# My horse runs away from me in pasture ):



## MeganJoey57

The first week he would walk over to me, but now it seems his "bad boy" switch has turned on. It feels like he completely forgets everything we work on overnight. The biggest issue I'm
Having is he runs away from anybody and everybody that walks up to him. Sometimes if your lucky he will get close to you and act like he's going to cooperate, but them he turns and runs off. Obviously he thinks its a game. How can I work on this and fix it? And ideas? Everything would be appreciated!
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## Saddlebag

Walk him down with low energy like you are out for a stroll. He won't run as far. When he stops you stop. Then step back a few steps. If he doesn't move toward you even one step the shoo him away as tho shooing chickens. Just enough to make his feet move, preferably slowly. Each time he stop, back up and see if he will approach even half way. When he watches you with both eyes you have his attention. If he comes part way, approach him. If he looks away, do the same as this often draws them back. When he does walk off be sure you walk the opposite way at first then walk him down. Higher ranking horses do this in the herd and he will begin to respond to you. When you take him thro the gate, have some feed ready, let him enjoy it then put him back in the field. Won't he have a nice memory. Do this every day for 3 or 4 days and he'll soon be at the gate when he hears you.


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## MeganJoey57

Thanks! I'll try this tomorrow 
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## Elana

When you do catch him, don't always ride him or take him out of the pasture and do give him something good to eat. Carrots. Grain. Something.


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## Ian McDonald

To get to the root of the problem it would be worthwhile to ask the question "what happens after he's caught that could be causing this to happen?". If a horse was previously easy to catch and that's changed, something else changed. There's a cause and effect relationship taking place there. 

One thing that I've found to help tremendously in the cases of 'hard to catch' that I've had to solve is to become more aware of the first impression I make on the horse as well as the last impression I leave him with. I think that it's okay to work the horse and ask effort from him, but at the same time I'm aware that if I do that every time I catch him and then just turn him loose when I'm done then pretty soon this evasive behavior is likely to crop up. This is my solution. I make sure that when I catch my horse, I give him some time on the front end of our session to relax and get used to the idea of being with me before I start any real work. I take my sweet time in getting him ready to be ridden. I do my leading, grooming, and tacking up in such a way as to encourage myself to relax and enjoy the process. It's a little bit like meditation. That feeling will then transfer over to the horse so that by the time I'm ready to throw a leg over him we're both settled and ready to work together. The same goes for cooling a horse out and putting him away. I try to never turn a horse loose until he's completely settled. To me that means that his breathing is slow and regular, his body is relaxed, he's dry, and he shows no signs of being troubled by being with me. I want him to get into the habit of feeling good in my presence so I consider the investment of time to be well worth it. It may take awhile at first but as he adjusts to the new 'normal' of feeling good with me it will become more and more his default setting. 

Finally, if a horse is inclined to be herd-bound and whirl away/take off when I remove the halter I will actually walk him all the way back to wherever the herd is and turn him loose next to the other horses. I hate to turn a horse loose far from the herd and watch him run away screaming. I think that that just encourages him to view me in a negative light and become bad to catch. On the other hand, if I take the time to walk him back to where he feels comfortable he'll begin to look at me as someone who takes him places that he wants to be.

That got a bit longer than I intended but this is a subject I struggled with a lot in the past so I've given it quite a bit of thought. :mrgreen:


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## MeganJoey57

Thanks so much, that makes since! I haven't owned him very long, but he is a rescue horse. He's not a rescue because he was abused or anything but because he was severely underweight. He is only 2 so I wanted to fix this problem before it got worse. But what troubled me was the first week he would come when called and then all of a sudden he ran away. I was clueless because we have done absolutely nothing in training so far. When I go to get him from the pasture I tie him up so that I can brush and bathe him (he's solid cremello with one brown spot, he gets dirty super fast). But I know it's going to take a while and we have to build more trust, I just wanted any pointers that anyone had  thank you!
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## loosie

MeganJoey57 said:


> When I go to get him from the pasture I tie him up so that I can brush and bathe him


He doesn't have a 'bad boy switch' and far from forgetting 'all you've worked on', the problem is that he doesn't forget it & it's not something he looks forward to. When you get him, take the time to do something nice with him instead of something unpleasant. Make sure when you do have to do unpleasant stuff that it's also mixed up with nice stuff. I would suggest not bathing him all the time either, as that's not good for their skin.



