown over the fence, supplements in a bucket, or the barn kids with pockets full of cookies. When they realize it’s to be haltered and moved, or even worse, worked - they peace out.
This is why my horses literally NEVER get cookies unless they are already in a halter and caught. Even then, I’m really not into feeding treats.
Just like horses that are “so friendly” and just “love people”. But you go to touch their face/neck and they jerk away, only to immediately bludgeon their way back into your space. There for the cookies.
Absolutely. Not. On. My. Watch.
Years ago I read an article that talked about how horses have very strong associative memory (which most of us know, yes - bear with me a sec), but that association trails off quickly. So horses associate A with B, B with C, C with D, but by the time you get to E and F they’re too far removed to have a connection to A. Timing was mentioned, and I have an idea that it said separating things by 30 minutes kept the two things from being associated in horse memory.
Specifically, if you catch your horse and bring them into the barn, tack up and go for a ride, the horse associates getting caught with going for a ride. But if you catch your horse, take them into a stall in the barn, and drop a little feed in their bowl while you get your gear ready to tack up, then the catching and going in to the barn has a pleasant association. If I remember correctly, this was part of an advice on how to get your horse to be willing to be caught response to a reader question.
I saw this in action within a year of reading the article. The BO often had trouble catching his horse and asked a boarder to catch the mare for him. One day the boarder caught the mare, turned round to take her into the barn, and realizing the BO was right there, handed him the lead rope. The mare wouldn’t let that boarder near her for over a week. I obliged in catching the mare for the BO a few times, but I always put her in a stall, and never had trouble getting near her.
I’ve done the matching moves thing you mentioned with good results too. I do think turn in time creates a different dynamic around getting caught to go in, as @GraceLikeRain suggested.
