We had one of those. We got him as a very green 5 year old who I don’t think was ever abused or overworked. 3/4 Morgan 1/4 Belgian, pleasant horse, good mover, good worker U/S, but never could walk him down. Didn’t have a corral, so we’d get him in a corner of the pasture and then run a single strand of rope across the corner and once he was in the corner we could walk up and put a halter on him. If I’m remembering right he was hard to catch in an open pasture until he got old.
Well stuff my stockings aren’t you full of wonderful, kind and thoughtful holiday spirit!
It was a sincere post. In the other thread you said it was easy so I just thought you would share your advice on how to make it easy in this thread.
Sorry if you took some how differently than that.
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It’s been my experience horses that are hard to catch are hard to catch because they associate the human with pain. Either, they don’t want to be worked because it hurts (which, in my experience, accounts for most horses difficult to catch and it sounds like what you are dealing with given your horse flipped) or they have figured out humans only pull them in for unpleasant things: such as dentistry, farrier, riding, etc.
Find a highly motivational treat, and start that way. Catch him, give him the treat, and then walk way. Do this over and over, every day.
Have other people do it as well. Catch, ONLY to treat the horse. Then take off lead rope or halter, and leave.
Consider picking up clicker training, although this is not for the uninitiated, it is helpful when you have a horse that cannot be worked.
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Regarding catching in the stall: I unexpectedly had a problem with that many years ago. I knew my horse was frightened of the vet when I had him vetted at purchase.
So when it was time for vaccinations, I made sure he was in his stall. The vet arrived and I went to his stall. He was a whirling dervish! Round and round, highly agitated. It is surprisingly difficult to “catch” a horse in that situation when you dont want to be squashed into a wall.
I asked the vet to start with the horses at the other end of the barn. Fortunately I had left the horse’s halter on and he slowed when the vet was occupied out of sight. I grabbed his halter and hung on. Poor horse was trembling but he was also kind and didnt try to kick strike or bite. He eventually was better, but always highly suspicious of vets!
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No, it was not.
So why don’t you help the OP anyway?
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I have one that gets a wild hair a couple times a year, and have definitely spent more than an hour catching her a couple of times before I got a system in place. This is what has worked for me: smaller turnout, ability to separate from buddies is necessary. Remove friends at the first sign of difficulties (I put her pony friend in a stall in the run-in shed). She invariably comes right to me when she realizes I have figured out her intention. Agree with not chasing her. The times I’ve tried to “walk her down” have just resulted in me sweating. I can tell when she’s going to turn away from me, so I stop moving toward her and remove Pony. She comes to ME, not the pony, so I am pretty sure she gets it.
agree with catching for things other than work. Agree with making being with you pleasant (I always treat when catching, and also after I’ve taken her halter off, so she gets a treat to stay with me unrestrained).
Interestingly, this usually happens at big season change (Spring and fall) so I have wondered if it is estrous related… Agree with making sure it’s not paint related.
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When I needed to catch a horse that did not want to be caught–
As I got nearer to the horse I would look at the horse’s shoulder (not his head), then I would slow down, I would stop if the horse looked upset and just stand there without looking at the horse. When the horse relaxed I would approach again but slower, and by the time I was at the horse’s shoulder I was just creeping along.
Predators often speed up the closer they get to their prey and they lock their eyes on their prey. By slowing down, looking away from the horse, and then slowing down some more I stopped acting like a predator. If the horse started walking off I would change my path around 30 degrees until the horse stopped, then I would approach him even slower. Doing this I could usually catch the horses who ran away from their owners in the field.
Good luck, this can be really aggravating.
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Some horses will carry a grudge against humans, based on something that may have happened at any point in their life. They no longer trust people, and all humans get lumped in to this group, no matter what. He’s got a reason, you just don’t know what that reason may be. It may not be a rational reason… it may have been vet work that was necessary to save his life. But he carries that grudge, and it is difficult to change his mind that you are a great person, and his friend.
