Hi Butrshu

 We are having the same problema with mare we just bought. I have found that catching her brother, pretending he is the one I wanted, she stands and let us touc her. this is a start. Today I was actually able to catch her with out haltering her brother first. It has taken us 3 weeks to get to this point. I too use treats, but only fork them over when they are haltered. 

She will follow him out if the gate if we let her. She is getting better, but is headshy and does not like to lead from left side, as she is going blind on right. She is only 3 yrs old. I am hoping I can get her comfortable enough to lead from the left and allow me to show at halter and showmanship.

Hang in there, you will gain her confidence.

Rose, from Wisconsin

Well i have a pony who hates being caught. She also hates it when her pasture buddies leave her. Here are some things that i have used that work on her:

1. If her pasture buddies are taken out it makes her easier to catch because she wants to be with them.

2. I know you said treats dont work for you, and that is what happened with Brandi, but when i gave her buddy a treat she wanted to have one too.

3. *THIS WORKS BEST FOR ME* i unclip the halter from the lead rope and put down the halter. Next i walk up to her and put the leadrope around her neck. Now i lead her over to where the halter is and i put it on her. Then i clip on the lead rope and take it off her neck.

Hope it helps!!!

I only give treats when the horse does what is asked and never any other time.  That way a treat stays as a reward for positive behaviours and is not "expected".

The positive behaviour you want from your mare is for her to come to you.  Start carrying around apples, carrots or whatever her favourite treat is in your pocket at all times for the next little while.  [I find anything with molasses works well]  Let her nuzzle curiously at your pockets but do not give her any treats instantly. 

Talk in low soothing, quiet tones while stroking her face and neck in circular motions as she nuzzles at the treats.  When she has stood calm and patiently for a few minutes during this process, give her a single treat, tell her she's a good girl in an exagerated manner and simple walk away completely.

Start this process in the barn at turnout and turnin until she is familar with the routine.  Don't give her treats everytime though.  Once in awhile just focus on rubbing her neck and face while talking to her in low tones.  That way she doesn't "expect" a treat everytime you are in the barn.

Once you have established this routine, start the second step in the process by spending time in the horses' pasture.  Do not make any attempts to catch the horses while in the pasture; actually ignore them if you can by reading a book or doing some similar activity but make sure your pockets have the faviourite treats in them.

Let them settle into grazing and find a spot close to them to sit down.  Eventually her nose will tell her that your pockets have a desired treat and she will approach you.  

Only give the treat after she has nuzzled your pockets and stood calmly while letting you stroke and talk to her for a few minutes.  Then walk away to another section of the pasture and sit down.  She will follow and you can reward the behaviour by repeating the process.

Follow this process the same way you have done in the barn.  After a period of time you can introduce the halter but do not attempt to put it on.  Simply leave it on the ground so she sees it and becomes accustomed to its presence. 

Eventually you can work up to having it draped over your shoulder while stroking her and giving her a treat.  Always remember to walk away after she has received a treat and only give another treat after she has followed you to another section of the pasture, nuzzled your pocket and stood calmly.

As time passes, start stroking her with the halter while talking to her.  Then walk away.  Repeat after she follows you. 

The next and final step is to slip the halter on while you're stroking and rewarding her with treats.  Then walk away and wait for her to follow.  After she has done that, remove the halter, reward and walk away. 

This process is going to take some time and patience.  If you're having a bad day, skip it and start fresh the next. 

If you want to accomplish catching your run away horse much faster...I suggest you go to  http://www.montyroberts.com/index.html and invest in Monty Roberts' Join~Up video.

 

I don't see treats as baiting, but I have been accused of over treating. :)  Lastnight I went out with no treats, had a crowd, 1 halter and fly spray.  I sprayed both the youngest first, and when done, they did not leave, while I sprayed Sassy who was not haltered.  Nobody left, they just hung out.  I must be doing something right, LOL....  But I go out and schmooze frequently, and hug and pet and scratch too.  I don't ONLY go out with the intent to make them do something "work" related.  I just enjoy mingling, and I also enjoy treats just for the sake of treats.  On my days off, I will go out there every hour or so, and just hang out.  It seems to pay off. :) 

 Our horses go out with their halters on because we use fly masks. it makes catching them a whole lot easier. We sometimes go grab a handful of grass longer than that in the paddock or even a whole bunch of clover. We dont even og in with the leadropes. We leave those by the gate. We go to the horse and give him/her the grass/clover and grab the halter and walk them to the gate, once we reach the gate we put on their leads. We dont even always work them after that, its always different. The horse may become interested to see whats going to happen after getting led to the gate. Sometimes we let them go again, sometimes we take them to wash, sometimes we graze them more, sometimes we take them back to their stalls, and sometimes we actually do work. Usually if we are going to work, they go back to their stalls for 10-15 minutes to give them a chance to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and whatnot.

