# my horse runs from me when I want to halter her



## nmelissawest (Sep 9, 2011)

I need some advice. Iam new to horse ownership. My mare is a pain to catch. When I come near her with her halter and lead she runs from me. She is even getting wise to the grain or treats trick. I do not want to make a habit of baiting her. Usually I can give her a little grain in her stall then sneak out and shut her stall door so that she can't run outside on me. But this is such a pain. My gelding comes right to me with no issues and i want my mare to be like this too. Once I get her haltered she is very well behaved, it's just getting her to that point. Any tips and advice out there for me?


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

how old is she and how much training has she had???


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## nmelissawest (Sep 9, 2011)

she is 14. I am not positive on her training. I got her from an older lady that alwasy used her for trail riding. She owned her for I think 8 years. She will come right to you when u go out to her but as soon as she thinks you are going to "catch" her she takes off.


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

i am not much help. if she was younger i would say she was playing. but she is in her teens so she is testing you or so i would think. how long have you had her??
options
1. everytime she runs away go after her and force her away even faster. so if she goes away in a trot force her to canter until she wants to have the easy choice to be with you
2. or listen to others on here who have more experience  and might now something easier. 
but either way don't work on this in the stall!! small spaces could get tricky. you want to work with her in an area you can let her move and you move without being in danger of corners 
and trainers/instructors are also very helpful


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

instead of putting a halter on, just loop the leadrope round her neck and if your barn is a short walk or her stable is a short walk, put her in. 

My YO has some very nice QH brood mares who he has trained AGAINST being haltered so they can't be stolen from a field and will follow only when you loop a leadrope round their necks. Once you've established this, try putting a halter on.


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## LynnF (Jun 1, 2011)

If you have a roundpen or a smaller pen (best if its round but doesn't necessarily have to be) try and get her into there. Then push her away and make her work, do lots of direction changes transitions etc until she has one ear turned in to you. She may start licking her lips or put her head down as if she was sniffing but not all horses do. Once you get to this point stop putting pressure and turn your back on her. Let her turn in to you, she may walk across the roundpen to you or it may only be one or two steps but once she comes in wait a few seconds and then slowly walk to her and pat her as a reward. She will soon learn that when she is with you she gets pets and love and when she is not with you she has to work. 
If you don't have a roundpen you can use the same sort of concept out in the pasture (hopefully is a fairly small one or you will get a lot of exercise). If she turns to walk away, drive her away and make it your idea. Don't let her stop or try to eat, every time she does make her move again. After a bit when it looks like she is paying attention to you and not just trying to get away then turn your back on her. If she comes up to you then put the halter on and take her out, if she doesn't keep her moving until she does. 
Another thing that may help is once you catch her don't always take her out and ride the hide off of her. Sometimes just catch her and give her a snack or a grooming and then let her back out. Then catching isn't always a bad thing. 
Well if you made it through that novel congrats! Hope this helps


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## Royal Pine Buck (May 28, 2011)

she is associating the halter and lead with something she doesn't like doing when it goes on. like being worked,etc. (sometimes some horses don't even care for brushing!) see if for a couple days once you catch her just to love on her and let her graze (the remaining grass nibblets) or give her treats once you have the halter on...not before!

i agree with the roundpen technique or even this out in pasture...walk toward her shoulder in a zig zag pattern and if she is keeping her eye on you keep going.slowly. if she turns her head to look away or goes to run or walk away. you start walking away from her until you see her look at you again. repeat as needed until you are close. and if she didn't run away give her a treat. you might need to do this without a halter or lead in hand.

or making you can make your other horse come over and give him treats (crunchier the better so she can hear it! is better) and then letting her get curious enough to wander over. and once she is over don't even show her the lead just pet on her. if she goes to leave (assuming she walks away).

you need her to associate you and the halter/lead with pleasant things. and even make work a little simple for a couple day once you want to ride and catch her easily. work on stuff while ridden that she alread knows and does well. so she feels that it wasn't so hard/bad. 

good luck! sorry for typos,punctuation and grammar ...typing quicky!


