Why is he running from me all of a sudden?

[FlewtheCoop]

Long story made short… I have a wonderful 8yo TB gelding that I do B/N, Dressage and the always enjoyable trail rides with. He is loving, attentive and a true pleasure to ride and be around, in fact everyone at the barn loves him and he is a class clown in the pasture. I ride about 4-5 times a week and always make sure to mix things up a bit. I am not a huge treat giver but make sure he gets lots of praise! I don’t beat or mistreat him but for the past month he has been running away from me in pasture…everytime I go to get him. I usually takes me about 20 min+ to chase him around the field until he tuckers out and lets me approach him. This behavior just started about a month ago and I can’t figure out what got into him. I did a 360 on him and he is not sore anywhere and is very willing under saddle once you catch him.

Does anybody out there have any ideas on how to break him of this bad habit? I am starting to think its all a game to him because when he runs from me he turns to face me until I get about 6 feet from him and then runs again, its like he is running circles around me to taunt me… so strange.

Any suggestions/training methods would be great! Please pass them along! thx!

-BTW, Running around in the Pasture is good excercise-

[LittleblackMorgan]

360 as in ass-over-tea kettle flip cross country???

Sounds like he is playing a game (and having fun). My pony gives me crap sometimes, used to greet me at the gate every time. I stand in the paddock and snap my fingers until he comes, then I pat him and tell him what a good boy he is.

It doesnt always work, some times I get angry pony face. I tell him to get over himself…

[bigbaytb]

here’s a couple things i’ve learned from differen horses/trainers.

walk in pasture. walk to something else or crouch down and look at the ground and ignore your horse. He’ll wonder what you are looking at and come up to investigate. give treats before haltering.

go to another horse and give treats or pet. yours will come up.

are there other horses in the pasture or is it a big pasture? if not, another method is to chase him around everytime he doesn’t come up. in other words “Not coming to me means you work”. everytime he walks from you, chase with a lunge whip and make him work (trot or canter). when he finally comes up, no more chasing (this is usually the most successful method)

also, maybe not ride. my mare quit coming to me even though my gelding did. i realized i rode everytime. so sometimes i catch just to give treats or to groom and then return to the pasture. I always bring them in and give a special treat when they come in their stalls. We have alot of acreage and most of the time i can call and they will come.

good luck

[_JumpIt]

Hmm, I know my bunch stop coming to greet me as soon as the grass comes in. Could that be the reason?

For most horses carrying a bucket with a handful of grain will get them to start coming to you. Once he is coming to you then try and make it a habit to bring him then put him back out with out riding, or even just go out and put his halter on and give him a few pats then take it off. Eventually you ween him off of needing grain to catch him then he also learns that just because he is getting caught doesn’t mean he will have to work.

This method has always worked for me, even on the most stubborn school horses.

[rabicon]

OHH, this can be soooo aggreviating. :lol: Few thoughts:

Does others mess with him at the barn? Meaning does he get brought in to the stall to eat or for the night etc… There could be something going on there that is making him not happy to be caught.

Also, maybe he needs a break. My horse is amazing and never runs from me in the pasture and usually he’ll start walking to me. There are times when we ride a lot in a week he’ll start to walk away when I go get him and I know that day is just not a day he wants to work. Sometimes he still has to and sometimes I can give him the break.

Do you go out and get him other than to ride him? If you are riding him that often it sounds like you really don’t just catch him to groom and love him but you ride everytime. They learn this and sometimes they do start to get hard to catch. I’d suggest giving him a few days off. Go out and see him, bring him in, pet him, groom him, and I know you said you don’t really treat but bring him a few carrots out. Once he learns that everytime he gets caught isn’t to ride he might warm up.
Its like you going to work everyday. If you could run from the alarm clock so you didn’t have to work you probably would to. I know you need to ride as much as possible but don’t make everyday you get him a ride day.

[Crooked_Horse]

[QUOTE=FlewtheCoop;4793017]

I am starting to think its all a game to him because when he runs from me he turns to face me until I get about 6 feet from him and then runs again, its like he is running circles around me to taunt me… [/QUOTE]

Oh, he thinks this is JOLLY fun!!!

LOL - others have given very good advice.

[Huntertwo]

I had a mare years ago who had access to a very large pasture. And suddenly one day out of the blue it became hard to catch her, if not impossible.

The barn also had a small turnout available. So, I had them put her in there for a few months.

After a few months in the small turnout, I put her back in the large pasture and she was easy to catch again.

