Hi all. I'm a new member to please bare with me lol. I've a 13.1 Welsh x. He's 21 years old and a real stubborn pain in the butt . I've had him now for 3 years and still struggle to catch him. Once caught he's an angel, never put a foot wrong. I just can't get near him. He's turned out with 3 others, who all come in fine. He has a field safe headcollar on when turned out. I've tried so many different things, food, smaller turnout, wandering up to him in field and walking off. Tried getting after him in school area but he just continues to chase about for nearly hour, drenched in sweat and puffing realy bad and still no luck. In the end I left him turned out alone. I'm at my wits end now as this has been going on for over 3 yrs and the weather is getting colder. I can't continue every evening with this. Please help me.
My pony won't be caught
- Thread starter marie cole
- Start date
Do you have your own land or permission to alter the set up where you are?
Make a catching pen but make it a positive good place to be. That's where the water is for example. Have a straw bed or some kind of attractive dry surface. Salt lick.
Feed in it and turn back out for about a week. I would get rid of the headcollar because that will encourage you to be grabbing. Put on, groom take off.
Make a catching pen but make it a positive good place to be. That's where the water is for example. Have a straw bed or some kind of attractive dry surface. Salt lick.
Feed in it and turn back out for about a week. I would get rid of the headcollar because that will encourage you to be grabbing. Put on, groom take off.
Hi. Yes have my own land. I've tried putting him a smaller area where he can be fed etc but as soon as I get close he pulls his head away or turns round on me . Once I can get him caught I give him a groom and a token feed then gets stabled for night in winter or gets turned out again in summer, so gets some nice pampering. Although I think half the problem is that his routine has changed as started stabling now. We've managed to over come many hurdles with him so far but this one we are really struggling with. Hes a strange one, now and then he will come to me to be caught but 99% of the time hes having none of it. Will take headcollar off. Its always me going to him, be nice if he felt he could come to me.
If you can catch in the pen, it's a start.
If he came if the hills at some point it wasn't halter trained properly he might just have done mistrust issues.
Mine is the opposite, can't get rid of her, follows you all over the place. Gets annoyed if you won't catch her. It can make doing chores harder.
If he came if the hills at some point it wasn't halter trained properly he might just have done mistrust issues.
Mine is the opposite, can't get rid of her, follows you all over the place. Gets annoyed if you won't catch her. It can make doing chores harder.
I'm sure he does have trust issues. When we got him you couldn't lead him anywhere without bolting. Took us hours to get him in a stable every night but we've got over those issues. I can't catch him in a small area either. I'm going to try again in morning before the others get turned out and hopefully give him a good groom and some attention. Hes usually food orientated but still a lot of grass at moment so not interested in feed. Once I can catch him and he gets some fuss and love I'm hoping he will come round a bit. Its just getting hold of him lol. Ahhhh who'd have horses ay. He has me in tears nearly every time I try to catch him. I'm at a loss
I would leave head collar on. However I wouldn't go straight for catching. Even if you are short of time and just want to bring it in. Sounds like a hugh lack of trust. You need to reeducate and that is going to take patients. Can you groom him loose in the field or does he just run off. Never walk up and grab the head collar this will cause problems if the horse distrusts you. If you can mess around stroking for a few minutes or brushing before you clip on that is better.
I know you say you have chased the horse round to wear it out. Have you tried Monty Roberts method. Looking for the signs of head drop, licking or chewing, and coming in. This can be done on the lunge or free lunge pen. It might be worth you reading up on this groundwork method and the signs to look for. Once you get the signs you invite the horse to come in to be with you.
Also have you tried clicker training.
You really need to seek some progressional help local to you by the sounds of it.
I know you say you have chased the horse round to wear it out. Have you tried Monty Roberts method. Looking for the signs of head drop, licking or chewing, and coming in. This can be done on the lunge or free lunge pen. It might be worth you reading up on this groundwork method and the signs to look for. Once you get the signs you invite the horse to come in to be with you.
Also have you tried clicker training.
You really need to seek some progressional help local to you by the sounds of it.
Hi. Yes I have read and tried that method. I wasnt chasing after him to wear him out .The flicking of ears chewing and head lowering but when he did that and I stopped and invited him to come in he just stood there. Probably im not doing something right. I don't blame him for what he's doing I just want him to come around to being caught so I can really give him a good pamper everyday etc. Your right I probably do need a professional to show me what I'm doing wrong. Its got to be me giving off wrong signals surely. I always lower my shoulders, never look at him, meander towards him taking my time. I don't grab at him, always try to stroke his shoulder first hmmm. Oh and no I can't groom him in field, he backs away from me
I do sympathise. My horse is a complete saint in every singe way, other than the fact he can be quirky to catch. He is OK 90% of the time, but that 10% when he won't let me get near him drives me crazy! I have tried everything and have no magic wand. Walking away and coming back 15 mins later will often do the trick, food rewards help but if he has decided he isn't coming in, there isn't much I can do about it!