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## Legend (Nov 15, 2011)

I say giving treats is a bad idea. It has taught my horse to be very lippy. I'm done with that. As others suggested, I would just put a rope on her neck. Does she _run_ away, or simply turn away and walk. My horses used to do this, every time he seen me coming he wold turn, and walk away. He accosiated being caught, with work. So I started taking him out for fun things, as well as work. Like eating grass, sometimes I fed him outside of the pasture, played games, made coming out something to look forward too. He always walks up to me now...


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## nmelissawest (Sep 9, 2011)

more times than not when i halter her it is for good things, a walk out to the grassy pasture, a good brushing, or just to love on her. No matter what she will run. Like today I went out just to love on her, no halter or anything, and as soon as i enter her stall she runs out. She will quickly come back in but it took a couple times of me turning my back to her waiting for her to come to me before she didnt walk away when i turned towards her. I let her follow me out of her stall (into the barn) on her own today with no halter or lead. once she was in the barn and couldnt go back into her stall she stood and let me put her halter on. She will even do this if i have just a lead in my hand. And she will not come back in teh barn as long as I am holding one or the other. Again, most times when i do halter her it is not to work her. I have tried the give treats to my gelding and let her come to me and as soon as I turn towards her she leaves. Do you think this is a trust issue with her or more of a lazy, i dont wanna do anything issue?


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## BellaMFT (Nov 15, 2011)

kait18 said:


> options
> 1. everytime she runs away go after her and force her away even faster. so if she goes away in a trot force her to canter until she wants to have the easy choice to be with you
> 2. or listen to others on here who have more experience  and might now something easier.
> but either way don't work on this in the stall!! small spaces could get tricky. you want to work with her in an area you can let her move and you move without being in danger of corners
> and trainers/instructors are also very helpful


I agree with Kait on this one I would make her run faster. Soon she'll figure out that running away is not much fun. I don't believe in grain or treating my horses to catch them. I don't think it works once they figure it out it'll make it worse or they'll expect it every time. See if there is some one with more experience to so you some tricks. Sometimes it is easier with some one showing you what to do rather then trying to understand what people are trying to explain on the internet.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Lynn's description is the basics for "Walking down a horse", which is a way of teaching a horse to be caught. 
Our horses are in a 40 acre pasture, so it's really hard to do there, but even there I have been able to get a horse that doesn't want to be caught to come to me. In order to create a situation where I was driving the horse if it turned away from me, I put hay out on the ground and allowed all the herd members to eat of it, except the target horse. For her, while she came near to eat, I approached her and if she turned away from me, I drove her off. When she allowed me to approach (and yes, one can approach easier from an angle), then I haltered her, took her off a ways and gave her a few handfuls of hay.

But mostly, I dont' do that. I just walk after any horse that turns away when it sees the halter, and a few minutes of this makes the hrose change it's mind.

Google "walking down a horse".


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## Tejas (Jan 31, 2011)

Yep! Just keep walking. Follow that horse until they realize you are a pesky 2 legged that is not going away. They will want to get it over with and stop, and maybe inspect you for treats. Good luck! Take a water bottle LoL


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## lovehorsesheaps (Nov 1, 2011)

I also agree to make her run away from you as fast as you can, then just wait till she stops and walk to her again. I have done this with my new mare I have persisted no matter how long it took me she was the one working hard not me. Then she finally stood still because she had given up and I walked up to her talking quietly with my eyes to the ground stood still a few times and repeated these steps until I reached her and not a problem to halter her. Next Time I went to catch her she eyed me off but moved a little then stood still. If your girl still won't let you catch her repeat and she will realize this is hard work and she will come around I hope this will work for you as it worked for me, have a great day.


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## britneypadilla (Nov 5, 2009)

Try going out to just sit with her and spend time with her. It will build up trust and a bond to where she will start becoming more comfortable with your company. After a while gradually halter her and treat her every time she is haltered. Do not ride her until she is completely comfortable with you. Get her to gain your trust and want your company. Brush her, do ground work with her, or just hang out with her until she seems comfortable and trust you enough to ride her. Eventually if you work slow with her, she will walk right up to you and put the halter on herself begging for your attention.  Look up some natural horsemanship stuff... it's a live saver, really.