I wonder if she forgot about the game she started months earlier???

Do you have a smaller place to turn him out in for awhile?

[Hunter_Mom]

DD’s mare decides to play “Chase the Mare” once in a while. Usually when it is cold, muddy or I’m running late. I always take grain out with me. She knows she doesn’t get it until the halter is on if she makes me chase her.

[goeslikestink]

[QUOTE=bigbaytb;4793042]
here’s a couple things i’ve learned from differen horses/trainers.

walk in pasture. walk to something else or crouch down and look at the ground and ignore your horse. He’ll wonder what you are looking at and come up to investigate. give treats before haltering.

go to another horse and give treats or pet. yours will come up.

are there other horses in the pasture or is it a big pasture? if not, another method is to chase him around everytime he doesn’t come up. in other words “Not coming to me means you work”. everytime he walks from you, chase with a lunge whip and make him work (trot or canter). when he finally comes up, no more chasing (this is usually the most successful method)

also, maybe not ride. my mare quit coming to me even though my gelding did. i realized i rode everytime. so sometimes i catch just to give treats or to groom and then return to the pasture. I always bring them in and give a special treat when they come in their stalls. We have alot of acreage and most of the time i can call and they will come.

good luck[/QUOTE]

good points tend to agree with you

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

The others give good advice, one thing I used to do for a notorious hard catcher at one barn I worked at was to bring a carrot with me, I’d bang it on the gate and call his name before I’d catch him. Pretty soon, as soon as he heard the carrot and me calling him, he was trotting up to the gate to meet me! And the fact that you aren’t a big treat giver means this trick will work faster! Good luck! I know how frustrating it is, especially when it seems to come from nowhere.

[dressurpferd01]

Timely thread, have almost posted a very similar one recently. 3 yr old gelding, recently started (January). Was always easy to catch. One day, poof, couldn’t get him. Got him once by ignoring him and scratching on a pasturmate. No more after that. Got him a few times with a bucket of feed, but that only worked about 5 times. I tried to take an afternoon to walk him down and make him move if he wouldn’t let me catch him…spent 2+ hours out there before a thunderstorm interrupted me. Had the guys bring in all the other horses out there before the storm, and I still had to take grain out with me to get him and that was at feeding time! The barn guys can catch him without problems, and he’ll pretty much walk up to anyone else…but me. I’m at my wits end with him.

[sid]

Fuzzy…TicTacs work great if a horse like mints. Years ago when I boarded my mare on 150 acres, I’d just start shaking the box and she’d come flying. Saved me a lot of walking out to get her…:lol:

[onelanerode]

Yep, it sounds like he thinks this is a great new game.

I could chase my mare at first, but as she got fitter and in a bigger field, it became a game to her, and I had to work on outwitting her. It helped that she was turned out with a mini, so I pretended to give the mini treats and loved on her rather blatantly. My mare then had to come check us out.

But sometimes I can just see in her body language/way she’s looking at me that she’s going to be a stupid cow, and when I see that, I go out in her field and completely ignore her. I’ll pay attention to the mini, straighten a few fenceposts, inspect the grass, etc. Whatever it takes … but mare doesn’t get any attention at all. And of course that’s no fun!

She’s had a few months off due to ehrlichiosis, so I got to spend some quality time with her and would occasionally walk out, treat her, walk over to the mini, then go catch mare. Then I’d groom her and make a fuss over her, and we’d go do some handgrazing on lush green grass. Then back out she went, and sometimes I’d walk after her and give her another treat.

The only downside to the treating is making sure your horse doesn’t start getting rude about expecting a treat. My mare had to revisit that once or twice.

[Huckleberry86]

My horse learned this game (and it was he was not sore, would come to anyone else) when I was a kid. What worked for him was for me to get a bucket with just a handful of grain in it and shake it around in the pasture (he was alone btw, probably not good advice if your horse is with a herd ) He got half when he came and the other half when I put his halter on. Did it for two weeks, if he wasn’t coming as soon as he saw me at that point I would leave and he would lose his opportunity for a treat (frustrating if you lose some ride time but this too shall pass) come back 20-30 min later and try again. After a while only bring a 3/4 of the time then half of the times, and eventually you can phase it out.

[twofatponies]

Of the five horses I have owned or shared, every one of them has at least once in a while walked away instead of being caught. Sometimes it’s when I come early and they are still working on their breakfast hay, sometimes it’s because there’s a weather change and they feel goofy, or the mares are in heat, or there’s a new horse in the herd, sometimes it’s because we had a challenging training session the last day or two and they are maybe thinking “oh, not you again!”.

