BRINGING HER IN!!

[Tango]

I have sponsored a rescue horse called Tango, some of you may have already read about her. Anyway I have been taking my time with her and getting to know her, and have had a few problems getting near her due to problems with some young unsociable, unschooled horses in the field where she is kept, one in particular who follows me around when I go in the field and bites Tango to keep her away from me. The result has been very frustrating as Tango generally trots away when I go near her when the other mare is following me. Still I have persevered and after making a fuss of the other mare, I can sometimes now get to see Tango. My next problem is that although she stands with me in the field now; when I go to put her halter on in to bring her to the gate for grooming, she puts her ears back straight away and off she goes!! She is an ex riding school pony, retired now and has been living in this field for the last couple of years with not a great amount of attention paid to her as the Rescue owner has to divide her time between the three fields of 30 horses she has rescued, hence introducing this scheme. So I will continue to persevere but would appreciate any tips on "bringing her in" from those of you who have experienced similar problems. My attempts to bring her in are always limited to the time the other mare will stay away, so it's very frustrating and I think that basically she associates seeing me with getting bitten and hassled from the other mare. Also, I have never owned my own horse and only have experience with previous riding school and trekking holiday ponies and helping with friends horses when I was younger. So whilst I spend as much time as possible in the field with her and more and more she actually comes to me to stand with me for a time, she still considers me to be this pest with a red halter who is interrupting her retirement, and as all my horsey friends are married with kiddies, moved away or just not horsey, I am delighted to have found this site to be able to ask you all for some advise!!

[Maria]

Tango

I sympathise - my fairly timid but easy to catch mare, who is some way down the herd pecking order, is in a field with some mares who cause similar problems from time time. Things are very difficult as 2 new mares have recently arrived - taking the total to 10 - and causing an upset in the established order. So anyone going to catch their mare can easily get caught up in ruck by the gate!

First things first, at the end of the day you need to ensure that you can lead your horse in safely with no risk of injury to you, the horse or other sources. I'd advise you to wear a stout pair of gloves to avoid rope burns or worse should your horse be frightened and pull away. At the weekend, one of the livery owners at our yard came away with a nasty rope burn when his daughter's horse reared and pulled away the other mares milled around. You may also want to wear a hard hat if any of the other horses are likely to rear or kick out.

I also suggest that you try and take another person to the field - the other person can then try to keep the other horses away while you catch your horse and get her out of the field safely without the horse getting upset. It might also be an idea to sometimes just go down to the field, give your horse a peppermint and a pat and leave - provided that you can do this safely without all the other horses wanting a slice of the action - alternatively just bring the horse in and feed. This way your horse doesn't associate being caught with nasty events such as being attacked by other horses or always having to work.

I think you'll find some other tips on catching reluctant horses on the bulletin board archive.

Good luck - let me know how you get on.

Maria

[Flo]

Hi Tango

Is there anyway you can remove the trouble maker from the picture first - could you bring them in tie them up, bring in your mare, tie her up and then turn the trouble maker back out - preferably in a very business like manner and making no fuss of the other mare at all. This seems like quite a lot of trouble, but it might stop your mare being agitated and the other one from thinking you're her friend.

Gloves are also an excellent idea - you could also try looping the lead rope around the pony's neck before you put on the halter - I used to do this quite a bit and it's enough to pursuade them not to wander off but if they get really silly you can just let go and the rope will fall to the ground.

I'm not sure I'd be happy taking peppermints into the field though as you could have 30 horses wanting to be friends rather than just one ( or two).

I'm sure the more often you catch her the easier it will be, good luck with it.

[Allie]

My first instinct was the same as Flo's. I would catch the other horse and tie her up if at all possible. That way you can get your own mare without problems.

Allie

[Tango]

Thanks guys for your replies. I like the gloves idea. The owner of the rescue did try and move the "pest" to one of her other fields, but she jumped the lower end of the fencing which backs on to a football field, and a very startled man with an umbrella found a a very muddy pony stood next to him trying to nibble his pocket! This was quite funny but not very safe and she created more trouble when they tried to catch her and put her back, so now she's back in the Tango's field. However, I went to see Tango last night and I think the sunshine had made them all a little dozy and when I went into the field, although the mare came up to me and followed me around, she was less impatient to get to me and Tango also came to me and did not seem as bothered that the other mare was hanging around. So I let them both follow me back to the gate and made a fuss of Tango until the other one wandered off and then I stood with her in the evening sunshine, grooming her and talking to her and feeding her a few carrots and crunchy apple horse biscuits which she loves. So. I have no idea why they were different yesterday but I think my perserverance is paying off, although I continue to be a little nervous when I first go in as I never know what to expect, it is worth when you get evenings like that.

Thanks again for your advice
Byeeee
:D