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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 528
 
Location: Its Freaking Freezing Up Here... | My newest purchase (4 year old) is a super nice horse to be around and ride, but he is terribly hard to catch. I don't think he has had much attention in the past, and really just doesn't seem to trust people on the ground. What ideas have cured this issue for you? |
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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| Small pen. |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
 
Location: Oklahoma | My broodmare wears a leather halter 24/7. There are times she drags a lead rope too. Never use anything but a leather halter if you're keeping it on one as it will break if it needs to |
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Location: Texas | Whiteboy - 2015-05-01 3:38 PM Small pen.
And wake up early... Lol
We have two that have to be stalled the night before, they know all the tricks. Feed doesn't entice them anymore. |
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 The Bling Princess
Posts: 3411
Location: North Dakota | Lots of groundwork. My horse is always a bugger to catch in the spring when he's had the winter off. Two weeks of groundwork later and lots of time spent in the saddle and he is now approaching me in the pen and lowering his head for me to halter him.
Since he's new to you and doesn't trust you yet I think this is the best way for you to gain his trust and become the leader of the pack:) JMO. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| Run him, run him, run him, and when he wants to stop run him some more... ask him whoa, walk up to him(to his shoulder not head) and touch him on the shoulder and then walk back to the gate, he'll follow. catch him at the gate. If he doesn't follow, make him start moving again. A horse doesn't like extra work, he'll figure out that if he runs from you it's going to be really hard on him. Usually takes a few days in a row but they catch on quick. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| FlyingJT - 2015-05-01 4:21 PM Run him, run him, run him, and when he wants to stop run him some more... ask him whoa, walk up to him(to his shoulder not head) and touch him on the shoulder and then walk back to the gate, he'll follow. catch him at the gate. If he doesn't follow, make him start moving again. A horse doesn't like extra work, he'll figure out that if he runs from you it's going to be really hard on him. Usually takes a few days in a row but they catch on quick.
This is what I had to do with my young one. Day 3 and he decided 2 laps was enough. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | Good advice above. I recently got a new three year old that the breeder had thought had potential as a stud. They had done little to no ground work when he was younger. He was cut six months ago and then very poorly started before I got him. Being caught was not on his resume. A few days in the round pen moving him out every time he would turn his butt to me has him hooked up great. Going back to fundamental ground work, even though it is not fun when you would rather be riding, will sure save you a lot of time and frustration down the road.
Edited by winwillows 2015-05-01 4:48 PM
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | WYOTurn-n-Burn - 2015-05-01 1:52 PM Lots of groundwork. My horse is always a bugger to catch in the spring when he's had the winter off. Two weeks of groundwork later and lots of time spent in the saddle and he is now approaching me in the pen and lowering his head for me to halter him.
Since he's new to you and doesn't trust you yet I think this is the best way for you to gain his trust and become the leader of the pack:) JMO.
I agree! Lots of ground work and keep him in a large pen or a stall but not turned out on pasture until he can come willingly to you. |
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 Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | catch him for everything, to feed, to ride, to do nothing. Mine gets caught every single day even if I'm not going to ride. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Do you catch him to ride and then just turn loose when finished? Do you bring him up to feed? |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | brlracerchick - 2015-05-01 5:06 PM catch him for everything, to feed, to ride, to do nothing. Mine gets caught every single day even if I'm not going to ride.
Ditto to this  |
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 Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | FlyingJT - 2015-05-01 4:21 PM Run him, run him, run him, and when he wants to stop run him some more... ask him whoa, walk up to him(to his shoulder not head) and touch him on the shoulder and then walk back to the gate, he'll follow. catch him at the gate. If he doesn't follow, make him start moving again. A horse doesn't like extra work, he'll figure out that if he runs from you it's going to be really hard on him. Usually takes a few days in a row but they catch on quick.
^^^ This |
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 Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | Getting on a routine and doing the same thing every time so they know what to expect goes a long ways in getting one easy to catch.
Even if one has never been round penned and is hard to catch, you can still round pen them in a big open field if you know how to position yourself to pull their eye and push their body. You don't have to be right up on them and you don't have to run them to death either.
Round pen, just hanging out and rubbing on them every time you're around them helps too.