One mare i had on lease was hard to catch for about 2 weeks, then suddenly dropped it. My new horse I just got walked up to me on day one, but today walked away a few steps before stopping and letting me catch him. My old mare usually comes up to me or at least waits for me where she is, but once or twice a year she’ll kick up her heels and goof around for a few minutes.

I’ve had best luck with never, ever “chasing”, but simply following them in a very low-threat bored kind of way. Sort of “well, if you feel like doing a tour of the pasture first, fine, I’ll follow you around”. Even if they run off, I just stroll along after them, with no “pressure” in my body language (shoulders slumped, looking at the ground, doodly kind of walking stride). It may take ten strides or ten (or twenty…) minutes, but eventually they sigh and stop and then I pause and smile and say “good girl” and then walk up and halter them.

The first few times I had this problem (my first horse, my cousin’s pony, etc.), before someone showed me my current method, I tried chasing and grabbing, and that went no where for a good long time, with the horse/pony getting more and more worked up and determined, and me getting out of breath and eventually me giving up and going to get someone with more experience to help me, and by then we usually needed a bucket of grain to break the game up.

I’m sure there’s a horse out there that could prove my current method useless!!! But so far it’s worked for me.

[Equibrit]

Check for things that may hurt him when you work him. Like saddle fit etc…

[dressurpferd01]

[QUOTE=twofatponies;4793255]
Of the five horses I have owned or shared, every one of them has at least once in a while walked away instead of being caught. Sometimes it’s when I come early and they are still working on their breakfast hay, sometimes it’s because there’s a weather change and they feel goofy, or the mares are in heat, or there’s a new horse in the herd, sometimes it’s because we had a challenging training session the last day or two and they are maybe thinking “oh, not you again!”.

One mare i had on lease was hard to catch for about 2 weeks, then suddenly dropped it. My new horse I just got walked up to me on day one, but today walked away a few steps before stopping and letting me catch him. My old mare usually comes up to me or at least waits for me where she is, but once or twice a year she’ll kick up her heels and goof around for a few minutes.

I’ve had best luck with never, ever “chasing”, but simply following them in a very low-threat bored kind of way. Sort of “well, if you feel like doing a tour of the pasture first, fine, I’ll follow you around”. Even if they run off, I just stroll along after them, with no “pressure” in my body language (shoulders slumped, looking at the ground, doodly kind of walking stride). It may take ten strides or ten (or twenty…) minutes, but eventually they sigh and stop and then I pause and smile and say “good girl” and then walk up and halter them.

The first few times I had this problem (my first horse, my cousin’s pony, etc.), before someone showed me my current method, I tried chasing and grabbing, and that went no where for a good long time, with the horse/pony getting more and more worked up and determined, and me getting out of breath and eventually me giving up and going to get someone with more experience to help me, and by then we usually needed a bucket of grain to break the game up.

I’m sure there’s a horse out there that could prove my current method useless!!! But so far it’s worked for me.[/QUOTE]

The horse I was referring to in my above post would prove your method wrong, but only as long as it’s me trying to catch him. He has no reason to not like me, he gets ridden for 15 minutes 2-3 times a week, easy peasy stuff, always gets cookies after the ride.

[twofatponies]

[QUOTE=dressurpferd01;4793310]
The horse I was referring to in my above post would prove your method wrong, but only as long as it’s me trying to catch him. He has no reason to not like me, he gets ridden for 15 minutes 2-3 times a week, easy peasy stuff, always gets cookies after the ride.[/QUOTE]

LOL! He’s probably not the only one!

[Foxtrot_s]

I’ve never had one like that, but my friend had a suddenlty independent horse. She bought anise flavoured treats and he became addicted…and came running.

Now, my husband has real anise for his fishing stuff, so he dips a Q-tip into the anise and drops it into a baggie of plain horse nuts. I use them for after work treat, etc. because I like treating her (no - she’s not spoiled), but she sure can tell if I have them in my pocket - nudge nudge.

Seems the smell is irresistable, or addicting, to them.

[Duckz]

My horse can be difficult to catch. From the first day I always brought a treat with me. He rarely comes up to me, but at least he stands while I walk up to him since he knows I have a cookie. Oh, and I learned to give the cookie AFTER the halter is on. More than once I gave him the cookie and he wandered off before I could get the halter on.