2 mares and one gelding they are about 4 yrs old, the owner dropped them off to pasture with us said that they had worked them over the winter and they were all halter and harness broke. They've been here for over a week and I still can't get anywhere near them. I go out quietly with some apple or carrot pieces and talk softly, but they look at me and think I am the devil or something.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get them to stop running?
Answers:
you must gain the total trust of these horses before they will begin to let you really get close to them and let you work with them. the first step is to become the "alpha horse" by doing this you will be one of the herd and there for someone that can be trusted. when you are in the pen with them (Preferably with only one at a time) you will just make you self known. you can take a book and sit and read or you can sit and talk to them. when they become curious and start to come close to you, you can just sit or stand up (very slowly) if you chose to stand keep your hands down and pressed ageneses your sides also keep your head down and avoid eye contact, and don't try to move closer to them. let the horses come to you and when they do reward them for it with lots of verbal praise and a treat. soon when you come out the horses will come toward you when they do you need to teach them to have good manners and wait for you to come into their space not them come into your space. finally when you have the trust of at least one of the horses you can take out a little alfalfa, (enough for all three) and go to the one that will let you come up and touch it. then feed it some alfalfa and rub its neck. the other horses will see that that horse is getting attention that they would like to have. when they come feed them some alfalfa and rub their necks too. soon you will have made lasting friendships with all three horses and they will be eager to come and be with you. Good Luck and have fun building relationships that will last
You have to work with horses. If they are skiddish, then you need to slowly try to build their trust.
Try some grain in a can and shake it a little. Do not make fast moves, maybe even crouch down a litte.
Try to get up wind so they can smell it.
just sit down with a apple and wait,
apples and carrots might help you to get closer but do it over several days with out fearing them to come and take it from your hand.
What you need to do is get a sack of sweet feed from your local feed store. Make sure it is for Horses. Pour the feed into a bucket and sit the bucket right beside you and wait for the horses to come up and eat. Dont try to mess with them right away just let them gain your trust. After a couple of days put the feed in your hand and let them eat it there. Then what you might want to do is get some hay and feed it to them by hand. That should calm them down a lot. Never get loud around them and NEVER get behind or between horses. Dont make a move until you think they are COMPLETLY ready!
Yeah, I had this same problem with a gelding... What you do is slowly walk as close as you can, once they start acting nervous and look like they are ready to run, stop, turn around, and walk slowly away. You may have to do this several times but eventually they will let you get closer to them until finally you can get right up on them. They just need to learn that you are not going to hurt them, and the most inmportant thing you can do is go slowly.
keep going out there every day and be kind and dont be loud. they will get comfortable to ur preasans and will become curiouse and come over to u
The "rattle the grain in the can" thing always worked for me, but one never knows about a horse's history or mind. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to simply hang out in the pasture and let them come to you. Horses are almost always curious about people. I'd do this for several days without any ulterior motive--don't halter or grab them the moment they come up, just let them get to know you.
Get a pantomime horse costume
Eye contact. I you feel you are a threat, avoid it. When it reaches the point of trust, use it.
And all of the advice above.
Well it would be better if they wer in a smaller pen..
and then just go stand in the middle with oats or something and wait for them to come to you!
It worked for my horses
well you can approach it slowly with a carrot or a treat in your hand and talk to her as you approach it like...
what a good girl
what a beautiful girl
or like...
I'm not going to hurt you
just let the horse know that you are gentle and work her trust in you slowly twice a day, longer every time.
If they're like all the (wild) animals I've ever managed to train (dogs, cats, squirrels, birds, can't remember what else), it's the sound of your voice that they will key in on - talking softly instead of in a normal voice may be making them suspicious.
Do some other work with them within earshot and talk in a normal voice while doing it - try walking past them while doing other work (talking to ? or yourself) so they get in the habit of having 'your voice' (and you, of course) near them.
I'm in the process of kitten training - the 7 week old males run to my voice whenever I enter the garage - it's a hoot.
Start by feeding in a smaller pen. When they start coming in the pen easily for feeding, close the pen while they eat and leave them penned for several hours. Then seperate the horses because they will become dependant on each other. Start lunging one horse at a time until they have wore the fresh off and will answer your commands of Whoa and etc.. The horse will turn to face you and slowly will come to you when they feel they can trust you. This will earn their respect and build confidence in you and the horse. This could take several weeks, but it will work.
Get a bucket with grain in it, two or three scoops, and walk slowly towards them. When you can see in their face or body that they are thinking about running, stop and wait, let them look at you and decide you are not going to hurt them. When/If you get them to you, offer them the grain, but you hold it, or just leave it their.
Eventually, you should pet them while they are eating and you are holding the bucket. They will learn to trust moer, just give them time and patience!!
Good Luck :)
What I have done there in the pass was sit out there with them with a bucket of goodies put some on the ground let them see that your taking out of the bucket they will come up tp ypu give it time.
