How can i get my horse in off the field?

Question

How can i get my horse in off the field?

Answer 1

Here's one that I LOVE and wish I had learned early in my horse career.  Use some of the Monty Roberts "Follow Up" techinques.  This uses the horses natural instincts to follow the mom and stay with the herd.  Most people trying to catch a horse from the field try to walk straight up to the horse on the left side towards it's head.  Which is fine if you have a horse that likes to be caught but if you have a skitsh horse all that horse reads is "I'm here to catch u, I want to chase you".  Instead approach your horse in sorta of arch.  When u get within sight, turn the side of your body to face the horse.  Walk in front of your horse in a half circle with your shoulder faceing him.  Basically just slowly moving from one side of your horse's head to the other.  U should see him pick his head up or at least prick his ears towards you.  Keeping doing this until u can get closer and closer to him.  Most horses will walk up to you and stop with their head by your right side at which point you put your lead around his nech and then put the halter on.  Some horses will just stand or continue grazing until u get close enough to put the lead around their neck.  I've used this techinque on some of my habitial runners and it works about 85 to 90 percent of the time.  My horses that were trouble to catch came to me like that, and most were caused by overschooling or too much stall time.  Look at your horse's lifestyle and tack and see if it has other reasons for not wanting to come in.  And instead of taking feed to the pasture with u (which can cause trouble with many horses) try calling ur horse to the barn first, or just start making being caught the best thing in the world.  Find the best spot of grass on your property and as soon as u catch ur horse lead him there and let him graze for five mintues.  Or drop a handful of feed in his bucket in the barn after u catch him.  Or spend extra time currying that one special spot for him.  Anything to make the halter and the barn the happy place.  Hope that helps.  If u need more detailed description of "Follow Up" and for illustrations google Monty Roberts for his website.

Answer 2

sometimes if there hard to catch leave a headcollar on then you can quickly grab them or if its possible take in a feed bucket and shake it so he hears the noise and keep shakin it until he responds

hopefully these may help

xx

Answer 3

Welcome to YA brand new person! Look:Stephen is new today too. Hello newcomers.

More info on how you lost your horse please!?

Sincere advice:Don't put  them out until you trust them and they trust you. If you can't get them in with a call, or a  whistle-treat conditioning, don't let them go. Much too dangerous. Train first,its easy:)  Our 22  head plus foals come in nice every day from  diff. rotation fields, unless its show or event day,or a wind storm.There is not time enough in life to play catch me if you can  games,and wild horses are for TV shows and the BLM. Is it range bred? However mistakes can happen, and IF an untrained horse gets loose, do try shaking a grain bucket,and if you must, walk him down. Bribery is better than the  possible injuries/founder/etc.  Some have luck catching a loose horse with a barn companion horse.

Loose horses are terrifying. And what if you go to  a show or on trail riding?

You wouldn't let a dog run arond loose/big area without being sure,why turn a horse loose?

Anyway welcome to YA on your first day, you guys and good luck.

Answer 4

I disagree with Zair's answer for a number of reasons. First, there is no reason why horses should not be turned out to graze in a field or pasture, provided that you have the space to do this and the conditions in the pasture are safe- NO barbed wire fences, fences that are the correct height and are made out of appropriate materials, gates that can be closed securely and are the same height as the fences, a run-in shed or shelter where horses can get out of the weather and hot sun, and ample supplies of fresh clean water and salt. If a horse does not work, then the animal can live entirely on grass during the summer- it is very nutritious and it is what horses first ate during the evolution process. Our horses live outside all the time- they only come in to eat grain and to work, and this is a very healthy, natural way for them to live- our incidence of colic and other digestive problems, many of which are triggered by stress, is virtually ZERO. Horses that never get out to graze, relax, and be themselves tend to develop serious behavior problems in my experience- and they are at much greater risk for colic and other digestive problems than their non-stabled counterparts, due to the lack of activity and exercise.  Confinement for long periods is VERY stressful to horses- just look at what happens to the average racehorse, who is confined in a stall 23 out of every 24 hours a day, for proof of this. These horses have to be given medication to prevent them from developing ulcers from the stress- which is no way for a horse ( or a person) to live.

