Hard to Catch Horses

Catching horses and trailer loading seem to be two of the biggest problems for lots of horse owners. I get asked all the time, why won’t my horse let me catch him? My first advice is “Stop trying to catch him”. A horse knows what is going to happen before it happens. This is because their life depends on it. If they get caught not paying attention, they are dead, eaten or seriously wounded (which means certain death). Horses have to know what is happening around them or they die. It is that simple for the horse and is very instinctive.

By not trying to catch a horse, a horse will not try to get away from being caught. You can still catch him, it may take a little longer, but remember, “The slow way is the fast way with horses.” So by just approaching your horse to pet them, to say hello, to bring them a treat, you tell the horse you are not trying to catch them, so they do not react to being caught. A horse will not run from someone who is not chasing or putting pressure on them. So if you go after a horse with a purpose of catching him, go straight to his head, and only approach your horse when you catch him, it will not take him long for him to figure out what you are up to. If you were a horse, you would know this and would not want to get caught either.

So how do you hide this idea of catching your horse from your horse? It is not easy. Since horses are the king of observation and don’t miss much, you really have to use your horse sense. You don’t want to look at the head, don’t reach out with your hands, don’t sneak up and don’t talk. You really need to understand pressure, release and driveline. You have to think that you are approaching your horse only to say hello and to rub his withers. By focusing on that you will not telegraph your intention to catch the horse. So your objective is to pet the horse at the withers, not to catch him. If you think that you are fooling the horse and you try to only pet him when the real intent is catching him, he will know it and you will fail. You cannot hide your intentions from a horse. “Horses keep you honest.”

Now, that information will only get you so far. You still have to be aware of pressure and release. Anytime you approach a horse, even just to pet it or bring it a treat, you need to move as if you are the Alpha and you understand horse language. By knowing when to put pressure on and when to release pressure, you communicate with your horse and your horse knows that you talk horse. You make the horse know your intentions and you make the horse feel that you are not a threat. When see birds, deer, rabbits or other animals hanging out with horses, you don’t see horses caring or reacting to them. They know these things are not a threat and are not trying to catch them or hurt them. Horses do not know this about you until you tell them. You tell them this with your body language. You read the horse and know when he is getting nervous, so you know when to release pressure. If your horse tries to leave, you need to know how to move in front of the driveline, just enough to stop his forward movement. The more you control the horse’s movement, by anticipating what he is going to do, the more you tell the horse you control him and he will have less incentive to move away from you.

Release is the key to any horse handling. Knowing when to release is timing. Knowing how much to release if feel. Understanding this is critical if you want to be successful with horses. Whether it is release of bit pressure, release of leg pressure, release of drive pressure, knowing when and how much will enable you to get great results from any horse you work with.

So for the hard to catch horses, the smart ones, you need to be smarter. Don’t think catch and don’t chase them. Simply understand how horses talk, how they communicate, be like the horse and join up with your horse. If you can communicate that you are the herd leader and you are higher, then you horse will always allow you to approach him, just don’t try and catch him.