I have had several that you couldn't catch for anything and in a week's time I've had to fight them off. The youngest we have now came from a sale - she was hot branded so you know she was just turned out. We brought her home and couldn't get within 20 feet. By that afternoon she was following me around - just from finding itchy spots and letting her relax. |
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 Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | Leave on a leather halter and lots of carrots or apples. Walk up to him anytime of day with a few in your hand. Slice the apples into small pieces for many small offerings. Every time you catch make an offering and give one before turning out. He'll soon be coming to you. Call him by his name. Make good on the promise. |
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Member
Posts: 7
| Hobbles Most of the time it is a 3 day process and it lasts a life time. |
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 Having Smokin Bandits
Posts: 4572
Location: Woodstown, NJ | I have a new one who, though not hard to catch, didn't run up to me like my other guys do. So today (it's her first full day home) I went in and out of her pen a dozen times, caught her, let her go, caught her, gave her a treat, caught her, groomed her, let her go, caught her, let her go. Tomorrow we start some round pen work. I like them running up to me.
And like the others said, I am keeping a leather halter on her until I can trust her. |
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What Name?
Posts: 1994
| total performance - 2015-05-01 5:45 PM
FlyingJT - 2015-05-01 4:21 PM Run him, run him, run him, and when he wants to stop run him some more... ask him whoa, walk up to him(to his shoulder not head) and touch him on the shoulder and then walk back to the gate, he'll follow. catch him at the gate. If he doesn't follow, make him start moving again. A horse doesn't like extra work, he'll figure out that if he runs from you it's going to be really hard on him. Usually takes a few days in a row but they catch on quick.
^^^ This
I second this. It has worked on every horse I've ever owned and others. Mine was horrible!! Now I can walk up to him in any field and catch him
even whistle for him now and he will come to the gate of he hears it |
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 Regular
Posts: 58
Location: Pa | My sisters horse doesn't allow her to catch him. She read somewhere if you crunch down real far or crawl on your hands and knees at them they are too "what on earth??" To run away. I don't recommend doing this often, but it actually did work for her when she was in a pinch and didnt have time to mess around with him. Just an idea for a last resort if you're short on time(: |
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8555
Location: sunny california | I had one that was skiddish when she arrived. I put her in a stall for two days and haltered her in there a few times. then I would put her out on the dry lot every morning. when I went to catch her for dinner i had everyone else already eating in the barn she walked up to get caught went to her stall for dinner. took about a month of this and she was very easy after that |
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 Veteran
Posts: 211
Location: Vinton, La. | I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS...
Have a broodmare I raised. She's an evil, vial, mean, hard to catch, hard to halter, hard to load, hard to touch witch. But she's my gal and makes nice fast babies.
If I hook up the trailer and she sees it, she will not come in her stall to eat. No matter what horse I'm putting in said trailer. One day I had a vet appointment to get her ultrasound for a preg check. She decided no way, no how, you will not catch me, not happening. After trying, crying, begging, throwing my sucker in the dirt, and nothing working I got the four wheeler and chased her fat butt around the 10 acres until she begged me to stop. :). That was 8 years ago.
Yea, she's still hard to catch but if I start the four wheeler, she goes in her stall and stands there like a princess. |
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Cold hands and Warm Heart
Location: oklahoma | FlyingJT - 2015-05-01 4:21 PM
Run him, run him, run him, and when he wants to stop run him some more... ask him whoa, walk up to him(to his shoulder not head) and touch him on the shoulder and then walk back to the gate, he'll follow. catch him at the gate. If he doesn't follow, make him start moving again. A horse doesn't like extra work, he'll figure out that if he runs from you it's going to be really hard on him. Usually takes a few days in a row but they catch on quick.
This. Don't let him rest in the corners. I had one off of a ranch that didn't like treats, didnt know what they were but he'd turn and face me after a couple of rounds of running. Real easy to catch after that. |
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| first few day catch him then bring him in, tie him up with a bucket of feed in front of him let him eat while you groom him then turn him back out, after a few days of this you can feed him groom him then a light ride after a light ride groom him and feed him then turn him back out (split the feeding in two don't double). may 1lbs per and always make sure he's cooled down. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| I catch mine twice a day to eat. If you don't get caught, you don't eat. Mine seem to catch on to that pretty quick. |
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Blessed 
Location: Here | I will admit it.. Cookies!!! And I always put lead rope over the neck first. If they want a cookie I get to put a lead rope over their neck. Sometimes it takes some patience as sitting on a bucket in the pasture and waiting them out. But i can rattle cookies in a bucket like none other
Edited by SG. 2015-05-03 7:58 PM
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 Golden Heart
Posts: 5662
Location: SD | Catch often and for no reason at all. Always offer some type of reward. It doesn't always have to be a treat. I will not chase a horse down. I like to slowly walk near where the horse is without looking directly at them. I want them to be curious about me and not on the defensive. I will even turn my back to them and wait a couple minutes for them to approach me. This tactic works for me most of the time. I am trying to convince my son that my method works. His horse is giving him some difficulty. My vet brags that he can catch any horse. So far, he hasn't proven that at my house. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1395
Location: Missouri | WYOTurn-n-Burn - 2015-05-01 3:52 PM
Lots of groundwork. My horse is always a bugger to catch in the spring when he's had the winter off. Two weeks of groundwork later and lots of time spent in the saddle and he is now approaching me in the pen and lowering his head for me to halter him.
