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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
 
Location: NE TX | Usually when it's time to feed my mare comes up in the pasture, she gets fed, locked up, and I then do what I need to with her (ride, give meds, whatever needs to be done). I've had her 3.5 years and she's been like that always..don't show her the halter and always provide food to catch her. Lately she's been not wanting to go in her stall and as such she can't be caught. I've tried everything I know for 3.5 years to break her of this and I'm out of knowledge at this point. Once she's caught she's fine, it's the catching part that is strategic at this point. |
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| Stop grabbing when trying to catch her ....
Put a broodmare neck band on her ... changes their attitude ... and rub on horse before sneaking a hand on the neck band to lead her with. Use this also when you take her halter off to turn her loose .. make her stay with you while you pet around on her ...
Since she has been taught not to be caught ... put her in a dry lot or round pen with a halter and a 15ft slick poly lead rope with no knots in the end as a drag line .... this way you can walk out step on lead rope and walk on it almost to the horse or if she shows signs of jerking it out from under your foot ... if she runs .. jerk her around to face you aggressively then pet on her ... most never figure out how they got caught. You have to do this frequently for probably several months to develop a getting caught habit ... then she might surprise you and want to be caught ..
Use this long lead to short longe her with and just work her and have her come to you while longeing her ... just mess with her mind and make her like it .. lol
Bucket training with all the things above ... have a neck band on her all the time ... any time you catch her above ... give her a bite out of the bucket .... when she starts coming to the bucket ... let her eat a bite and do not try to catch her just turn and walk away a few steps and get her to following the bucket then start petting and using the neck band to catch her with ... do this even with the halter and drag line on ...
While you are doing all of this stuff ... act like you don't want to catch her .. walk away .. go pet one tied at the fence and give it a bite out of the bucket ...
If she wants to act like a nut in a pen and avoid you .... get aggressive and let her know she can be caught per the above techniques ... you need to start being the boss and then be subtle about it ... lol
GOOD LUCK ... plastic neck bands run around $3.. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I had a hard to catch gelding who also had little respect for you on the ground. Once we went to round penning and working on ground respect the catching issue started to get better.
I started with a bucket of grain and made sure I kept a non threatening posture, I wouldn't walk directly at him (because in ththe round pen we were working on getting him OUT of my space) and anytime he took a step towards me I stopped and let him come to me. He was out on 15 acres so if he got amped up and running it was a lost cause unless he ran up into the dry lot to the barn.
The bucket stopped having grain and started having treats, then it was empty and I hand fed him the treat, then the bucket went away and eventually sometimes there was a treat sometimes there wasn't. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | Good suggestions above. You could also try this: set aside a day to work with her where you can walk out to her, give treats or feed (whatever your routine is) put on her halter and after a minute, just take it off and walk away. Do it several times in a day, until she acts like it's no big deal. You may have to start from square one the next day you do this, depending on how bad she has gotten. Do that until you can walk up, put on the halter (without feed or treats) then give her treats and turn her loose. Let the halter become a signal that she is about to receive her treats.
After she catches on, you will have to be proactive with her halter training. There will be days when you go to catch her and she reverts back to the bad behavior. At the *first* sign of hesitation, you will have to be ready to drop everything and do some training with her. That's the only way to make it stick!
Don't think of it as actually catching her as the goal. Her submitting to you as soon as you ask is your goal. |
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My mind still works
Posts: 8912
| I'd hop on a 4 wheeler and keep her running.
The day she decides it's easier to just stand there is the day I'd stop.
Edited by barreldude 2016-12-18 6:13 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 380
| barreldude - 2016-12-18 6:12 PM
I'd hop on a 4 wheeler and keep her running.
The day she decides it's easier to just stand there is the day I'd stop.
I would do something like this. I bought a mare that refused to be caught. I ran her pretty hard one day until she was more than willing to stand quietly to be haltered. Must have left an impression because she stopped doing that. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | My gelding did this for a good while. He would seriously run around his pasture, every time I got near him he would take off to the other side (2 acres) with his pasture buddies (who were like.. NEVER handled), I eventually moved him to a different pasture. However, he did this for a while.. and I would get so mad. Didn't have anything to jump on and chance him around. So.. instead of always needing to go in there and grab him to ride, or work, or whatever. I started to bring his feed, and just hang out with him. Pet him, show him some attention, give him some good bonding time. Because if your horse expects to be worked every single time you grab her, why would she want to come up? Also because you don't show her the halter, she is not expecting you to "sneak it" on her. Just walk into the pasture with your halter in sight. No point in hiding it. But also walk in there at times with a halter in your hand, and just pet her. Love on her. Let her know, that she's not just a tool.