The fact that this horse has flipped over with you on his back means (to me) that you have failed to “read” this horse correctly, at least at this point. Because this horse is unhappy, about something, to do with humans. And he feels that YOU are guilty. He is not a happy horse. May be a pain issue, or just something that he believes is true (whether or not you agree that it is true).
There are ways that you can catch this horse, but you must manipulate his environment in such a way as to give yourself an advantage in catching him, and you must reward him every time you catch him, and prove to him that it is a good idea to let his grudge go. That you are worthy of his trust. And you may not be successful with this.
The key to catching him is to have him in a small paddock, and a place where he can not get away… a stall or corner of the paddock where his option to leave is removed from him. Obviously, leaving a halter on him is helpful, and you can leave him dragging a rope, a long rope that is “stiff” so that it does not wrap itself around his leg. He will step on it a few times, until he learns how to let it drag along beside him. That way, you can pick up the end of the rope before you get close enough to him for him to want to leave the vicinity. Then reward. And don’t let him down again, don’t blow any little bit of trust he extends to you, ever. Good luck!
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One of mine came to me with a habit of not wanting to be caught. With him, it was 100% because he got bored sometimes and wanted to play a fun game of chase.
you need to figure out if it’s pain/fear related or boredom related. I would suggest as it has been said before, catch him a few times and just give a treat, then leave. If it’s pain or fear, food usually overcomes that. If that doesn’t solve the problem, then this might work.
You first need a smaller area, preferably less than an acre. When you go to catch him, if he runs away, you use the end of your lead rope/a whip you brought to chase him forward. He needs to canter for a good 10 min. Stop, approach him calmly, and if he lets you halter him give him a cookie and do what you want to do that day. If he doesn’t, running continues. It took my horse two times of this to decide that his game of chase was not fun at all. He now lives on 20 acres with other horses and wouldn’t think to walk away from me.
Thanks everyone. Haven’t thoroughly read through all the posts. Today I walked right up to him (he still has the halter on) and we had a nice little moment (ha)
I finally have some off time to dedicate to the horses.
@NancyM yes when he flipped on me I totally didn’t read the situation. We finished a good hack and I asked him to walk and he insta went up and over. Horse was back to the top of the pasture before I even got on my feet.
We just had the vet out about a month or two ago to do teeth and a regular lameness exam. Nothing came of it. I don’t have x rays on this horse but that could be my next step.
OP, do you have the ability to put up a catch pen? Quite literally a few round pen panels in a corner of the pasture. Put a feed pan in there and throw a couple handfuls of grain in. Only give grain or treats in the catch pen. He soon associates the catch pen with good stuff, like sometimes getting treats, but you also have him in a situation where he can’t run.
I use this idea with our broodmares…during breeding season they are sometimes coming in 3-4 days a week to get scanned with the ultrasound and obviously that is not pleasant. Also breeding season lines up with fresh green grass in the pastures so they definitely don’t want to be caught.
we have a 75x50 “catch pen” that all the mares get fed in AM and PM…it makes it very easy to shake the grain bucket, allow them all to file in for either mealtime or a quick snack and then be caught. I have never had an un catchable horse using a catch pen. The key is to use the pen for pleasant things, not just catching them and working them.
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Having had a terrible to catch mare as a child I can honestly say that’s a sellable offense to me. Add to that this horse flipped over on you? Sorry to say that I think your boyfriend has a point.
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Have you thought about using this method? Sit in the pasture and let him come to you? I have done that with many hard to catch horses plus my own. It’s OK if the other horses come over, just quietly pet them. Usually curiosity gets the best of them and they will come over too. When he does come to you don’t reach for him right away and when you do, do it slowly and gently. Just pet him and speak softly. If you need to get him right at that moment, while you’re gently petting him, hook on to him. You can even bring goodies for them too so it’s a totally win win situation for him. You know gentle strokes and good munchies. Don’t rush it because you will undo everything. After awhile it shouldn’t be a problem.
