It’s been a hot day, but the pleasant summer’s eve is settling in, a Delta breeze cooling the foothills. You glance out towards the pasture and spy your trusty steed munching contentedly. What a beautiful time of day for a ride, you think to yourself. Gathering the lead rope and halter, you head out to the pasture gate. With a familiar squeak the gate swings open and you step into your horse’s world. His head comes up, ears pricked forward, positioning his head to get a better look at what is in your hands. Is it a carrot, he wonders? Maybe a bucket? He can’t quite make it out, because your hands are hidden behind your back. Your eyes lock, and he understands. It’s the halter, you’re on a mission, and he has other plans for the evening. He quickly grabs a couple of more mouthfuls of grass as you approach cautiously, cajoling. As you are just about in reach, he gives a flick of his tail, and sprints off to the other corner of the pasture, buying time for his munching, as you say something he doesn’t understand and begin to stomp across the pasture towards him to repeat the game.

Boy, will this kill the mood.

Catching horses is, in itself, contrary to their wild nature.  Therefore, the horseman needs to understand the thought process of his mount, and learn ways to work with his nature, not against it. As a prey animal, the horse’s instinct to flee capture is deeply imbedded into it psyche.  However, the domestic horse has generally learned to accept the will of humans. But, on occasion, the strong spirit of the horse can lead him to utilize the tools of escape with which he was born, resulting in the frustrating game of “Catch Me If You Can.”

A horse that occasionally runs off when you approach him can usually be caught by just modifying your approach. Don’t insult your horse by hiding the halter, he is no fool, and you’ll lose valuable trust. Walk confidently, not aggressively, in your horse’s direction, toward his front. (Remember walking towards the rear will generally push him away) Do not make direct eye contact. Eye contact is a strong body signal frequently used in the horse’s language, usually indicating dominance or a challenge. In the case of catching your horse, you want to be non-threatening. If the horse begins to move away, stop immediately. The horse will also stop and you will maintain control of the movement in a subtle fashion. Wait a moment, and then begin approaching again, being sure to stay at his front, not making direct eye contact, and walking confidently. I don’t recommend holding your hand out if you don’t actually have a treat (the trust issue again). Watch your horse’s body language closely. If he tenses up to move, stop, and let him relax, then continue your approach. If he turns to look at you, or steps towards you, recognize and reward his acceptance quickly by taking a few steps backwards. He will interpret this as an invitation to approach you. As you near him, walk slightly to his side toward his neck, with your shoulder turned slightly away. When you are close enough to your horse, place your hand on his neck and scratch or rub him in a reward. (This is the same body language friendly horses use to approach each other and then nibble each other’s necks as a sign of friendship.) As you rub his neck, lay the lead rope over his neck and grab the ends, forming a loop around his neck. You are now free to halter him. The final approach, reward, neck loop and halter should be done smoothly and quickly. The longer you dawdle without gaining control of him, the more time he has to change his mind.

A common, but unfair solution for the hard to catch horse is to confine him to a small paddock for the rest of his days. This method is both costly in terms of feed, and unfortunate in terms of freedom. To retrain a horse who has learned to regularly avoid catching, some work is involved. You must first look at the whole picture. Are his “caught” experiences positive? Is he only caught for an unpleasant experience, such as a visit from the vet, wormings, or an unpleasant rider? Even the work horse needs to have some positive reward to keep him willing (i.e. our lesson horses always get a treat for their efforts). Therefore, the first step is to add some positive reinforcement to his routine. When you do catch him, occasionally just give him a treat and turn him loose again, or practice approaching him with halter in hand, pet him and reward him with the rope over his neck, but don’t actually halter him. This will begin to recondition his thinking.

There are two solid techniques for retraining the hard-to-catch horse. One I call the Walk Down method. This method is used if you have no access to a smaller work area, or your horse has a relapse after being turned out to pasture. This technique may require lots of time, and the ultimate patience of Job. I once spent over four hours and, I’m quite sure, miles and miles of walking to wear down a stubborn mule who hated to be caught. But once she gave up, I never had to do it again. She learned she couldn’t out wait me. The Walk Down technique cannot be stopped once started, or you will only teach the horse if he is more stubborn than you, you will go away. But done correctly, with patience, few horses will go on for more than 15 to 30 minutes or so. The key is a quiet, persistent, non- threatening, and most importantly, consistent approach, with a positive reward. This technique uses the same approach described for the occasionally hard–to-catch horse. You simply reward any acknowledgement of you with a brief step back and don’t give up.

My next article will detail how to train your horse to want to be caught.

Happy trails, Marybeth

Copyright Ó 2001 by Marybeth Wiefels