I tried to do the ground work thing. I tried that whole respect thing, it didn't work. It only seemed to make it worse.
However, once I moved him to a new pasture and he started to realize it wasn't all about getting pulled out of the pasture to be worked or ridden all the time, he started to come up. Granted there are times when he just stares at me for a minute to analyze the situation, but he does come up. And now he is in a pasture with a buddy, he still comes up and I'm not too worried about it. He comes when I need him, and sometimes I do walk to him and pet him and love on him at the feeder or wherever he is. Hope this helps! |
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 BHW New Catch of the Day
Posts: 9884
Location: Missouri | SloRide - 2016-12-18 6:59 PM barreldude - 2016-12-18 6:12 PM I'd hop on a 4 wheeler and keep her running. The day she decides it's easier to just stand there is the day I'd stop. I would do something like this. I bought a mare that refused to be caught. I ran her pretty hard one day until she was more than willing to stand quietly to be haltered. Must have left an impression because she stopped doing that.
I agree with you two, she's being a witch and sometimes nicey nicey doesn't work. Work is a good teacher. If someone won't stand still they get put to work. |
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Veteran
Posts: 227
Location: Heart of Texas | Option A: run her around ragged until she's exhausted and learns it's easier to get caught than run around and THEN still work or option B: Don't just catch her and work her. Associate yourself with positivity instead of just work. Catch her and just brush her one day. Walk up with some treats, love on her and then walk away. She's avoiding you because YOU=WORK. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 695
Location: Windoming | jewishprincess - 2016-12-19 1:26 PM Option A: run her around ragged until she's exhausted and learns it's easier to get caught than run around and THEN still work or option B: Don't just catch her and work her. Associate yourself with positivity instead of just work. Catch her and just brush her one day. Walk up with some treats, love on her and then walk away. She's avoiding you because YOU=WORK. That doesn't explain why a horse we have owned for 12 years is still hard to catch, has always been hard to catch, and hasn't even been used for the last 8 years. We have 6 other horses that all come in, not him, he is a jerk. It's the 4 wheeler for him. When he hears it start up, he heads to the barn at a run, because if I have to get it out to bring him in, he knows he is going to pay!
Edited by Silly Filly 2016-12-19 4:42 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | I've done the four wheeler on my hard to catch horse. I went out one day and after 30 minutes of him just dodging me I went and got the quad. I kept him moving nonstop for 40 mins or so mostly trot/walk until I decided it was time for him to quit. Then I haltered him and rode him for another hour.
He decided after that it was MUCH easier to just be caught then it was to chase him.
In three years he's only needed one other reminder of why running away is bad. Now I can walk up and catch him no problem. |
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 Saint Stacey
| I agree with the rest that say to chase her and keep her moving. Make her tired. You've created this behavior by always rewarding it with food. Also don't get in a hurry. In order for the chasing technic to work, you have to not be in a hurry and you can't get mad no matter how long it takes that first day. Doing this daily will eventually make it where you won't have to chase her at all. They figure out real fast that not letting you catch them becomes a lot of work. |
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BHW New Catch of the Day
Posts: 9884
Location: Missouri | I already agreed with the work/chase but I also wanted to add something to that. Go to the pasture with no halter, just a brush sometime, and just visit with her and brush her. It will take time because she'll probably assume and start moving away soon as she sees you coming. At that point just have a seat in the field and hang out. She'll get curious and want to know what the heck your doing. |
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Veteran
Posts: 227
Location: Heart of Texas | Silly Filly - 2016-12-19 4:39 PM
jewishprincess - 2016-12-19 1:26 PM Option A: run her around ragged until she's exhausted and learns it's easier to get caught than run around and THEN still work or option B: Don't just catch her and work her. Associate yourself with positivity instead of just work. Catch her and just brush her one day. Walk up with some treats, love on her and then walk away. She's avoiding you because YOU=WORK. That doesn't explain why a horse we have owned for 12 years is still hard to catch, has always been hard to catch, and hasn't even been used for the last 8 years. We have 6 other horses that all come in, not him, he is a jerk. It's the 4 wheeler for him. When he hears it start up, he heads to the barn at a run, because if I have to get it out to bring him in, he knows he is going to pay!
