Catching a Horse Without Treats

[Fork]

Mitch still won't be caught. I'm losing patience. :( It's like I can only get so far before I have to give up and turn around. I can stand right next to his head and my B/O has petted him a couple of times. It's always a huge accomplishment when he comes over and wants to be petted. He's not scared of humans, that's for sure! The second I try to move my hand in any direction, he's off. I'd rather not chase him around the field as the weather outside is around -15 to -20 most days, soon to be -30 to -40 in January.

I'm not sure how to connect being touched with being caught when I can't put a hand near his face.

Treats are a huge no-no. The horses in his field will trample me without hesitation if I even consider bringing anything edible into the field. Not to mention that he's not a huge treats guy. He doesn't quite know what to do with them because he's never been fed treats.

I've been trying to read ideas, and some of them just seem like they'd never work with any horse, let alone him.

You guys always have great ideas. Please share them. :p

[WashingtonBay]

Can he be put in a place by himself (or take the others away) until you can work with him? You need to feed him all his meals, as a paycheck for coming to you. I'd feed him bite by bite. He needs to need you. Right now he doesn't need you... he's got food, water and a herd, and you don't mean anything good to him.

[zoel_222]

Can he be put in a place by himself (or take the others away) until you can work with him? You need to feed him all his meals, as a paycheck for coming to you. I'd feed him bite by bite. He needs to need you. Right now he doesn't need you... he's got food, water and a herd, and you don't mean anything good to him.

That's a good idea. Is it possible to keep him stalled, or in a separate smaller pen? Just temporarily until you're able to handle him.

Auda was like that when I got her. I kept her in a round pen by herself for the first week and went out and just sat there with her everyday for a couple hours and talked to her and offered her food. She wouldn't even look at me for a few days, but pretty soon she was eating out of my hand and now she is a total attention hog and runs to the gate whenever she sees me.

[dame_wolf]

Can he be put in a place by himself (or take the others away) until you can work with him? You need to feed him all his meals, as a paycheck for coming to you. I'd feed him bite by bite. He needs to need you. Right now he doesn't need you... he's got food, water and a herd, and you don't mean anything good to him.

I agree.

Koda was that way for a little while till he figured out that I was a good thing to have around! :p What I did was he let me pet his shoulder and neck so I'd just lay the lead rope on his shoulders and rub him then take hold of the rope around his neck and he was caught (he never fought it just would move away from me but with the rope on he felt he was caught and just stood there). I still do that when I go out even though I don't need to, he comes right up to me now but I still toss the rope over his neck to keep it out of the mud and then put the halter on him and then just walk away without holding the lead and he follows.

[Buckpoco]

This sounds really stupid but it works. First he has to like treats...none of my horses came to me knowing what treats were...had to teach them. And, I'm not a big treat giver HOWEVER...
When I had my mare Misty, she was really hard to catch and was in a herd. I certainly couldn't go out with treats as I'd have gotten mugged, trampled:eek:

So, I taught her the "yummy noise sound" (right out of Young Dr Frankenstein).
After only a few times (in close quarters), to teach it, she knew what it meant.

Sounds crazy but I'd go out in the field, make the noise and she'd come a runnin! None of the other horses recognized the sound so I was safe. I'd only go with a tiny treat and slip it to her once the halter was on.

I've taught my walkers the sound. Rarely do they get treats, but often enough to know the yummy sound is worth coming to Mama for!!! Now that I've EMBARRASSED MYSELF...;)

[oursarge]

I use treats with my mare, it's probably stupid but she knows I have them, the other horses [She can be in with 20 or more other horses] don't, they are in my pocket and she knows she gets 2 if she lets me catch her, I don't have to catch her anymore she usually sees me, nickers and comes over breaking away from the herd but that was a long time coming to get her like that and it's because she knows she gets 2 treats when she comes to me and 2 when I say goodbye to her when I leave the barn. When I first got her she'd take off 1/2 a mile and we'd have to go for her with a 4-wheeler that's when I started using the treats since I was sick of chasing her down. The other horses are always around but they don't realize I'm slipping something to her because I do it as I'm putting her halter on.

I was having trouble with one of my boys, he has always been easy to catch but he was sick and had to have shots and he started to take off on me and that boy can run, there is no way he will be caught if he doesn't want to. He's a mustang but was not born in the wild. I contacted the girl I got him from because she does train horses who have hardly seen people. I asked her what I should do since he was awful. She told me to put him in the round pen for a day or two or how ever long it took with nothing, no food, no water. He had to know he depended on me for everything and after a few days of that he'd be fine. It never got that far though, I went out to do it, even brought a chair thinking I'd be out there awhile and he came right up to me like "Hi what's ya doin?" I don't know what was wrong with him those two mornings unless he thought I was going to give him a shot. I have that info filed away in my brain though in case he does give me problems. She said they have to know that in order to eat or drink they have to come to you. My other boy is always there, he comes running as soon as he sees a person. Both boys really love people but I think it was the shots he had been getting that freaked him out.