I think Craig B is on the right track. A smaller pen and getting them separated. If you are walking up slowly and quietly with treats, the horses might see you as a predatory animal. Get one alone and just do something in the pen. The horse will get curious and eventually come up to you. Good luck and don't get kicked out with the trio!
This may sound silly, but it usually works for me. Pay attention to the horse's and your body language. A horse which is willing to let you approach will usually drop his head a few inches.
When I approach a horse who is difficult to catch, I try to get him in a corner facing out. Then I approach his shoulder until he shows signs of nervousness - shifting feet, leaning away from me, flicking his tail unrelated to bugs. By approaching his shoulder while he is in a corner, my body blocks him from turning away from the fence or from going past me. The instant he looks nervous, I stop but keep my hand out at (his) nose level. Sometimes there is a small bucket of grain in that hand. The lead shank (and halter if not already on) is coiled and held still in my other hand, with the snap under my thumb and ready to clip.
Now comes the silly part: I relax and drop my shoulders and give a slow little nod while maintaining eye contact. And the really silly part: I also exhale and think about sinking my center of gravity into the ground between my feet. At this point, if the horse is willing to let you approach, he will respond by dropping his head a few inches. Sometimes you have to be patient and wait a minute for him to make up his mind. I think it is the visible, exagerated relaxing that makes this effective. Horses are prey animals. They are not afraid you will hurt them - they know in their bones you will EAT them.
When he gives you the nod, slowly go the rest of the way up to his shoulder. Let him stick his nose in the bucket for a bite of food, his reward for letting you approach. Snap the lead shank onto the halter. If you need to put the halter on, it should have been held in your hand ready to go. Set the bucket on the ground and feed the crown of the halter under his neck so his head is in the circle made by your arms holding the halter by the buckle in one hand and the crown in the other.
This works best in a catch lot, maybe 60 or so feet wide. In 12 years of working on standardbred nursery farms (2-4 stallions with books of 20 to 100 mares each), there were only a handful of determined old mares or yearlings that didn't respond positively. Good luck!
bring back some other horses from the pasture, if there are any, and make sure those three shy ones see you're gentle and feed the one you bring in. Then they might want to come in.
well what I would do is let them approach u. Sit or stand out in the pasture or wherever u are keeping them. It may take awhile so you might use this as a last resort but it works with my horses. But they'll get curious and come up to you eventually. You could also have someone go out with u to the pasture and stand there and talk they will get curious and hopefully work up enough nerve to come over.
It takes time you to earn a horses trust. visit them everyday, each day they will let u get closer, but never over step your boundry, if you see that they r getting nervous and scared, back off, or else you'll end up right were u started. Don't touch their boddies untill they r comfortable with you. approuch them with the back of your hand extended, that is howhorse greet one another, touch there noses, if they don't back up, start touching and stroking there nose, then move all over their face. then ears, neck, shoulders, then the rest of ther boddies. don't attempt halters untill u have earned their trust, or u'll totaly spook them. don't give up, it takes time and patience, but in the end it's worth it.
This will take time. Trust is key. Go to WalMart or somewhere you can get COB (Corn, Oats, %26 Barley) w/ molasses (preferably it just makes it sweeter). Make sure they see it and then lay it down in front of you a ways a way. Then, sit to where you can see what they do, but with your back turned. Get closer every day. If this doesnt work, email me @super-doodle@hotmail.com (dont want to give primary away)
I just posted a long answer on the My horse doesn't like my husband thread that should also work here.
I believe that separating the horses into pens next to eachother would be a good step. If you have something that is about 40-50 feet, even better.
Keep at it and good luck.
Oh, and I just wanted to say that the grain thing can work, but not if you're using it as a bribe. Horses don't understand bribes, and eventually they will just come to expect you to have grain or a treat, and possibly misbehave if you do not.
Being there while they are eating anyway is good, though.
i would go out there in my free time and just sit. i would maybe hold an apple or carrot, but just read or something. they'll get used to you being out there. and then slowly gain trust witht them.
Go and try to approach them a few times...then act like you give up...go sit down somewhere, but stay where they can get to you...soon enough they will come see why you stopped...remember NO SUDDEN MOVEMENTS..That is what I did with mine.Good Luck!
Just be gentle and get smaller than them. i was taught this when i was 8 years old. if you get smaller than them they wont be as scared. if they have only been there for the week, it might take them a while to adjust.
as long as you pretty much know they're safe then have a couple of treats in your pocket walk up until you're as close as you can get before they start going, turn round with your back to them, and just wait.if you want you can just stand there but either way just wait, talk to them in a really calm voice aswell if it helps.
Wat u should do is hold your hand far away from u and walk towards them slowly. then stop.then walk again. when u r about 4 feet away stop and wait...
I know a horse kinda like that i would take it slow and try to go out there with a treat and hide the halter behind ur back if he takes it while he is eating put the lead rope around his neck (drape) so he knows hes caught!! I hope this works!
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