HORSIN' AROUND WITH VAN HARGIS
"Catching Your Horse"

Today, we'll cover the basics of how to catch a horse. I often see people make the mistake of trying to chase their horse around the pasture, trying to run it into a pen or "corner" it, or trying to "sneak up" on it by placing their hand on its backside and trying to catch it around the neck. Personally, I think if you try to catch a horse by placing on hand on his butt, you're asking to be kicked -- even by the gentlest of horses.

I recommend against chasing your horse to catch him. If you do run him into a pen to give you a smaller space for catching him, try to get the horse to turn his face toward you as opposed to walking up and putting your hand on his hindquarter. Coming up behind a horse or placing your hand on his backside is a good way to get kicked. Remember, the horse can't see what's just "landed" on him, and even the gentlest horse may instinctively try to swat or kick the unknown thing away.

If you're having trouble catching your horse, the first thing to consider is why the horse is hard to catch. If you only try to catch the horse when you want to go to work with him, you can't really blame the horse for not wanting to go to work that day. I encourage you to vary your contact with your horse. For example, catch him and do nothing more than lead him to the feed trough and let him go. That will instill in his mind that maybe getting caught is a good thing, and not always a bad thing.

As you prepare to catch your horse, make sure he's looking at you; try to get him to face you. If he's not looking at you, don't approach him. Wait until he's looking at you and he knows you're coming before you approach him. You can do that by getting his attention. Call him, or make an agreeable sound that catches his attention and causes him to look up and look at you. Then you can walk toward him. As long as his face is closer to you than his hindquarter, you can catch the animal.

Your initial contact with the horse should be friendly. Give him a gentle pat and speak in a relaxed voice, rather than walking up to him with a halter in both hands. Just like people, animals like to be reassured and treated with respect before we jump right in to making demands of them. Place the halter on your horse the same way you put on his bit: pull on and push off.

When you get ready to let your horse loose again, take the halter back off the horse by pushing off. You want the horse to wait while you remove the halter, not try to pull away from you. When you're ready to let the horse go, you leave him; don't let him leave you. By pushing off with the halter, you keep your arm around the horse's head and neck until the harness is completely removed. When you step away, it enforces the lesson that you determine when the lesson is done.