Help: I can't catch him

helenc

helenc

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Nov 27, 2003
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Sylvester is being a right pain in the butt. Everytime i try to catch him he trots off & then starts cantering round me in big circles. He always comes eventually (usually about 20-30 mins) but it's really starting to get on my nerves. He was always pretty good to catch but every now & then he would be difficult but he has been doing this now for a full week & I don't know what's triggered it.

Any ideas of how I can get him a bit quicker, I don't have the time to wait for 30 mins in the morning & as it's starting to get darker in the evenings I'm struggling for time if I want to go hacking.
 
You could try putting some stones in a bucket and shaking it.He may think its feed and come over to you.If you do this however,you must have a handful of feed or some carrots or something in his stable waiting for him to come in to.He should want to come in then if he knows its for a bit of grub.
 
Only problem with that is, I don't want him to only come when I've got a bucket in my hand, plus there is another horse in the field with him & the last thing I want is a mad dash for the bucket & them fighting.
 
Does he already have a headcollar on? If he doesn't it might be an idea to put one on while he is turned out.
My pony used to be bad to catch, and we got our other pony out of the field and we used to get a lunge whip and make him run until he wanted to be caught!
But you might not be able to do this because of the other pony.
You could also catch him just to give him his feed, then he will associate catching with nice things.
 
Make sure it is a fieldsafe headcollar if you do leave one on him. Good luck you could try the approach and retreat method...push along after him quite strongly for a few minutes (a lunge whip does seem a bit excessive though..just keep following him) then turn around and walk away..if he comes let him in and reward him, if not go back to pushing him around the field by walking after him, not letting him stop. This can work, but is not necessarily quick....after years of a serial non-catcher I'd say food and your relationahip are the best solutions. As Pablo's relationship with us has improved so has his catching..but his was motivated through fear rather than naughtiness/spring grass (not at this time of year obviously!) etc
 
When i first got my horse she was difficult to catch, but now shes settled shes fine and will actually make her way across the field to see me!!! I'm not sure how long you've had your horse so i wasnt sure if this was the problem or not, but i thought i'd say just in case you've had him less than a year.

As for other tricks I find a bucket with a little bit of food is great, walk over to him with it but dont shake it (you might attract the other horse(s)) if he goes to walk away then you can shake it. I did this with my horse even tho she shares a field with 20 other horses, i just shoed the others away if they ever cam over.

Even tho my horse is fine to catch now i always catch her with a mint or a carrot just so she thinks shes coming over for at least one thing she wants.

Also try just going to see your horse in the field, to start with everyday go across with an apple and no headcollar, after a couple of days try taking the headcollar, you dont need to put it on just give him a treat, after a few more days you can then put the head collar on and just give him a treat. Once he's fine with that bring him in for a brush or a little treat. If your not catching him to ride him regulary then he shouldn't have anything to object about. I know a few horses at my stables which are bad to catch because they are left out all summer, then only brought in to ride, in this case its understandable why the horse doesnt want to be caught!

When you go to get your horse put the leadrope round his neck first so he cant get away then slip the head collar on. Oh and antoher little thing i've noticed is that with my horse she finds it VERY threatening if you walk straight up to her and she walks away, i always walk to her shoulder now.

Another little tip is to only walk up when the horse is still if you get near and you horse starts walking away then stop other wise he will think your chasing him.

I hope you have some success with catching your horse!!
 
Driving the horse that runs off, putting it to work, is effective but I wouldn't use a lunge whip, just make yourself fierce and wave the lead rope. Keep them going until they eventually stop, which they will. If you can cut corners and make them change direction a few times, and push them away from their friends, then do so, you will be speaking 'horse':D. When they stop and look at you drop your eye contact, round your shoulders and take a step or two away.

Then approach quietly, from a forward angle with submissive body language, again avoiding eye contact. The minute they move off set them going again, and repeat the process. You'll find that they'll eventually stand without a care in the world.

You need to be fairly fit to keep them going, and it might take an hour or more the first time, but if you keep it up the time needed to catch them gets rapidly shorter. I've used this method on a few horses and it works 100%

Building the relationship and not always fetching in for work are very important too of course:)
 
it might take an hour or more the first time
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it took us 5 hours....but our catching problem was not a standard one, it was a learnt behaviour motivated by fear...which we have eventually got to the bottom of via improving his confidence and our relationship, but he was a serial non-catcher and a 'problem' horse in other ways as well. I have never heard of anyone else with a *normal* horse not being successful with this method, so definately give it a go.
 