With all of this being said, catching a turned out horse is largely a matter of patience and being willing to develop a relationship with your horse. One way to do this is to walk out into the pasture when the horse is turned out carrying treats with you- but not a halter or rope, because you are not going to take the horse inside at this point. Just take a stroll around the pasture, as if you were taking a walk for exercise yourself. Horses are naturally curious, gregarious animals, and when they see a lone human wandering around who isn't posing a threat ( e.g., has no lead rope or halter and is making no attempt to approach any particular horse) they will become curious and come up to you to investigate who you are and what you are doing. If your horse comes up to you at this point, pat him, praise him, give him a carrot or some other treat, and send him on his way. The message that you are trying to send is that you are his friend, and that he can trust you to not always make him work when he comes to you. Try this a few times for some weeks ( or months, depending on the horse) and you will have a horse who is a lot more willing to allow you to approach when you really DO need to catch him for work or for the vet. I have used this technique numerous times over the years with my horses- it REALLY works !! The next step after this is to always have some sort of treat for the horse when you go up to him, and remember to praise him for letting you approach him. You can teach horses to respond to their names and to answer a whistle or other sound, but this requires patience and lots of repetition- and you need to use the same sound every time.



Yet another way to help you catch your horse is to turn him out in a small paddock or a round pen, if you have one. The smaller space means that it isn't as easy for him to evade you- and with a round pen, you can also turn the catching experience into a work exercise if he doesn't cooperate and allow you to approach without evasion. In this case, make sure that you have a longe whip handy- you will want to send your horse forward and away from you if he won't let you catch or come up to him. Let him trot or canter for a few minutes, slow him back to a walk and let him start grazing again, and then try again to approach him, talking softly and offering him a treat. Take your halter and lead rope with you for this. Again, the message you are sending is that you are his friend, but also that he must listen to you and do as he is told if he wants a treat or your attention. This method is most effective with younger horses in my experience- because usually, they are looking for attention from people ( or from any other living thing they can find, such as a dog or a goat) and are more likely to respond. Finally, as a side note, I would like to point out that turning a horse loose at a show or competition is a dangerous and illegal thing to do- Zair is correct about that. It is also dangerous to turn horses out in a field with a halter on- unless the halter has a breakaway headstall. Horses can get halters caught on fence posts, and they can get their back feet caught in the halter if they try to scratch themselves on the ears- and this can result in serious injuries or death from strangulation. My advice with this is DON'T DO this unless you want to walk out to the pasture and find a dead or seriously injured horse lying out there at some point.  However, simply refusing to let your horse out unless you think you can trust him is just ridiculous, because if you can't trust him to come to you in the field, how can you possibly trust him when you are riding?  Think about this, and try some of the techniques I mentioned. Good luck.

Answer 5

get some one help you to catch for you or give a hand

Answer 6

put out a flake of hay or grain....they should come right in

Answer 7

sugar lumps

Answer 8

First DON'T use food. Horses then will demand food when you come out and if you don't have food they won't let you catch them. Just follow them. If it tries to turn around and speed  by you. Move so your blocking it's path. Eventually he will get tired and let up catch it.

Answer 9

Usually food  does the trick, but at this time of year, when the grass is sweet, they really object to being brought in. Maybe another horse would help, to lead him, if not, it's a waiting game. Good luck, I've been there

Answer 10

keep pursuing him/her not allowing them to graze - don't chase or they'll run off and graze far away, and eventually they'll give up and allow you to catch them. You shouldn't have to do it more than once...you hope! Good luck. This method worked with mine but it took 45 mins of me and hubby together in an 8 acre field

Also, after that, don't always ride when you catch - just give a reward or a nice massage or groom and turn away again.  Mine didn't like working hard!!!!

Another thing I did I forgot to mention was similar to Starlight's reply. I actually sat down in the middle of the field after the 45 mins and pretended I was doing something and my nosey horse couldnt resist.

if they are deliberately being naughty, they do know when you want to catch them and can recognise a hidden headcollar behind your back!  Also, i swear my horse recognised my riding jods and boots if I was going to ride and made life that little bit awkward for me.

Answer 11

I have to agree with the first answer, just be patient, and be prepared to walk him/her down, stay calm, and only reward him/her once you have him

Answer 12

open the gate & ask