There are usually three reasons why a horse will avoid being caught:
1. The horse feels unsafe or uncomfortable about being approached :
This is usually due to the way in which the person approaches the horse. In many cases people are to direct and fail to notice that some horses have personal space thresholds that are like imaginary bubbles around them. Some horses have such a large personal space threshold that even entering the paddock can be enough to make them want to run away. Another common mistake that people make when approaching their horse is trying to be sneaky or just being downright rude. Trying to approach the horse in a sneaky manner only makes the horse more sceptical. On the other hand approaching the horse in a rude or aggressive manner makes them just as sceptical and resistant about being caught.
Helpful strategies for this type of scenario
· Be more relaxed about the way in which you approach the horse and ask permission to come into their personal space. Asking permission is as simple as being aware of the horse’s personal space thresholds and stopping and waiting when you find a threshold. Use approach and retreat to work with their thresholds till they feel confident and comfortable enough to let you catch them.
· When they look at you stop walking towards them and even take a step back or walk away
· Don’t approach in straight lines.
· Use reverse psychology and pretend you’re not interested in catching them at all.
· Don’t be sneaky when you approach them just walk normally and confidently with a smile on your face.
· Spend lots of time rubbing them before you put the halter on and even rub them down with the halter
· Don’t always approach them just to catch them, sometimes just approach them to rub them or a scratch.
1. The horse doesn’t feel safe or comfortable about what happens after it has been caught
Horses can quickly become hard to catch when they feel unsafe or unhappy with how they are treated once they are caught. If the horse associates people with mental, emotional or physical pain, trauma or discomfort they will try to avoid being caught, so as to avoid the pain or discomfort. In many cases horses feel like they are being pushed to do things that they don’t feel confident to do and as a result try to avoid this conflict by running away and avoiding being caught.
Helpful strategies for this type of scenario
· Spend half an hour of undemanding time every day without trying to catch them or even approach them. The best way to do this is to sit down in a chair in the horses paddock just close enough that the horse realises that you are in his paddock.
· Do things with the horse that makes its experience with you more enjoyable.
2. The horse is not in the right frame of mind to be caught
Many horses aren’t in the right frame of mind to be caught when people attempt to catch them. Something as simple as a windy day can make a horse feel unsafe, jumpy and overly reactive to things that wouldn’t normally bother it. Other horses like to make a game out of being caught as a form of entertainment, amusement and fun
Helpful strategies for this type of scenario
· Play catching games with it so that it becomes fun for it to be caught
· Be more relaxed about the way in which you approach the horse and ask permission to come into their personal space. Asking permission is as simple as being aware of the horse’s personal space thresholds and stopping and waiting when you find a threshold. Use approach and retreat to work with their thresholds till they feel confident and comfortable enough to let you catch them.
· When they look at you stop walking towards them and even take a step back or walk away
· Don’t approach in straight lines.
· Use reverse psychology and pretend you’re not interested in catching them at all.
· Don’t be sneaky when you approach them just walk normally and confidently with a smile on your face.
· Spend lots of time rubbing them before you put the halter on and even rub them down with the halter
If you'd like to see more then check out my FREE Training video's where I demostrate with a horse that has catching problems.
Click here to watch them:
http://blshorsemanship.kajabi.com/fe/12207-ben-captain-free-case-study-training-video-1
Feel free to post any questions or comments below the videos
