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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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