Since he's new to you and doesn't trust you yet I think this is the best way for you to gain his trust and become the leader of the pack:) JMO.
Lots of good advice on this thread. Groundwork, groundwork and more groundwork has always been my go to. Occasionally my mare will decide to be a turd to catch. Not horrible, just testy. First I make her run, run, run like others have suggested, and then I make sure to follow up with plenty of ground work in the days following. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | SG. - 2015-05-03 7:57 PM I will admit it.. Cookies!!! And I always put lead rope over the neck first. If they want a cookie I get to put a lead rope over their neck. Sometimes it takes some patience as sitting on a bucket in the pasture and waiting them out. But i can rattle cookies in a bucket like none other
So your saying that your a good cookie rattler. LOL  |
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Blessed
Location: Here | 2burkeboys - 2015-05-03 9:10 PM Catch often and for no reason at all. Always offer some type of reward. It doesn't always have to be a treat. I will not chase a horse down. I like to slowly walk near where the horse is without looking directly at them. I want them to be curious about me and not on the defensive. I will even turn my back to them and wait a couple minutes for them to approach me. This tactic works for me most of the time. I am trying to convince my son that my method works. His horse is giving him some difficulty. My vet brags that he can catch any horse. So far, he hasn't proven that at my house.
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Blessed
Location: Here | Southtxponygirl - 2015-05-03 10:52 PM SG. - 2015-05-03 7:57 PM I will admit it.. Cookies!!! And I always put lead rope over the neck first. If they want a cookie I get to put a lead rope over their neck. Sometimes it takes some patience as sitting on a bucket in the pasture and waiting them out. But i can rattle cookies in a bucket like none other
heck yeah ! lol. even my one broodie that is very difficult I can wave that bucket and she will follow me into the small pen and she gives it up for a cookie. She is so much better than a year ago. Most horses will do anything for food lol |
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 Veteran
Posts: 288
| Clicker training. Seriously. It works for crap like this. It's easy and I'm lazy lol |
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 Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2076
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | Julie Goodnight has great tips that work for this --- when AQHA sent out a trial video, I watched her segment on hard to catch horses --- one horse went from a 2 hour catch to around 20 minutes, the first time with Julie -- the horse was just a little show off- full of himself and playing -- I had a 10 year old girl watch it who loves to come to our house and ride our hard to catch pony and had her try the techniques him and they worked -- she greatly shortened the time it took to catch him. I had to remind her of things and coach her, but I also have to use a couple of tips from another trainer, too - and combined, they work.
I'll try to sum up, but also search for Julie's tips, because I may forget some key things...
don't get a pen that's too small, like a little round pen, get good sized area, maybe half of an arena, riding area. Like JT..said in a previous post - look at shoulder, not at head/face -- have the body language and mindset "I'm going to catch you, even if it takes all day."
Read their body language - if they look at you and give their attention, stop and put their head down..... back off. When they start to turn or walk away, go at them. Don't run/chase, just persistent walk. Every time they show an effort to give in to you, take the pressure off, even walk backwards a step or two. Turn to the side and diddle-daddle, then ease towards them.
(one of the things I inserted that I don't remember her suggesting, but is needed with our pony when using first technique alone doesn't work, is when they do decide to take off away from you, make it seem like it was your idea - you wanted them to - encourage them to keep going, even get them tired and ask them to stop, when they don't, put the pressure back on to keep going).
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Veteran
Posts: 287
| I guess I am the only one that running mine doesn't work on, we literally ran this horse down EVERYDAY for 10 days straight and he got worse every single day, the first day we only had to run him 20 minutes( I thought, oh 3 days he will be good), by the 10th day, the sucker had built up so much wind, TWO hours later, he was still in rare form and we couldn't do anymore. Plus, he had gotten to where he ran from me every time I came out the door, when we started, he only ran when he saw the halter, by the 10th day, he ran from me regardless of what I was going to do, made him HATE me and took WEEKS for him not to run from anytime he saw me coming. SOOOOO, I do a bad thing now and give him cookies, yep, I know that is awful, but it works and he likes me again, I basically give him cookies anytime I am out there and comes to me anytime now, halter or no halter, trailer hooked up or not. I don't suggest this for a fix, but this was a last resort and this horse nothing else was working on. |
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 No Fear
Posts: 5089
Location: TN | FlyingJT - 2015-05-01 4:21 PM Run him, run him, run him, and when he wants to stop run him some more... ask him whoa, walk up to him(to his shoulder not head) and touch him on the shoulder and then walk back to the gate, he'll follow. catch him at the gate. If he doesn't follow, make him start moving again. A horse doesn't like extra work, he'll figure out that if he runs from you it's going to be really hard on him. Usually takes a few days in a row but they catch on quick.