Your problem sounds like a "halter shy" horse, instead of "catching a run-away horse"  With the halter shy issue I've had a few that had this problem. Just seeing that halter makes their eyes pop out & lift their nose away & bolt. What I have done is to lay the halter in the grain bucket so that the horse has to put his nose into the halter in order to reach the grain. This way the horse makes a different association with the halter & I can easily slip it over the head when I need to and then buckle it over the ears. The horse may be ear shy so avoid slipping a buckled halter over the ears until you've eliminated that possibility.  With the "run away's" I've always had the most success with grain training. Sweet feed works far better than plain oats or other non sweet feed. At feed time the horses are fed from the same bucket everyday. Each day during feeding I make a loud "checheche" sound, like grain shaking in the bucket while I'm actually shaking the grain in a bucket & tapping the bucket side. When they're out to pasture I aslo use a load call or whistle to let them know that I'm down at the barn with grain & I hit the bucket side & make the "checheche" sound. Now whenever I have to catch a horse & they even see me going down to the barn, bucket or not they come forward. I recently had to catch 8 loose horses that went onto the neighbors land (the grass is always greener) by myself with a bucket of rocks & one halter, but that's another story. Good luck with yours!

If she is easy to catch without a halter in your hand. Try a pigin string or just a twine string and slide that around her neck when she comes up to you. and try a bucket with a little bit of grain in it.

A technique that my daughter was taught by a wise Texan by the name of Lewis Blackburn (and which I have seen on many horses and always works) is to go into the pasture with the intent of gently driving your horse away!  Usually they walk away and then stop and graze don't they? - well don't let her - keep her feet moving by flapping the rope at her.  In time she'll get fed up and there will come a day when she comes to you to get caught!

Be patient - go to the field with no preconceptions about how long it will take.  Just treat it as a training exercise and allow plenty of time.

Let me know how it goes?

Jo 

 

same problem I have a horse who was like that and at first all I had to do was show him who was boss. It worked very well but since he's older now he's grumpy so all I did was leave his halter on and that was it!

 

                                                                                                                    hope this helps!

 My horse used todo this to me all the time. All you have to do is chase her around, literally do NOT let her stop walking or running away from you until she finally gives in. This may take a very long time the first time around, I chased my mare around for 2 hours until she gave in the first time and then after that it was about half an hour til she gave up running away. Now she walks UP TO ME!! Keep doing this until she learns that she cant get away/cant win. Just be patient - it'll work! I PROMISE!!! And make sure when you do catch her to be nice and give her lots of TLC. And if you chase her around and she stops moving and you walk up to her to put the halter on and she runs again, chase her again. BTW, you can "chase" her by walking or running after her - I just walked because it took so long - just keep her moving away from you until she finally gives in.

First of all, is this horse turned out all of the time with the 20 year old (are they brought in at night?)  The eight year old is obviously bonded with the older horse.  To take it away would be the same as removing all of her safety and confidence.  It would be similar to taking a two year old away from its mother and asked to go off with a stranger. Have you attended any natural horsemanship clinics or watched DVD's?  These would help you immensely. 

Go out to the pasture and just sit and watch your horses and how they interact.  Eventually your horse will come up to you.  When it does, walk off.  When it comes up again, rub it, if it starts to leave, raise your arms and chase it off.  Next time it starts to come near walk away.  Then start process again until you can rub your horse all over.  Then leave the pasture. 

 

There is a lot of useful advice here, and you should be able to find something that works for you and your situation.  It does sounds like what is called for is training/habituation.  That said, a riding stable where my daughter worked one summer turned all their horses out with a piece of baling twine around their necks, which seemed to make it easy for anyone on staff to catch them.  I'm not advocating this as a solution:  I don't know your circumstances, and I haven't tried it myself (my horses live in a treed pasture and don't get turned out with anything on).  The horses at this place lived in a huge open pasture, and there was a fairly large and varied group of people who worked there.

It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has come across this idea and has thoughts on its efficacy and/or safety. On its own, I don't think it would work without incorporating it into one or the other training programme.  But I do remember a horse I worked with many years ago who came to me like an angel when wearing his soft cotton rope halter, but acted like he didn't know me when it was off.

greetings! i have a horse that had been used & abused before i got him, and i just left him alone for a few months after he came to my farm, just trying to get to know him and him me.  when the time came to halter him, whether it was to groom or ride, he would take off when he saw me coming.  i have a bright red halter lead combo for him, and he couldn't miss it!  after chasing him around for an hour, i'd always give up.  after months of this,  i decided to use reverse psychology!  i'd try to halter him just once and when he took off, i'd start swinging the lead end around over my head, yell "yeeeeeehaaaa" and off i'd go after him!  i'd chase him (the best i could) swinging the lead and made him run. when he'd slow down, i'd make him run, when he'd stop, i'd attempt to approach and if he didn't cooperate, i'd make him run, when he'd head for the barn, i'd run him out and make him run some more! each time he'd stop, i'd try to approach him for haltering and off he'd go again! so, off i'd go, making him run for a little bit longer! he'd try to hide behind my other 2 horses, and i'd separate him when i could, but the other 2 thought it was a game and loved it!  FINALLY, he decided that the better option was to get haltered!  he was all stretched out, warmed up and not so inclined to be difficult on the ride....as was i! it only took about 4-5 times doing this before he got it. now, he stands for the halter...actually he'll come to me and put his head in the halter!  he never knows if it's going to be a ride, a grooming or a graze!  good luck! 

I do not have access to a round pen but the fence is electric and therefore movable. i have tried closing her up from the top pasture and doing the join up (i read about it in a book.) but thank you so much

Seperate the two horses. They are depending on each other. After seperating, work with catching each one and become the one they need.