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Where did I say I’d sell this horse? I’d never 1) because he flipped once with me 2) he’s a PITA to catch. If anything he’d be PTS since I’m not going to resell him. I wouldn’t run him through the loose auction. He’s just chilling in my boyfriends pasture running our feed/vet/shoe bill up.
I’d thought about a catch pen. When I boarded this horse the BO specifically wanted to put up a catch pen just for this horse. I ended up moving him home before that happened.
Even when the BO was out working with him everyday he was a pain. I know she gave treats/grain after he was successfully haltered.
@ other poster I’ve also done the sitting waiting method. He will come near but not to the point of me petting him, even with cookies. Usually after 15 minutes of walking after him eye roll he stops and lets me catch him.
He also got most of 2019 off since I was pregnant and wasn’t about to touch him. My SO won’t touch him either and he’s the one with a better seat. He has no use for the horse since ya can’t do much with him
Because catching the horse is not the problem. The OP has been having a hard time with this horse at many levels for years. Hope your holiday was full of good cheer.
We had to train a wily little feral Shetland (he had been run into a cattle chute to catch). All I can suggest is the horse needs a small enclosure, like a paddock, to live in. People love round penning hard to catch horses. But clever ponies learn that a pasture is not a round pen, lol!
What worked best with Gus, is to teach him stupid tricks. The most dangerous moment when catching a wild, spoiled, or fearful horse, is when you put the halter on. Some react horribly to the feel of the lead rope. Some explode when you touch them, or duck away to keep you from touching them. I went into Gus’ paddock with him several times per day to work with him. I used tiny steps to reward behaviors I wanted while teaching various tricks. Very soon, this smart, rotten, little pony was shoving his face into the halter for his reward. It was just another trick he was learning. Eventually, I simply buckled the halter while he was happy chewing. Then, I gave him a moment, petting him quietly and just being with him while his lead rope was slack. We practiced other tricks during this interlude. I didn’t want to ask him to move, yet. Soon, I was where he wanted to be and he would happily hunt for an open halter when he saw me. I hold it out and he puts his own nose in there for a reward. It’s a little awkward to hold the halter open and the treat in front of the nose, but they catch on.
I think you have to change the approach to where it is unrecognizable. Now, most people will say never to use treats and I agree: No free lunch. However, I will reward a trick. I taught him other tricks, too. Simple ones like, ‘give me a kiss’ and ‘shake’. I used a clicker, but it isn’t necessary.
You get them curious and engaged when you teach tricks. It really helps them seek you out and want to be with you. It changes all the weird associations they have with being caught. Just make sure no one else is messing with him and trying to catch him while you are training him.
There are some great books on clicker training and teaching horses tricks. It really might help.
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People I worked for had an impossible to catch horse. One of the old guys that had worked at the training track for 50+ years told them he’d come help. He took 4 jump standards, some poles, and a bucket of nails into the field with him. Set the jump standards in a square. Then he proceeded to look busy with the bucket of nails inside that square. Horse wandered up, intrigued, and followed him as he set the rails up between the standards one side at a time. Once the rail was in place on the 4th side he haltered the horse and handed them the lead rope, “Here’s your horse.” I imagine it worked because he was new to the horse and acted completely disinterested. Same man easily caught a runaway steeplechaser that had launched itself over the 4-board fence out of the park after the jockey fell off and galloped a few miles thwarting dozens of people on foot and 2 hunt staff on their horses. It ran past as he was driving the opposite direction and he turned the car around, retrieved the lead rope out of his trunk and calmly headed it off. He’s got a gift.
Something else you could as an absolute last resort is try making the horse come to you for everything. Even water. Remove the trough from the field and instead go out with a bucket several times a day. Hold the bucket while the horse drinks. The horse learns he must come to you to have his needs met and starts to associate your presence with that. ***Of course the water thing is tricky and untenable for more than a day or two and not at all in some situations. ***
