Catching the Horse

Have you ever walked into a pasture with a horse that has never been handled before? Try walking straight up to him to put a halter on him. Sounds easy, but you can bet that the horse will do anything in it's power to get away from you. To the horse you are a predator walking straight towards him. We know we are not going to hurt him, but the horse thinks he needs to run away from you in order to stay alive. What we have to do is create an environment, mentally and physically, that he can understand and communicate with.

When I walk into a pasture or stable to catch a horse and he runs into a corner and pins his ears back or turns his hindquarters to me, this is an immediate negative reaction. He is either frightened of you or being disrespectful, in some cases both. You want respect without fear. Instead of trying to catch, beg or rope the horse, you want the horse to catch you. This shows the horse enjoys being around you. It is so much easier to teach him because he has already opened his mind to you and will allow you to lead him where you want to go. Not because you are forcing him or intimidating him, but because he wants to be with you.

Now we are going to put all these "games" into practice with our horse that doesn't want to be caught. I say games because when things aren't going right, I just keep on playing the game until the horse starts to try. Then I reward him, so we both win. He gets his relief and rest and I get him to do what I want him to do. In this scenario, we will use a horse that is reasonably quiet but lacks any desire to please, or to be worked with and is a little disrespectful and doesn't care what your interests are.

The first thing people do when they approach their horse and he walks away is to try and stop him and pin him in the corner, or bribe him with food. What I do is when he walks away, I start to chase him or drive him around the yard. I like to use a 50-foot round pen, but any yard will do, just keep in mind the bigger the yard the more work you have to do.

I'm going to make it hard for him to be away from me and easy for him when he is with me. You can use a lunge whip or a halter and lead rope to encourage him to move forward. You do what you have to do to get the job done. Do it as easy as possible but as firm as necessary. Make him really step out and go somewhere. You don't want him to just flop around and stop when he wants to, you want his entire attention and focus on you. Establish a direction first and don't let him change directions. If he does, simply step back into his path and drive him back in the original direction. We want to let the horse know that we are the ones that "call the shots." We can't teach him anything unless we gain his respect. We do this by making him move forward, backwards, left and right, just like the dominant horse in the pecking order would.

Now we have gained control of the direction, we are going to change directions. I never want my horse to turn into the fence, because to me he is escaping me rather than looking to me for security and guidance. So when I am ready I will slowly start to cut an imaginary line across the horses path. As soon as he sees me cutting off his path, he could do a number of things. He could turn into the fence and go the other way (This is what most horses will do.) If he does this, immediately send him back in the same direction, and repeat it every time he tries to turn into the fence, he will soon start to look to you for guidance. He may try to run faster in order to beat you so he doesn't have to change or he may slow down, stop and look to you for guidance (which we want him to do.) When he does this I start to walk backwards trying to encourage him to draw near to me. For starters, he will probably just stop and look at you. When he does this try to position yourself on the opposite side (the side which was to the outside is now on the inside) close to the fence so it's easier for him to turn into the open space towards the middle of the yard rather than the tight space you have created. Then encourage him to move off in the new direction. Remember do not hassle or hurt him during the time when he is turning into you or thinking what he should do. We want him to make the turn into you nice and easy, and running around the outside hard. Once he has made the turn start to drive him forward around the yard again.

Take notice which side he feels more comfortable on and work two thirds on the side he doesn't want you on until they are both even. Keep an eye on his attitude, when he begins to get a little tired, looking out of the yard, lowering his head, and starting to relax. All of these things will help you in telling whether or not he is starting to submit. Repeat the changes of direction until you feel your horse is paying attention and looking for an easier way out. (Remember he must always turn into you, not into the fence.) When this happens, I will step out in his path as if I want him to change direction, but instead of driving him off in the other direction, I will walk away from him across the yard and encourage him to come towards the middle of the yard. To start with, you might want to get him to stop and face you. When he does this just stand and wait. Just stand there and let him think about the situation, he might start to lick his lips, this is another sign that he is starting to submit or think that standing still is easier than running around.

Now walk up to him and pat and rub him all over his face and show him how nice it is to be with you. If he goes away, then start the procedure of driving him again until he does want to stop and let you walk up to him. It is very important to let him know how easy it is to be with you. You can also slowly walk away and see if he follows. If he takes a couple of steps, stop and rub him again and continue. Eventually he will follow you all over the yard.

Keep in mind all horses have their own unique personality, some will be easy to get through to and some will be a little harder. Every horse I work with, this is the first lesson I teach them.

When dealing with a horse that has never been handled, you are going to have to break these steps down so he can better understand you. For example: When you have him turning into you correctly both ways and you want him to stop, step into his path. When he stops and looks at you, walk backwards across the yard trying to draw him to you. The main thing is that he stops, looks at you and waits.

Let him rest, catch his breath and feel secure. After you let him rest, walk forward a few paces and just before he runs away walk backwards again. Continue in this manner until you can get close to him. If he does run away then start again by making him run around the yard until you get to the stop situation again and try again. If he won't stand still then he clearly will not cope with us touching him. If you are having problems then go back to something he understands. Then try to build up to these steps again. So good luck with your training and remember to have fun, because if it isn't fun it's not worth doing.