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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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