My Horse is Hard To Catch
How much time have you spent trying to catch your horse, its time consuming and not much fun at all is it.
A horse who won't be caught is like a Saturday morning trip to the shopping centre, costly, time consuming and not much fun at all really.
If you've managed to slot a couple of hours at your riding stables into your hectic schedule, the last thing you want to do is spend the first hour chasing an unco-operative horse around the paddock.
Whether your horse is seriously bad to catch or prone to an occasional bout of bad manners, you need to understand why he or she is doing this and develop a plan of action to overcome the problem.
Relationship Problems
If your horse walks off in the opposite direction every time you approach him in the paddock, this is indictive of a relationship problem. Your horse doesn't wont to work with you, and doesn't particularly care what you think of him.
Horses are sensitive animals and will soon become suspicious if your arrival often leads to something unpleasant. Do you always catch your horse to take him away from the safety of his group and put him in a stable, or are you rough with him when he doesn't lead correctly?.
If your horse doesn't enjoy your company he will be unwilling to be caught, and this will soon become a habit.
You have to turn the situation around so your horse looks forward to your visits
However, this isn't as easy as turning up every now and then with carrots.
If your horse is difficult to catch, either you are being unsympathetic to his needs and feelings, or he hasn't learned to trust and work with you. Ask yourself the following questions next time you feel like hurling the headstall at his haunches as he disappear across the paddock.
Does My Horse Feel Insecure at The Thought of Leaving
His Herd
Signs include separation anxiety and forming close bonds with other
horses. Often, horses like this will try to herd their equine
friends away from anyone who attemps to catch the other horse.
Does My Horse Enjoy His Work and Look Forward to
Being Ridden
If not, why not?
Do We Have Fights When Riding or Handling
If You Were Him Would You Willingly Leave The Comfort
and Security of Your Paddock
Once you understand the reasons for your horse's behaviour, you're half
way to solving the problem and formulating a plan of action.
Problems Catching Your Horse
If you know you horse is difficult to catch, allow plenty of time. Once you start you must preserve until he is safely caught, so see this as a goal you need to achieve, however long it takes.
The majority of horses will make a half hearted attempt to evade being caught. They will move in an arc around you, so move in an arc too and try to maintain the distance between you. If your horse stops and takes a step toward you, reward his behaviour by turning and taking a couple os steps away from him. Chances are, this will be the opposite of what he's expecting, so it will help to draw him further towards you.
At this stage, the goal is purely to maintain the distance between you, so watch the horse and mirror his actions. If he takes a step towards you and you back off, be ready to change directions the second he walks away from you again. It's all in the timing. You need to drift after the horse rather than let it become a pursuit, this is the key to success. If you think of yourself as drifting after, rather then chasing the horse, your body landuage will be softer.
The second you chase a horse, you've upset the balance and become predatory. Stay calm, remain watchful of the horse's facial expressions and gradually start to close up the distance, rewarding the horse for any positive movements by turning away and taking off the pressure.
Keep repeating this process until you reach the stage where the horse is within arm's reach. This is a crucial time. Instead of lungeing towards him with the headstall or grabbing at the noseband if he's already wearing one, stand quietly and gently rub his neck, then take a step away again.
Build on this progress until your horse becomes less suspicious of you. Remember, if your horse is wary of being caught, it shows a big effort on his part to let you stand close to him. Thank him and use your judgement as to when it's the right time to move on a stage, eg putting on the headstall and leading him out of the paddock.
How To Catch a Hard To Catch Horse
If you are dealing with a horse who absolutely refuses to let you anywhere near him, you need to introduce a rountine which will make catching him easy.
Feed your horse every day in a small enclosed yard within the paddock. Make sure the entrance is nice and wide if he's reluctant to go in be ready to slip a pole or line of electric fencing behind him so he is enclosed.
If greedy paddockmates try to get there first, take them out of the paddock or design it so that each horse has his own yard and each get a small feed, before being released. Leave your horse in the yard after his eaten for a short time and then let him wander out.
After a few days, put a headstall on your horse while he's in the confines of the yard, then give him a friendly rub on the neck and let him go. Don't catch him every time he's in there, but progress until you reach the stage where he comes into the yard every day, sometimes he just gets feed, sometimes he gets fed and handled. Soon he will become conditioned to think that the yard equals food and, once in this confined area, catching and handling him become far easier.
Tips To Catch Your Horse
Your horse shouldn't feel like he is being caught and trapped. He should always want to be with you. Make it clear that when a horse chooses to be with you, you make it nice for him.
Horses will baulk at being caught if the only contact you ever have with them is when you want them to work. If this is the case, you need to change your rountine
and condition your horse to behave otherwise.
Make a habbit of catching your horse and giving him a rub on the neck, then lead him a few strides and let him go again. Always try to vary your rountine so sometimes your horse is caught and released after a friendly exchange, sometimes he is brought in and ridden.
Never put yourself in a position where you might get kicked. Approach the horse from the side and make sure he can see you coming.
Keep you horse's workload as varied as possible so he looks forward to going out and always handle him sympathetically.
Make a habit of catching your horse, leading him a few strides and letting him go again !.