Haha yes it drives me crazy too lol. He's now left out alone tonight in field , in the cold. He's probably more than happy but I worry all night. Retry in morning to catch him.
Do you attempt to bring in daily? Do you eventually catch and feed, groom or let go. If not I would think the inconsistency could also be another reason.
Some like and need a routine so if you give up you are telling them you don't really matter anyway and you go away?
Some like and need a routine so if you give up you are telling them you don't really matter anyway and you go away?
Yes I try to catch daily, it did get better, as in didn't take as long to catch him but then he got wormed and rarely got near since. I'm determined to get a break through with him. After all this time I'm not gonna give up easily. Yes he likes a routine and that has changed with them coming in for the night. I'm hoping he will let me near him in morning to have a good groom and a token feed and turned back out again. I want to reinforce catching with positive things. He came from some gypsies who rode quad bikes around him and he was left to fend for himself in what was basically wasteland. I'm not surprised he has trust issues but was hoping we'd be making a bit more progress now. Partly if not all my fault I know as I have been inconsistent over summer due to work. I need to step it up a gear myself .
Everyone's comments have been so nice and no hate. Thank you so much. By talking and reading the comments I realise it's me. I need to be more consistent and patient and give more positive reinforcements when I catch him. I need to put more effort in myself. Very grateful for all the comments. Thank you. Will keep you posted on how it goes tomorrow
I took on a youngster that spent the first three months at the top of the field. Couldn't catch him either. I am sure we have all been in a similar position to you at some stage.
Welcome by the way and hope you stick around.
Welcome by the way and hope you stick around.
Can I just second the clicker training as definitely worth a shot and that video is a fab suggestion of how to go about it. I haven’t used it for catching but my horse and I had huge issues in the early days of our relationship and I tried many different training approaches and somehow clicker just seemed to be the key to unlocking my horse. He wouldn’t do something for food if he didn’t want to, no amount of bribery will work, but there’s something about horses realising the link between doing something and realising it gets them a reward, it just seems to float their boat so to speak!
I’ve used it for mounting issues and despooking primarily and it’s made my boy a much more inquisitive and bolder horse - he was previously a run now, think later type which is difficult to train.
I’d just recommend treatwise, baileys Fibre plus nuggets are low in sugar and palatable, come in big bags at around £11.
I’ve used it for mounting issues and despooking primarily and it’s made my boy a much more inquisitive and bolder horse - he was previously a run now, think later type which is difficult to train.
I’d just recommend treatwise, baileys Fibre plus nuggets are low in sugar and palatable, come in big bags at around £11.
I had a weanling gypsy cob a few years ago, he was pretty wild to start with. I made zero effort to catch him but made a discreet effort to interact with him daily and went about my daily chores with treats in my pocket and fed him a bucket feed daily with no pressure. Initially when poo picking if he came close, without turning to face him (eye contact is challenging) I would offer him a treat, to start with throwing something at his feet, then from my hand, in about 3 weeks he was constantly following me to see what I might have for him and he then allowed me to brush and fuss him and he was 100% to catch after that....but having never learnt is very different to having been scared off.
Consistency is key with most horses, and don't worry about it being chilly out, horses really don't notice the cold until its well below zero C day and night, especially not natives
ETA if you want a pro, Richard Maxwell is great and doesn't charge the earth.
Consistency is key with most horses, and don't worry about it being chilly out, horses really don't notice the cold until its well below zero C day and night, especially not natives
ETA if you want a pro, Richard Maxwell is great and doesn't charge the earth.
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This making the horse move on when it wont be caught seems to have got muddled up with thew Monty Roberts sending the horse away until it is ready to follow you. that is Join Up.
In two ways. Join up is done quickly in a small round pen. Catching is often taking place in a large field and accounts by Kelly Marks and others show that it can take much longer than an hour. One account describes it taking all day.
And catching, as shown by many different trainers, doesnt end with the horse instinctively coming to you, but with the uncatchable horse allowing you to go up close to the horse and put the head collar on.
I use Mark Rashid, approach and withdrawal (pressure and release) but that consists of body language. And at moments when the horse does not co-operate, it may also involve obliging the horse to move at speed with some energy. Good idea to look at videos, so that you have some idea of how trainers move when catching problem horses.
In two ways. Join up is done quickly in a small round pen. Catching is often taking place in a large field and accounts by Kelly Marks and others show that it can take much longer than an hour. One account describes it taking all day.
And catching, as shown by many different trainers, doesnt end with the horse instinctively coming to you, but with the uncatchable horse allowing you to go up close to the horse and put the head collar on.
I use Mark Rashid, approach and withdrawal (pressure and release) but that consists of body language. And at moments when the horse does not co-operate, it may also involve obliging the horse to move at speed with some energy. Good idea to look at videos, so that you have some idea of how trainers move when catching problem horses.
I've used clicker with success (not for catching, Ziggy has only been a monkey once or twice in 7 years). I really rate it, and that was a good video. There's lots on line and if you like books "Clicker training for Horses" is good.
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