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## britneypadilla (Nov 5, 2009)

Forgot to mention, when she runs from you, turn your back and walk away. Continue doing that over and over and over. She will eventually get curious as to why you aren't chasing her and walk up to you. Thats how you train foals to be caught, im sure it works the same way with adult horses.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

I have one mare that occasionally would do that.I did the walk down method,kept her out from the circle of the herd.We have a large pasture so wasn't about to go chasing her about,but rather used the rest of the herd as my aid.She was ****ed at me at first ears pinned running & trying to spin her hind my direction,I just pressed on, pushed her away more with that.Then she started the what are you doing? "let me in" look as she ran circles around the perimeter, Thats her starting to give up.She finally stopped & faced me. I just stopped pushing her away & let her stand there a few moments before approaching.She lowers her head & joins up.Able to just walk up & halter her.She is usually pretty good about getting caught & haltered, but gets in a moods now & then.Now if she decides she is getting out of "here" when she sees me coming with a halter for her,all it takes is very little following her till she sees i'm not going away! or worse yet I may chase her away from her buddies:-( She ends up doing the ole sigh, alright lady you got me.


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## wetrain17 (May 25, 2011)

I have to say that I have used most of these methods over the years with stubborn horses and have had success with all of them. All I can add is once you decide which one you want to work with, make sure you stick with it for a while. Dont try one method one day and then switch to another a few days later. No matter what you go with, you have to be persistent, patient, and give it lots of time.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

take a chair out into the middle of the field, sit there and cut an apple into little pieces. another thing I have heard. Go to a friends house and find a horse with a front leg chestnut about to shed, peal it off and put it in your shirt pocket then go to the field and stand. Supposedly you will smell like a horse and come check you out. My horse learned to do this one time when I was gone. I started feeding him twice a day while I am home not alot but enough for him to come to the corral morning and evening. Riding days I shut the gate in the AM till I go get him. Non riding days I leave the gate open. 
I have been working with him and he is getting better. I got to where I could get him in the open field , but I am gone two weeks again so we wil see how it goes. It is a long process.
I start in the round pen on a lead line, and basically you have to teach the horse to go where you point, I raise my hand and point left he goes left. I point right he goes right, I point in the trailer, over logs, around tires. I do it constantly, Point Point point. I lunge him on a line and then I stop him verbally and lower my arm. With might right hand I pull in the lead line and walk him back to me, then back him up do it again. left right stop come here,,, The I take off the lead line. Point right point left. I have a smart horse he figures it out quickly. Then I drop hand stand straight Hoo Ho ho, He stops and faces me, I give hime the come here command and motion him in with my right hand like I was pulling on the lead line, and he walks up to me. I give him a treat or pat him on the head and do it again. I do this every time I am around him, point left point right ho,,,, Now in the open field when he runs from me, I point the direction he is going and give hiim the gait verbal commands make it seem like it is my idea. Basically I am giving him the commands for what he is already doing, gaiting away from me, I can give him Ho and drop arms generally he wont come to me, though. SO I point make him move, lately after one or two of these he will stop turn and walk up to me,,, oh I leave a halter on him though. Eventually I am hoping he wont need the game every time.


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## jody111 (May 14, 2008)

heaps of various methods here - the pushing away one works.... but it depends on the horse...

personally I dont have an issue with treats - like giving a piece of carrot or apple - is there a particular reason why you dont?

Mine get an apple slice or a hack snax when they are caught and none are nippy (Also hard to catch) and also one after when I let them go


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## Ne0n Zero (Dec 25, 2008)

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but my horse has also been running from me recently when I go to catch him. Not even treats will work. He'll take a bite of the apple then run before I can get the halter on or even a rope around his neck. They're in pretty big fields so chasing him around and not letting him stop isn't really plausible. He tends to hang out with a particular bay horse who seems to like instigating. Whenever he's with that horse, one of them will start running, causing the other to follow, which eventually gets the whole herd running away from us in the field. I'm kind of at my wit's end with this one. The only way I've been able to catch him recently is having several other people with me to help herd them into a smaller paddock where someone then shuts the gate on them so they can't run and I can catch him.


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## MarleysGirl (Oct 21, 2011)

This topic caught my interest as soon as I read the threads. I have a similar issue with my mare. She "tests" in a any way possible. My barn owner has me doing what Kait described, the keep away method. It only goes so far with my mare though due to her aggression issues we're working on.