This is what I do.... |
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Blessed
Location: Here | NFRhereIcome27 - 2015-05-05 12:18 PM I guess I am the only one that running mine doesn't work on, we literally ran this horse down EVERYDAY for 10 days straight and he got worse every single day, the first day we only had to run him 20 minutes( I thought, oh 3 days he will be good), by the 10th day, the sucker had built up so much wind, TWO hours later, he was still in rare form and we couldn't do anymore. Plus, he had gotten to where he ran from me every time I came out the door, when we started, he only ran when he saw the halter, by the 10th day, he ran from me regardless of what I was going to do, made him HATE me and took WEEKS for him not to run from anytime he saw me coming. SOOOOO, I do a bad thing now and give him cookies, yep, I know that is awful, but it works and he likes me again, I basically give him cookies anytime I am out there and comes to me anytime now, halter or no halter, trailer hooked up or not. I don't suggest this for a fix, but this was a last resort and this horse nothing else was working on.
Nothing wrong with being a Cookie Master. Actually mine are now trained to the white magic bucket. Sometimes it will just have some fresh picked grass in it
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | brlracerchick - 2015-05-01 5:06 PM
catch him for everything, to feed, to ride, to do nothing. Mine gets caught every single day even if I'm not going to ride.
This. Whenever a hard-to-catch horse has arrived on my place the horse gets caught / haltered for everything -- pretty soon they learn to meet you and look for the halter so they can be fed. If they are not ridable yet, then I halter for feeding and halter them at odd times to just groom them with a curry since they typically love that..... I look for reasons to halter them -- insects bad - need to spray them or bring them inside.... consistency and routine usually remedy it. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 507
Location: Lost in the corn of Iowa. | I am not against buying my horses love with some treats. I have had easy and hard to catch horses. I just got a new gelding that is a pill to catch. I just always have a treat for anything. haltering, brushing you name it. I'm way to fat and out of shape to run. I had a gelding once that I could run down with the wheeler and he still wouldn't be caught. You could catch him to feed brush and all that jazz, but if it was the middle of the day and you wanted to ride, good luck. But I could always buy his love with treats. I was so frustrated that it was either I find an easy way to catch him or I was gonna shoot him just so I'd never have an issue with him being caught again. LOL!!  |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | My horses love me so easy pleasey to catch, well they know when supper time rolls around and cant wait to get put in their own pens for supper. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | SG. - 2015-05-05 3:46 PM
NFRhereIcome27 - 2015-05-05 12:18 PM I guess I am the only one that running mine doesn't work on, we literally ran this horse down EVERYDAY for 10 days straight and he got worse every single day, the first day we only had to run him 20 minutes( I thought, oh 3 days he will be good), by the 10th day, the sucker had built up so much wind, TWO hours later, he was still in rare form and we couldn't do anymore. Plus, he had gotten to where he ran from me every time I came out the door, when we started, he only ran when he saw the halter, by the 10th day, he ran from me regardless of what I was going to do, made him HATE me and took WEEKS for him not to run from anytime he saw me coming. SOOOOO, I do a bad thing now and give him cookies, yep, I know that is awful, but it works and he likes me again, I basically give him cookies anytime I am out there and comes to me anytime now, halter or no halter, trailer hooked up or not. I don't suggest this for a fix, but this was a last resort and this horse nothing else was working on.
Nothing wrong with being a Cookie Master. Actually mine are now trained to the white magic bucket. Sometimes it will just have some fresh picked grass in it
I read that as cookie monster! (I need glasses badly. . . ) |
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 Board Detective
Posts: 3886
Location: Millen Ga | I have a round pen with 2 gates, one going into the pasture, and one going to the "alley" that goes into the barn. I walk from the barn, up the "alley" into the round pen and feed on the outside of the pen. Always keep the gate to the pasture closed so they cant get in. When I show up to feed, even if they are standing close, I yell "Come on guys!" Now if I show up and yell " Come on guys!" they come running. Then I stand there for a few with buckets so they want in the round pen BAD. If I am going to a show, I yell ' come on guys!" leave the gate to the pasture open, and voila! Round pen full of horses. Catch who I need, dump who I dont, off we go. |
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Tips for the hard to catch horse