Good luck, it really is so annoying when you put your heart and soul into them and they take off on you.

[zoel_222]

So, I taught her the "yummy noise sound" (right out of Young Dr Frankenstein).


Haha that made me laugh out loud. I love that movie.

[offgridgirl]

Very good ideas!! Smaller area and you are the focus. Be patient!! :)

[pasolover2]

The suggestion of putting him by his self in a small paddock or field is a good one. My walker Ace was not the friendly type. When I bought him the man I bought him from said he wasn't friendly like his brother, Jack, who is right in your back pocket so to speak. We bought him and his brother Jack, if Jack came over he would too, but no way could I reach out and touch him. I get all my horses up in a stall when I feed, but since I only have three, Ace got the hallway between two gates. I would spend the time he was eating in ther with him, made sure he wasn't food aggressive of course, lol. While he ate I would brush on him and just pet him all over, then when he was through I would halter him and just fool with him on the ground a lot. When I was finished he got a cube and turned loose. When he got the bad stone bruise he ended up in the small lot out back, he started looking forward to me coming out to not only feed him, but just to hang out with him, treat him with the cubes and comb/brush him. Now he comes to me looking for the cube, he isn't pushy, but he comes to check out my hand to see if there is a cube and I can take the quick catch rope I have and catch him easily. With Ace it just took having him where I could just handle him a lot, plus the added time of no one but me for company though he could see and interact with his brother and the other horses over the fence, they weren't there all the time.

It will take time, but once he learns you are someone who brings good things and good feelings, he should start to warm right up to you.

My Paso Fino, Denny was the same way when i bought him 17 years ago, but treats and just spending time with him one on one made things different.

[CaddoCinnamon]

I know that you said that you don't want to follow him around but you might have to. I had a mare Caddo's dam that as like that but she did have a fear of people because of the abuse but she would play that game with me all I did was follow her around and eventually she would come up. The thing that I recommend for you is to separate him out and you be the one taking sole care of him. He needs to learn that he does need you. How long can you keep him stalled up. If you do keep him stalled up you need to turn him loose in the round pen and work him in there. If he turns his back and runs maybe sit down in there and he will come up because by nature horses are very curious animals.

[Fork]

Thanks for all your ideas! I love the idea of the yummy noise sound. I'm thinking if I do any sort of treat, it has to be a mint or a tiny thing. He doesn't like sugar cubes. I've already tried it.

I don't think it's possible to put him into a smaller contained area. There are 2 fields on the entire property. One is for the boarders, and the other is for the lesson horses. He comes in on cold nights, which is when I try to work with him. The only ways I've gotten him inside before are through opening the barn doors and coaxing him through the doors. He even runs away from me when I enter his stall.

He's definitely not scared of people, but he likes to approach them on his own terms. He's never been around people before me so it's understandable that he's weary.

+ I'd love to see him every day, but he's 25-30 minutes from my residence. It was literally the closest barn to the city. :p

[CaddoCinnamon]

Have you thought about taking him to a trainer. What I mean is take him to someone who can get him to be caught. He needs to learn this because Heaven forbid but lets saya fire broke out and you had to move him from one field to the other field right now you don't want him running away from you at this point in time. If I lived closer to you I would ask you if you minded me working with him to get him used to coming up to people. A treat that you might want to try is peppermint. Cinnamon didn't like treats but she loved peppermints. This treat might help.

[CaddoCinnamon]

Can your BO help you out in this situation? Offer them some extra money if they can help out when you get them in a stall.

[WashingtonBay]

The time when he's in the stall are the times to work with him. Are you feeding him any grain/feed? I'd feed it to him by hand, or at least hold the bucket.

[natisha]

These ideas are all good except I would not withhold water.
I have 3 mares turned out together & they can all be hard to catch, unless they think I have something they want, or feeding time or time to come in. I believe one looks at her watch & warns the others that it's between feeding times so something must be up--RUN.
If I want to ride I take whoever I get first.

[shewasmyshadow]

HAHAHA!! I used the "YUMMY SOUND" when I worked at a dressage barn. I'd put my fingers to my mouth and go, "Yum...yumm..yum...MMMmmmm..." The other workers thought I was NUTS, but when that darned chestnut mare wouldn't be caught who did they call? ME! :D :p

[Fork]

HAHAHA!! I used the "YUMMY SOUND" when I worked at a dressage barn. I'd put my fingers to my mouth and go, "Yum...yumm..yum...MMMmmmm..." The other workers thought I was NUTS, but when that darned chestnut mare wouldn't be caught who did they call? ME! :D :p:p Does anyone have a video of this phenomenon?

The B/O wouldn't be thrilled with my idea. Not to mention I'm not sure I like that he'll be in for 2-3 days. I've had bad experiences working with horses who've been stalled over long periods of time. When I do work with him, I tie him to a ring in his stall and he's very cooperative.