> I hate to turn a horse loose far from the herd and watch him run away screaming. I think that that just encourages him to view me in a negative light and become bad to catch.


I like & agree with your post Ian, except the above bit - I really enjoy watching horses being 'screaming mimis'!:twisted: If the rest of the mob are far afield, I usually accompany the release with a 'Go! Go! Go!' to encourage them too!


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## MeganJoey57

loosie said:


> When you get him, take the time to do something nice with him instead of something unpleasant. Make sure when you do have to do unpleasant stuff that it's also mixed up with nice stuff. I would suggest not bathing him all the time either, as that's not good for their skin.
> 
> The thing is the only thing I've done with him is a little bit of basic ground work. He handled it greatly and none of it was an unpleasant experience. Although, if he did hate the ground work then I don't see how he could hate it because while we did it I mixed in treats, groomings, and non stop petting. I guess I
> Could see where's he coming from if he absolutely just hates any kind of work at all but we've only done the grous work maybe 2 different days.
> Oh and yeah i know bathing can be harmful to the horse if overdone, lol. We only bathe once in a while when he's so dirty its beyond trying to brush, And then we don't even use shampoo most the time, mainly just water.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


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## loosie

MeganJoey57 said:


> The thing is the only thing I've done with him is a little bit of basic ground work. He handled it greatly and none of it was an unpleasant experience. Although, if he did hate the ground work then I don't see how he could hate it because while we did it I mixed in treats, groomings, and non stop petting.


You say that when you first get him & tie him up & groom & bath him. That doesn't sound like fun. Also consider that it's possible grooming & 'non stop petting' is not a Good Thing for him.


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## ligoleth

When a horse runs from me, I make them work. I let them make the decision whether to run or stay when I come to catch. When I work with an arab mare who detests work [she'll stand nicely if I don't have a halter or lead for some lovin'] and if she runs, I make running harder for her. 

I'll take a lead rope and whip it against the ground and chase her off. If she hides behind a tree, or another horse when she runs, I chase her off again. I keep my focus on her, and by doing so, I don't cause all of them to go running off like crazy horses. 

When she sits and relaxes and looks at me, I can go get her. As soon as she moves off, I relax immediately because my goal is not to associate being good with pressure. After a time or two with this, she stops playing and settles down and we move on to our regular routine.


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## loosie

Deschutes said:


> When a horse runs from me, I make them work.


I think this principle can also be a good one, but depends what the problem is, whether you care what your horse thinks of the deal & also what your situation is - eg. I've lived & worked on some properties where you'd need a motorbike(2 up north that you'd need a helecopter) to put that into practice! Much easier generally to get them happy & eager to come when called!:wink:


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## ligoleth

Ah, yeah, that is true. 
We have a large pasture that is sectioned off into three parts. A large, medium and small "pasture." Our medium is where the arab is, and usually if the horse I want is in the large/medium pasture, I'll just heard them into the medium, pen 'em up, and do what needs doing.


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## Black Out

I have small-ish pastures and whenever my horse would do that I would make her run. Run and run and run until she figured out that they only way she could get a break would be to come to me. It did work. She doesn't run away now lol.


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## MissKatie

Also try not to 'bathe' your horse too often... Takes away natural oils...


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## Harleerideshorses

Once you're disinterested in him, he'll be interested in you. Don't be afraid to award him treats even if you have no intent of working him.


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## Ladybug2001

Normally when horses run from owners in the pasture, it is due to when they are caught they have to do something, ride, lunge, farrier, ect. Try and get him out for something fun, like grooming, bath time, just some playful tricks like teaching him to smile.


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## Saddlebag

Most horses do not enjoy a bath as they are sensitive to the pressure. They learn to tolerate it. Don't worry if he's dirty, it's offering some protection from the bugs. He may equate being caught with getting a bath. This is why I suggested just taking him out, offering treats in a feed pan then putting him back. When he starts looking forward to coming out, give him a quick brushing first then offer the pan. Don't do it while he's eating as that's his time. Repetition is key here. He will look forward to the brushing as he knows his goodies will follow.