In that instance you're correct. But she was asking a question about her scenario. Hers is different than yours. I would not advise the same in your situation. |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | switch the bucket of grain out for carrots and apples. I go out to catch one.yes but I take a treat for everyone, they just don't know who is the one to be caught. My in your pocket reverted to running away. with the others getting apple and not her for not coming I throw one her way once in a while just to let her know she is missing out. Now she is back to being in my pocket. Got to come to get it. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | Proper round pen work. Wrong thing difficult, right thing easy. No treats or tricks. A horse that will not face up and stand to be caught has no respect. Find a Ray Hunt video. Too bad Ray is gone. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Silly Filly - 2016-12-19 4:39 PM
jewishprincess - 2016-12-19 1:26 PM Option A: run her around ragged until she's exhausted and learns it's easier to get caught than run around and THEN still work or option B: Don't just catch her and work her. Associate yourself with positivity instead of just work. Catch her and just brush her one day. Walk up with some treats, love on her and then walk away. She's avoiding you because YOU=WORK. That doesn't explain why a horse we have owned for 12 years is still hard to catch, has always been hard to catch, and hasn't even been used for the last 8 years. We have 6 other horses that all come in, not him, he is a jerk. It's the 4 wheeler for him. When he hears it start up, he heads to the barn at a run, because if I have to get it out to bring him in, he knows he is going to pay!
You just proved her point. You=work. Nothing wrong with that, it's why we have barrel horses. He has been off for awhile and now he has to go back to work. Sounds like me after a vacation from work or when I was a kid and had to go back to school after a long break. There is nothing wrong with catching him and just loving on him every once in a while or giving him a treat after you put his halter on. This is such an aggravating problem, l feel for you. I had horse just like that. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | winwillows - 2016-12-22 9:55 PM Proper round pen work. Wrong thing difficult, right thing easy. No treats or tricks. A horse that will not face up and stand to be caught has no respect. Find a Ray Hunt video. Too bad Ray is gone.
This. And until she is respectful, she can go in a large pen instead of the pasture until she is catching well.
If you turn her out in the arena--what does she do? When you let her loose, what does she do? My guy is very in your pocket and easy to catch, but he also doesn't take off when I remove his halter. He stands still until I pat him 2x on the neck and then he's free to go. I do this every time I release him. |
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Location: NE Texas | Going through this now with my mare. She's in a 10 acre pasture - we got grabby and she got flighty and created a bad habit b/c she learned we would give up or trick her into a catch pen with feed (which she was starting to figure out so needed to find new game plan).
Have some time off around the Holiday so the other day I went out with a lead in my hand... she saw me and immediately went to back of the pasture. I followed slowly... when she would run I would briskly walk after her. When she would stop and face me I would stop and turn side ways. When she would turn her butt to me I'd slowly follow her. She would push another horse around with her so she would have an escape buddy - they got crazy flighty and ran from one end of pasture to another. I kept following. She then decided to circle the hay bale for 20 minutes. After an hour total she finally turned and looked at me and dropped her head. I walked up with the lead, put it around her neck, brushed her with my hands and then turned around and walked off. She followed me back to the gate. Next day - same thing but only took 45 minutes total before she submitted to me. Next day only 15 minutes. Today I walked out and she walked up to me! Your going to have to do this several times before she realizes you're not going to give up. Don't hide the lead or halter. I sometimes reward with treats after catching - sometimes not.
Don't lose your patience... persistence pays off.
Edited by reese_tx 2016-12-25 4:22 PM
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 Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | Tbred - 2016-12-19 12:44 PM
SloRide - 2016-12-18 6:59 PM barreldude - 2016-12-18 6:12 PM I'd hop on a 4 wheeler and keep her running. The day she decides it's easier to just stand there is the day I'd stop. I would do something like this. I bought a mare that refused to be caught. I ran her pretty hard one day until she was more than willing to stand quietly to be haltered. Must have left an impression because she stopped doing that.
Me three. Make him move his feet. Run his arse until he decides to stop and be caught. |
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