How to catch a horse?

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daddyfid
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How to catch a horse?

Post by daddyfid » Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:24 pm

How did you train your horse not to run from you when you are trying to catch them in the pasture? I can get about 5 feet away and then he takes off.

Thanks,
Brian

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kninebirddog
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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by kninebirddog » Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:35 pm

i would chase the hos=rse off and keep him running in One direction was a serious pain at first but horses are basically lazy and when you start Making them run and controlling the direction if you can do this ...they learn coming and standing next to you is much easier
the horse learned that coming to me getting the halter on was much easier then getting run around the pasture

I did the same work in a round pen with a rope...all along the john lyons method
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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by kbshorthairs » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:16 pm

Whether I am catching a horse or a bunch of cattle......a little feed has always worked for me. If you get the horse used to coming to you when you feed, they will come running everytime they see you with a bucket in your hand. Repetition is the key. Further training can be enforced through an e-collar, but I wouldn't recommend that without some professional supervision. Horses are more sensitive to stimulation than dogs. The tri-tronics rep was at Nationals in Eureka and they have a "vice-breaker" that is designed especially for horses. It uses a far lower stimulation level than the dog version.

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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by Kiki's Mom » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:51 pm

Both methods work great. Personally, when I'm trying to catch my horses I have not allotted the time needed to chase them around :wink: although this is the more correct method. During trial season, I confine my trial horses to 10 acres. All of my trial my horses all wear their halters ( breakaway safety halters buckled snuggly) 24/7. I have buckets hung on the fence and lead ropes tied to the posts that the buckets are hanging on. I call everybody in for their "cookies" and as they stick their heads in the bucket I snap the lead rope to the halters. voila...everyone is caught in just a few short minutes.

Leaving halters on in the pasture can be VERY dangerous though. Hence the breakaway safety halters. In the summer and winter months everyone gets their halters removed and they get turned out on the remaining 62 acres.

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kninebirddog
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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by kninebirddog » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:00 pm

Another thing that is important is when you do get your horse don't always just grab then work them and then when done just letting them go

make it a good thing when you ahve them

brush them grain them just a little then let them go
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
"When I hear somebody talk about a horse or cow being stupid, I figure its a sure sign that the animal has outfoxed them." Tom Dorrance
If you feel like you are banging your head against the wall, try using the door.

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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by ezzy333 » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:10 pm

I thought you had to put salt on their tail. :lol:

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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by shags » Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:01 am

Make it easier for him to do the right thing than the wrong thing...run the snot out of him til he wants to stand still and let you rub him up. Then go away and leave him alone. A repitition or two will make a huge difference. Then go out and visit now and then, without capturing him, just rub him up and maybe give a cookie, then walk away. Start this training when you have plenty of time in front of you, not the morning you need to load and go.
My horses also wear halters during trial season. Somehow not running around nude makes a big difference in their attitudes :lol:
And I have found it's better not to let mine see me hooking up the rig. If they get the idea their life of leisure is about to be interrupted, they tend to get wary. Little buttheads :lol:

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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by zzweims » Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:11 am

Ditto to all of the above. Also, break up your feeding schedule some. If you feed at different times of the day, they will come to you at different times of the day--and not just at 'dinner time.' Unexpected cookies and 10 minutes of free lovin work wonders. If you always have a lead rope in your hand, but rarely use it, they won't associate it with being caught. Getting chased full speed around the pasture by a 4-wheeler a few times is usually full-proof. I had a mare here once that was so wretched about being caught. Nothing worked. I ended up seperating her from the other horses and withholding water. I'd walk out several times a day with a water bucket, but still she wouldn't come. That camel went two days before giving in. (I don't recommend withholding water, but her owners were going to put her down because she was so hard to catch). Final note: catch your horses BEFORE the vet or farrier arrive. They will learn the sight and sound of individual trucks.

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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by RayGubernat » Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:01 am

Brian -

I am a big believer in bribery with my horses. It works.

I also believe that if you mix it up, the horse will come to you because it doesn't know if you are going to give it a treat and let it go, give it a treat and take it out to graze on the scculent grass on the lawn, go for a ride, or give it a treat, clip on the lead and brush it out, rub it down, do its feet, etc, etc.

the more times you can get the horse to come to you out of the pasture for a treat of some kind, the more likely it will come... every time. If you have to start with clipping the lead on the horse and getting up close and personal with him, stroking or brushing or just mesing with its feet before you give it its grain...so be it. Vary the treats...carrots one time, a piece of an apple another time, horse cookies, a short stint outside on the soft grass of the lawn... etc, but each time the horse has to come to you...all the way, and allow the lead to be clipped on first, or it is no deal.

A trainer gave me this piece of advice regarding horses...If you go at a training exercise as if you have all day to do it... it probably will take 15 minutes. if you go at it like you have only 15 minutes...it might just take all day.

RayG

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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by kbshorthairs » Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:39 pm

I agree 100% with RayG. There is always good advice given on this forum!

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Re: How to catch a horse?

Post by Scott Linden » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:19 pm

daddyfid wrote:How did you train your horse not to run from you when you are trying to catch them in the pasture? I can get about 5 feet away and then he takes off.

Thanks,
Brian
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