Would anyone have advice in an aggressive mare to catch? Today I have taken her away from the other mare she went out with and placed her in a smaller field alone. She'll see any person in the large field, perk her ears, trot up and then within 10-20 ft of you, pin her ears, charge, swing and buck right at you. She is dead serious as she does this. I refuse to spoil her with treats when she wants to attack me. I have tried the rope vs the halter and nothing seems to work with her. I have had to sit there with a lunge whip for 10 minutes chasing her away before. She is around 4 years old, greenbroke and started under saddle. This "catching game" of hers really starts our day off with a poor attitude though.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

MarleysGirl said:


> She'll see any person in the large field, perk her ears, trot up and then within 10-20 ft of you, pin her ears, charge, swing and buck right at you. She is dead serious as she does this.


Seeing as she's young and just started, she's probably still warming up to the idea of being a riding horse. Personally, instead of standing there lunging her, I'd chase her off if she went charging at me and not be afraid to lay one on her. When she stopped being rude, I'd stop and make sure my body position was relaxed and magnetic (as in attracts horses to you.. watch youtube videos or research it to figure out how to do it.) Make sure you tell her good girl once she stops. But if she starts up again, throw the halter at her.. (hold onto the rope though) drive her away! Until she stops and looks at you.

Yeah I wouldn't use treats either on this horse or she'll play this game AND get the cookies.. use treats to encourage good decisions like if he picks up the right lead at a canter (not this horse.. just in general) then I'd reward him via a cookie. or if he puts his head down without being forced.. cookie. Or if he did amazing at a test.. cookie. THAT encourages a horse to make better decisions because they are so food driven.. giving a horse a cookie for running away or keeping away.. no!


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## MarleysGirl (Oct 21, 2011)

I think I said it wrong, I don't lunge her in the field I drive her away with the lunge whip. She's gotten a crack or 2 and now understands what a whip is. I'm not sure if she was just being possessive over the other mare, but either way the field she was in was way to big to play games so I put her in a smaller one. I just don't understand the "switch *****" as she's coming at me.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

MarleysGirl said:


> I think I said it wrong, I don't lunge her in the field I drive her away with the lunge whip. She's gotten a crack or 2 and now understands what a whip is. I'm not sure if she was just being possessive over the other mare, but either way the field she was in was way to big to play games so I put her in a smaller one. I just don't understand the "switch *****" as she's coming at me.


I've seen a lot of 3 year olds act this way.. they're just feeling fresh and confident and figuring out the pecking order and not. It could be the mare, it could be the crispness of December.. eitherway you're good to not let her get away with it


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## MarleysGirl (Oct 21, 2011)

Thanks! She's definitely a handful but she's stuck with me so we will make it work. I feel bad, there have been a few people who have tried to work with her (none with much experience) and got scared away, and always at this time of year. I'm the only one who said I'm sticking to it. Her vet is telling me to put her on regumate but I'm hoping I can avoid starting that. We thought due to her moodiness and cycles that she may have an ovarian tumor but everything came back normal. She actually just came home from the hospital last night. The real work begins now!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

MarleysGirl said:


> Thanks! She's definitely a handful but she's stuck with me so we will make it work. I feel bad, there have been a few people who have tried to work with her (none with much experience) and got scared away, and always at this time of year. I'm the only one who said I'm sticking to it. Her vet is telling me to put her on regumate but I'm hoping I can avoid starting that. We thought due to her moodiness and cycles that she may have an ovarian tumor but everything came back normal. She actually just came home from the hospital last night. The real work begins now!


