Sometimes you can get into a tricky situation without even realizing it. For example, what do you do if you walk into a pasture to catch a horse and suddenly find yourself surrounded by many other curious horses? They can make you feel really small as you are surrounded by a dozen or more animals that weigh probably 10 times more than you do. At least they aren’t carnivores so they won’t eat you, but that small comfort doesn’t stop you feeling intimidated by all that horseflesh so what should you do?
The best thing to do is just to ignore them and keep on walking. As you walk past them to get your horse they will gradually realize that you have no treats for them and then they will usually get bored and leave you alone. If there are any persistent horses shove them away as it will give them the message that you are not interested in them. If you do this they will generally retreat. Walking through the pasture with an aggressive, confident posture towards those you don’t want to catch can also give horses the impression you don’t want their attention.
One sure fire way of being mobbed is to walk in with a bucket of grain to catch a horse since this is an open invitation to all the other horses in the field. It is a good idea to keep any treats hidden in your pocket if you want to give them to your horse. When you catch your horse you can give them the treat at that point or you can wait to give the reward once you are outside the gate. If you want to make your horse easy to catch it is best to teach your horse that they are rewarded only once they are caught and taken through the gate.
The owner can be liable if there is a horse that is known to be aggressive and it attacks someone that is leading a horse. So if a horse is causing problems in the pasture such as kicking and biting while people are trying to lead away their horses then it will need to be removed. Any aggressive horse that threatens people needs to be kept out of a shared pasture where there are people. If a horse has a history of being aggressive and then hurts someone in the pasture legal problems can occur.
The key to most problems is prevention. It is worth getting to know each of the horses that are in the pasture. That way you are unlikely to have to worry about going to get your horse if the situation is normal and safe for you. If you don’t want to have to chase your horse around the pasture to catch it you will need to allow your horse to be happy when they are caught. It is a good idea to vary the routine after catching a horse so they don’t always feel you will ride them hard. From time to time catch your horse and take it inside where you can give it a treat and groom it before putting it back out in the pasture.
There can be a whole new set of problems when releasing a horse back into the pasture so it is important to do so calmly. You want to give them little opportunity to escape so make sure you shut the gate after walking the horse in. They are usually very pleased to be released and can kick and buck with joy before running off so gently give them a pat after slowly taking off the halter. Get the horse used to standing beside you without the halter on so they know to stay still until you walk away from them. Turning out a horse should be a gentle process so you should never chase them as this can lead to problems where they will want to race away the moment you loosen the halter.
One way to prevent them running off immediately is to grab some mane and start scratching the horse’s ears as soon as you loosen the halter. This can help slow them down before they decide to run. A horse that wants to turn around and kick whoever just released them is a real hazard and this should be treated as a major behavioural problem.
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