[WashingtonBay]

He's not unbroke, he just doesn't have a need for you. He's got your number. I would get him into his stall, however you do that, give him a handful of grain, slip a line around his neck, give him another handful, and do your thing with him, whatever it is. :)

[shewasmyshadow]

:p Does anyone have a video of this phenomenon?

The B/O wouldn't be thrilled with my idea. Not to mention I'm not sure I like that he'll be in for 2-3 days. I've had bad experiences working with horses who've been stalled over long periods of time. When I do work with him, I tie him to a ring in his stall and he's very cooperative.

I think at this point you just need to do it. Even if the B/O doesn't like it, they have to respect it. They need boarders and if you can't even catch your horse, then you'll end up selling and they'll be out money.

Hand feed him treats, grain, apples, carrots. Groom him, love him, scratch him, give him a massage. Every couple of minutes give him a treat.

[natisha]

I would follow him around, just walking, give him no rest. Kind of like how you can't outrun the mummy. When he lets you get close offer a treat then leave. Keep doing it, eventually he will be quicker to get near. It works with most horses, even my mares at times.

[Petra]

My horses weren't halter broke and wouldn't even eat in front of me when I got them. They were very scared of people. There was not a thing I could offer them to get them willingly come to me.
I did what Natisha adviced. Just followed them around. It does take patience. I didn't give them any treats though. Just hang out with them in a pasture. Especially Bullet took forever to let me touch her. At first I didn't try to catch her or touch her. She made a step, I did, she stopped I did, she would run I did too, where ever she went I went too, keeping my distance. Slowly I kept reducing the distance. I would stand right next to her and still wouldn't attempt touching her. I wouldn't leave untill she started ignoring me and looked relaxed. Eventually I touched her. If she ran I ran again. The only way for her to get rid of me was relax and ignore I'm there. After a while she couldn't care less what I do with her.

Crystal had a period of running away. She would take off as soon as she noticed a halter in my hand. If she ran, I grabbed a whip and chased her until she got really tired. I figured if she wants to run, she is welcomed too. When she got tired she would stop, I'd walk over put a halter on her walked around with her for a little and took it off. I know you don't feel like running. But man it worked. I only did that few times. Few weeks later she would see a halter in my hand, she wouldn't make a step just so she doesn't have to run like crazy again. She much prefered the slow walks with the halter on. I did this in a hot summer so she really didn't appreciate the workout.
When I had Sydney she didn't like to be touched too. I started to get her used to me with a grain. It worked, but I was adviced here it's not a good idea. She was kept in a round pen with no grass. I used to take her hand grazing. She knew halter means getting out of the round pen. After a while I think if she knew how to put the halter on she would have, just so we can go grazing.
I think all the advices here are pretty good. Every horse is different though. If I were you I would just keep trying until you figure out what works for him.
I'm sure he'll change with a little patience and time spent with him.
I don't even need a halter or lead rope to lead my horses. When I had my wrists broken I couldn't touch them at all so I would just put my arm on Crystals back and we would walk like that.

[oursarge]

“If you don’t catch an Indian Pony in the first two miles,” General Crook is reputed to have said, “then give up the chase, because they’ll run a hundred miles in a day and be fresh to do it again come morning.”

This is a quote about the Choctaw horses, mine isn't Choctaw but he's a Colonial Spanish just a different strain than Choctaw and he can run so this is what I was dealing with, there is no catching him if he doesn't want to get caught, I was afraid he'd jump the fence! When she said make the horse dependent on everything she meant she [or in this case me] give him water many times a day not take water away from him totally. It's just so the horse knows where his meals and drinks come from. It worked for her and she was dealing with lots of horses that she just needed to be able to treat if they needed vet care since all of those horses now are running free at Return to Freedom. Some that she bought on her own and was selling she worked with more, mine is one of them. He is so sweet but he can run. Treats don't work with him at all and I swear he never gets tired. Sarge will be lounging in the pasture and Rompy is running with a stick or playing with a ball or something, he's always moving it seems.

She also suggested what Petra said, keep the feet moving 'til they stop to look at you, just spend time with them in the pasture and usually they get curious and come look to see what you are doing, but keep the feet moving if they run again.

Hope something helps because it's maddening when horses run away from you. That was the first Rompy ever did it to me though and I am sure it was because of the shots but still it was annoying. Delta was just being a brat but she's over that now [I am saying that and next time I go for her she'll probably take off!], I'm so glad because she could go for a long way and back again but doesn't have the stamina Rompy has.

One of the boarders has a Morgan horse that takes off on her. So far nothing works to catch her, some days she goes home without riding, some days if the kids are around they'll go after the horse with the 4-wheeler, she likes the 4-wheeler because they use that to feed so she'll stop when she sees it then they give her a little food and lead her back. I don't think she's actually ever tried working with her though to make the horse want to come, she gets to the barn, goes for the horse, rides her then turns her out. She doesn't really bond with her so that can be an issue too, the horse doesn't really know her.