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## LadyDreamer

What do you do to him when you catch him? You probably ride him or work him in some fashion, right? Well, there you go. He was happy eating grass and being lazy, and you want to stop that happiness. How horrible of you! ;D 

What I do with my pastured horses is change up my routine. I do not work them every time I catch them. Sometimes I go out just to give treats and scratches. Sometimes I just go walk through the field. Sometimes I catch them and work them. Sometimes I catch them and clean them up. Essentially they don't know what I am going to do, but it *might* be something good.
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## stormylass

I agree with most everything everyone has said but one thing I do not think was stressed enough...when you do go out to start one of these ideas,be prepared to stay!!! DO NOT wear shoes that are uncomfortable,or need to go to the bathroom or thirsty or just in a bad mood, when you cut to catch him if he takes off YOU MUST FOLLOW, and do NOT give up! It might take a long while, but truley once they see you are not going to leave they will stop! I have only had to do it one time with any of my horses, and after that I have never had a problem.Do not run just walk calmly be super easy and calm and they will get it.Good luck! It is a problem but definatly not a big problem!


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## Palomine

Horses do this because it suits them to do so.

Usually doesn't have anything to do with "bad associations" as much as it has to do with horses have a mind of their own.

Case in point. My QH Bonanza, hasn't been ridden but infrequently in the last 7 years, and then only 4 times. Has nothing to remember as bad. Just doesn't want to be caught.

Make horse move off and keep them moving until they will stand and be caught. I also don't agree with the "give them something pleasant" idea.

Horses bank on what they are thinking at the moment. They do not balance the odds of "last 20 times she was nice" and decide to be caught, and unless owner/handler is beating them with 2x4, neither do they think "I got ridden" and decide to walk off or not come up.

They do it because they feel like it, and you have to get them to thinking it is your idea for them to move off, in which case, it does not generally suit them to keep moving. Most things are fun as long as it is their idea.


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## LadyDreamer

If experiences had no relevance to them, then a fall in the trailer wouldn't cause fear of the trailer, being smacked in the nose wouldn't cause them to throw their head up at the next sudden movement near their nose, and so on. If they did not make associations the sound of a grain can or mint wrapper wouldn't stir up excitement. They do make associations. The negative ones are more apparent, unfortunately. Generally speaking, if they associate something with good, they will be more inclined to seek out, or at the very least tolerate it better. My stalled horses all get very excited when they see a halter. At the front of the stalls, ears up, attentive, even nickering sometimes. If you dont halter the youngest ones fast enough, they are nudging the halters. Their time out of the stall is still work, but work can be pleasant and cause good associations. My pasture horses have no real negative association with me. I have done a lot of work with all ten of them to be able to go up to each individually and interact how I will. They really do not know what I will be doing today, but if I want to catch them, it is not difficult. They do associate me with good things. I do everything I said above. I do not do the same thing every time I go out. They don't see me and think "treat!". They don't see me and think "work" either. They see me and appear happy to see me. Who knows what they are truly thinking but they aren't blowing me off. It's more like "oh hey. It's just you. You are alright."

My dad always says "Horses have no concept of 'future', but they do have memories." 

I do agree with the idea to make them work if they want to run away and rest if they decide to stand. That is a tried and true method that works. It doesn't work the best in a herd situation though which is why I do what I do with them. And that works too.
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## loosie

Palomine said:


> Horses do this because it suits them to do so.


Precisely. So it's just a matter of teaching them that it suits them to do what you ask.



> Has nothing to remember as bad. Just doesn't want to be caught.
> 
> Make horse move off and keep them moving until they will stand and be caught. I also don't agree with the "give them something pleasant" idea.


I don't understand your reasoning here. You say he's got nothing bad to remember but your tactic seems to be make them work as soon as you get there unless they put up with you and it sounds like you're saying you also strive not to be associated with anything nice.

I know it's not a rare belief, but I just don't understand what some people think is so wrong with actually being Nice for the horse & rewarding Good behaviour? Why do you believe you shouldn't create good associations? I want the horse to actually like my company, rather than just feel the need to comply because otherwise something worse will happen.



> Horses bank on what they are thinking at the moment. They do not balance the odds of "last 20 times she was nice" and decide to be caught, and unless owner/handler is beating them with 2x4, neither do they think "I got ridden" and decide to walk off or not come up.


Of course they don't 'balance the odds' as such, but I'm interested to know how you think they(& other animals, us included) do learn and are trainable, if not from learning by association? Not that I think you do believe that, because I'm gathering it's your understanding of cause & effect that is the reason you get after them when they don't submit.


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