Well I wish you only the best! We had a mare similar to yours at a therapeutic barn.. when she was little she ran head first into trees so it turns out she had extreme headaches which made her very moody. After she got treated for them, she turned around! Red raspberry leaves help to even a horse's spunkiness out.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

For all of you who can't catch your horses. Take your halter and lead and enter the pasture. Don't make eye contact but circle around until you are behind the horse. Approach the horse but stay out of the kick zone. You want her to move, not run. Go stand where she was grazing for 15 sec or so. If she is grazing again, again move her off her spot and claim it. Horses do this all the time. Keep doing this until she turns to face you. Stop. If it's only one eye, continue to follow her until she gives you both eyes. Stop, then back up a step or two. This seems to draw a horse. If she looks away, you look in the opposite direction. This will draw her head back to looking at you. If she starts to walk away, immediately turn in the opposite direction and walk away. You must do this step. Then just circle around behind again. When she will take a step toward you, turn and leave her alone for a few minutes. If time allows do this two or three times a day. She will get so that she will keep both eyes on you as you begin to circle around. She'll be moving her hips to stay lined up. Get them moving in both directions by walking in small arcs and focus your eyes on her hips. When she is responding well, stop and look at her nose or chest, no eye contact and slump your shoulders a little. If she approaches, stand still but extend your hand, fingers downward. If she touches, turn and walk away immediately. Wait a minute and repeat. Her nose must come the last inch to your hand. Don't be tempted to move to touch her. This is a horse greeting. If she will greet you a second time, offer her a treat, then turn and walk away. The entire time you have been working with her she has seen the halter and lead yet you've done nothing with it. When the greetin is going well, introduce her to the halter as tho she's never seen one before. Same as the greeting, hold it in your hand but wait for her to touch it. Treat her. She will develop considerable interest in the halter because she gets a treat. Open the noseband and barely slide it up her nose and remove and treat. Often after doing this half a dozen times the horse will stand while you halter it, then promptly remove it and treat. Do this half a dozen times, treating each time, then walk away. Your horse is now getting very interested in the halter. One won't teach this in a day but it's more than worth it to take the time and win the horse over.


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## sierrams1123 (Jul 8, 2011)

I have not read through all the comments so forgive me if I repeat anything but here is what I would do.

Because most horses that have this problem is because they only get caught to ridden and although some horses really enjoy their jobs other don't. I mean heck if I could just meander around all day doing whatever I wanted to do and never have to worry about being feed or having somewhere to live that was safe I would not want to work. My advise to you is to reward her when she allows you to catch her and don't ever fight to catch her or chase her around make her come to you. Also go out and get her just to brush her or to take her to another area and let her graze or to do something she loves to do. Like my mare loves to swim or do anything that has to do with water. After time she will be a lot easier to catch, I am not going to say she will be perfect but it wont be such a fight. But remember always reward her, best thing is with a treat or her fav food, because most horses are like men the quickest way to their hearts is through their stomachs.


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## MySissyGirl (Dec 12, 2011)

Ne0n Zero said:


> Not to hijack the thread or anything, but my horse has also been running from me recently when I go to catch him. Not even treats will work. He'll take a bite of the apple then run before I can get the halter on or even a rope around his neck. They're in pretty big fields so chasing him around and not letting him stop isn't really plausible. He tends to hang out with a particular bay horse who seems to like instigating. Whenever he's with that horse, one of them will start running, causing the other to follow, which eventually gets the whole herd running away from us in the field. I'm kind of at my wit's end with this one. The only way I've been able to catch him recently is having several other people with me to help herd them into a smaller paddock where someone then shuts the gate on them so they can't run and I can catch him.


I'm sure I will get put down, as usual, for my opinion....but I had to get a heeler. My mare did the same...no grain, no treats and no moving her out or ignoring her would work. She was happy to stay away....and take off through the pasture down to the pond and play catch me if you can. 

She has since changed her mind. She would rather come to me then have the heeler keep after her.  JUST MY OPINION...AND IT WORKS FOR ME


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## nmelissawest (Sep 9, 2011)

Thank you all for the advise. She is getting MUCH better. this is what I did. For about a week straight I went out everyday and just sat in her stall. Every day she came in and stood next to me. the first couple days it took her longer but after a couple days she came right in. By the end of the week I could stand up and pet her without her running out. This helped her trust me. then i went in with the halter. She of course ran out but i kept her moving in the paddock until she stopped and let me walk up to her. Now most of the time she will walk outta the barn but will let me come up to her outside. And if she does it only takes me about 30 sec. to a min of moving her for her to realize she can just stand there. I was shocked on how easy this was to teach her.


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## lovehorsesheaps (Nov 1, 2011)

WOW good work :clap:what works for you keep doing it :thumbsup:Have a Great Day


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