It's definitely a method for a horse that's testing you rather than a frightened or nervous one. The original poster's horse is obviously in the first category:)
 
LOL, I know you weren't, I was agreeing with you:) (I'm not always argumentative:D)

Your suggestion was similar, but more along the lines of approach and retreat, from my own personal experience it doesn't seem to be as quick or effective with a mickey taker. Body language is very important too, a bit of awareness about where to position ourselves and what signals we can give off to the horse can make a big difference to how it reacts:)
 
Ok maybe I was being paranoid :rolleyes: Yep, body language makes all the difference...its just like speaking a foreign language if you get the grammar wrong it is hard for people to understand you, whereas the right words in the right place makes for a successful conversation. It is the same with body language - you are talking horse....
 
My mare used to run from one end of the field to the other for 1/2 before she let me catch her. I would get just near her, she would see the headcollar, and then she would set of for the fence at the other end at a flat out gallop. Very annoying! After the 20th time of me going back and forth across a big field, ahe would eventually let me catch her.

My friend showed me a method that has worked very well with her. I held the head collar in my hand and said touch until she positivley touched it with her nose. I would then reward her with a treat. This took only a week, and she got to a stage where I would put in on the floor and she would walk over and touch it for a treat.

Next, I held it and waited until she out her nose in it, then rewarded her, and removed it. I repeated this a few times. I then moved to a stage where I put the whole thing on, treated her, then removed it. My mare now walks over to me when she sees the headcollar as she knows that if she puts it on or touches it she gets a treat.

I have to be careful as she was getting warey of putting her nose into it as I was getting lazy and just catching her and bringing her in straight away. So you have to put the headcollar on/off a few times, make her touch it etc. before I finally catch her. If I keep her guessing then she can't anticipate the moment that I secure the headcollar and lead her off.

I know have a mare that takes only 5 mins to catch.
 
hmm - Fi started doing this recently. I think it started when she was a bit sore so was genuine, but then has turned into a bit of a game. I loose school quite often and I think she just figured it was the same "game" but not in the arena :rolleyes:

Last time but one I got fed up and just changed my voice tone to a stern one. And you could pretty much see her make the decision to be caught.

So it is worth making sure that you're not teaching your horse to play tag with you !
 
I like the suggestion by bspao5 above. Exactly the same principles as clicker training without the clicker.

My boy is usually no problems to catch but every now and then he decides to play. The thing that works with him is turning my back. He can't understand it and comes to see what's wrong. My friend's mare can be a s*d to catch but if I turn my back and walk backwards towards her I can catch her. The other way with her is to take her friend out of the field first. When I get back she's waiting at the gate.

Definitely wouldn't go in with a bucket if there's two horses in the field but giving him a treat from your hand when you get him might help the motivation.

Good luck. Here's hoping it's a phase he's going through and he'll be back to normal soon.
 
Originally posted by Esther.D
(a lunge whip does seem a bit excessive though..just keep following him)
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I wasn't suggesting that helenc should use a lunge whip with her horse, I was just telling you my method - there's no need to have a go at me - that suited my pony, and a lead rope just wouldn't work with him.
 
Hey I wasn't having a go at you, just the idea of chasing a poor catcher around the field with a lunge whip seemed a bit excessive in this instance..Yann picked up the same thing...it may work for you, thats fine, but I just thought it was a bit strong in this case.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll certainly be trying out your suggestions tonight!

He'll probably come straight away tonight just to annoy me ;)
 
just to comment that different horses react to whips and body language in different ways. And that people also use them in different ways.

Often the lunge whip is just about making your body language bigger - like with a carrot stick. But in other cases a pony can really bug out about whips and even having one within a ten mile radius is a no-no !

A "carrot stick" can help me stay safe outside of kicking range, like Monty Roberts using a false arm to touch ponies.

As it happens my playful mare just needs the "mother-in-law" look to get her moving :p But I am lucky in that I got to play in a round pen with her when I first owned her so we had a good chance to work out each other's body language.

Whenever you are working like this - make sure you stay safe. But also try and avoid building problems for yourself later. If your horse decides lunge whips are "bad things", it could make lunging a bit of a problem !
 
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