catching the uncatchable

[jake]

Hi,

wondered if you guys could advise....

I have a section a gelding about 7ish running about on a 25 acre field that I can't catch.

He has had a battering in the past( deduced from his actions) and is very wary. I did have a fieldsafe head collar on him until last saturday when I had him and he pulled back and I was left with the headcollar in my hands and a small white artical running around me going "ner ner"

he will come to a bucket but is so quick that you can't get anything headcollar/ leadrope like near him

Any suggestions?


Thanks

[Milliesmum]

Is he turned out with others? Have you tried fetching all the others in and leaving him on his own for half an hour? You might find him by the gate waiting when you go back!

[jake]

he is the same when in company and with out, and if you take the others away he tends not to care.

He has been out for a week or so on his own as the horse he was sharing with came down with laminitis. I tried catching him last week but that was when he broke the head collar. To make matters worse he got out today.... he was shood back into his field, but the need to catch him is a little more urgent. i have now put both my other 2 horses onto the feild in the hope that he will latch on to one or both and then we can lead him out with them ..... one can hope other than that I guess I am onto extreame methods.
He took one look at the horses tonight and ran in the other direction so i do hope this plan works

[SarahWilkes]

have you tried creating a small area in a corner of electric fencing or similar, get him in there with a bucket, and keep making the pen smaller until he has to be caught.

good luck ponies are so quick!!!

[Milliesmum]

If he will come to the bucket, are you able to drop a rope over the off side of his neck while he is eating and then hold both ends of the rope together under his neck? If you have a smaller area fenced off, you could just do this, reward and release him till he gets used to the rope? Sorry if you've tried that already!

[jake]

the only thing that hasn't been tried is the electrice fencing due more to the logistics of it all

once I catch the small white artical he can stay in and have lots and lots of rehab work!

[ferret]

what a nightmare !

I was Judging at a Riding club a few weeks ago and a pony got loose in the morning , it had no head collar on and was apparently headshy , and no one could get near it all day it was still losse when we wnet home ...no idea if it was ever caught

Good luck !

[stephjw1]

How are you with a lasso only joking

I had a pony like this once I used to spend a lot of time in the field with him no other ponies just me and him, eventually he would come to me but it took ages, there is nothing more frustrating good luck

[thecremellosociety]

we used to as a last resort, have a team of us with a lunge line or 2 clipped together and corner it in the field and almost lasso it, also if you have a sensible ridden horse see if you can ride up to it treat it and slip a rope over neck maybe.

[thecremellosociety]

What i meant is we walked up the field and cornered by using the ropes as a sort of moving electric fence.

[shelleyj]

I can remember cornering a rescue pony by herding it into a corner using the jump leads out of the car! it worked, but took ages..

[twingo]

Patients is the only answer. I used to spend a lot of time in a riding school who had a horse that no-one could catch. I use to have to sit out in her field(sometimes for an hour) with a bucket of food. She would eventually come to me put her head in the bucket. Don't attempt to catch the pony for the first few times, let him have some trust in you first. Everything has to be down calmly and slowly otherwise you will just scare him off again. This is very frustrating but patients is defo the answer. I would recommend fencing him in a smaller paddock tho as 25 acres is too much for him to actually want to check you out. Good luck.

[jake]

Thanks all for your support.

Due to a slight change in circumstances ( I put my back out! and one of the others going lame & loosing a shoe) it was decided that all 3 horses were going to stay on the field for a while, it also allows the TB's to put much needed weight back on.

We did however get a head collar on to the pony so I am hugly relived about that and since he has had the company of the TB's he has shown no signs of escaping, so the pressure is off.

I now plan to take my stage 2 revision and a bucket and sit in the field with them.


On the upside dispite the 25 acres he does tend to come to me.... so he is happy to come to me... just not to be caught

[sarahp]

In the past I've sorted out non-catchables by just walking after them until they give in - they all do in the end (actually I was doing Monty Roberts before MR came to the UK in this instance!) but I think my record was 4 hours! Do it a few times and they know you mean it, but you must only try it when you have the time to spare to go through with it until they are caught - if you give in and go away you only make the problem worse. I can't do it now so have to resort to other methods, last one in field or following something else in are the usual strategies. If all else fails I drive them in, but then my place is OK to do this, not everywhere would be.

[saffie1]

I have had a very well handled youngster about six weeks. We turned it out when it arrived to chill out, have not been able to catch it since. Can feed it and touch it, sometimes can get a rope round its neck, but it turns and legs it. It is in a field with no stable. Great!

[Giddie]

Yep also know your problem, l have a 7yr old who can be as playful and as frustrating as your fellow by the sounds of it, but again we are lucky because we can drive him into the yard especially when the others come in. I do agree it is just patience , patience and more patience. My worry would be a little Welsh section A out on 25 acres !! Good luck

[dancer]

I always turn our new ones out in the school for the 1st couple of weeks, it gives them time to get used to us & they don't have a large area enough area to run off too far!
I've only ever had 1 that I couldn't catch (he came to me to be sold on & previous owners had always herded him into the stable) but he was no problem for my daughter - he seemed to have an issue with taller people.