This is the first time for me to post a question and really hope to get some help.

We have had our 4 yr old mare since June 6. The halter stayed on her all the time. The previous owner had done this also so we continued for easy of getting hold of it and leading her. We took it off to buy her a new one and when we went to get her she took off running from us and absolutely would not let us put the halter back on. We finally opened the gate and let her run into her corral at which time we did eventually get it back on after she ran around the corral a while. She immediately became calm and we could lead her.

The next day in the field with halter still on she would run from us again. Tried treats and she would come up for it but was watching all the time. As soon as my husband got close, off she went again. Finally had to open the gate and let her find her way to the corral again.

Now this morning my husband went to lead her to the field and she ran from him in the corral. She is just getting worse. We tried feed, treats, petting. Never has anything aggresively been done to this horse from us. She rides just fine except when she is tired of riding she fights to go back to corral. But she has never given any indication of wanting to buck, bite or kick. She is just had strong.

We are wondering if there is something we should be doing different. We are both novices at horses. Me more than my husband. Any help would be great!!

First, I am not sure if you mean "corral". That usually would be something like 60 by 100 -and not a good place to work a horse like that.You need a small pen.

I bet you the person you bought the horse from had a reason to leave the halter on all the time - as you are finding out now. Most likely something bad has happened in the past. And also most likely you never will know.

Here is what I would do. You need a pen of about 12 by 12. Put her in there and stay in there with her. Don't try to put the lead rope on. Get her used to beeing close to you This might take a while.

Here is a trick I use with babies or a horse like that. Every horse has itches. As soon as I see a horse nib at some spot, I will scratch that spot - real hard. It usually does not take to long and the horse will think you are the greatest thing on earth.

The next step would be to scratch her with the rope in your hand or hanging over your arm. This way the horse will learn to like the rope. You can at some point wrap the rope around the neck or the legs and "scratch" the horse with the rope.

Try if that will get you anywhere. And by the way a horse turned out with a halter on is a bad idea. The horse could get hung up on something. Worst case the horse might kill itself - best case you can forget the halter forever.

Found something interesting that just may help. Appygirl kindly gave a link to a new forum the other day for Dennis Brouse and I also looked up his Youtube channel. One of his videos is :

'Your horse hard to Catch? Training Tip from Dennis Brouse with Saddle Up' - the link to it is: YouTube - Your horse hard to Catch? Training Tip from Dennis Brouse with Saddle Up

Dennis uses grain on a reward system. It seems to work well for him as he 'pops-up' if they try to demand more rewards. Anyway, I found this particular video interesting because when the horse owner backs away, the horse comes to her! Well, when I had my horse, I wish she would have done that at times!

Thought it might just help a little, even if you use a bit of his training at some point.

Oh yes, and I found a leather halter is better for turnout if you really have to leave it on. At least leather will break under strain - unlike nylon.

and - thanks Appygirl for the link!

First of all it's very dangerous for her to wear a halter turned out. She could try to scratch her head and get it caught on something.

If she were mine I would:

Get her into the corral (round pen) Don't try to catch her. Just start exercising her in there. Keep her going, do not let her stop. Do this until she looks like she is getting tired and try to stop. Ask her to stop, hold your hand up like you are going to pet her forehead. Start walking up to her. When she takes off, go back to exercising her. Then ask again, keep doing this until she stands still. She will eventually (maybe a few days) come to you when you ask her to stop and hold your hand up. She'll get too tired to argue with you anymore. (the length of time , all depends on her) Only start this if you have the day to spend.

You might have to let her live in there, depends on how stubborn she wants to be. You cannot give up though, it will only make it worse. So be prepared to feed and water her in there. Take out all the food & water when you work with her.

If she is smart she just might come to you in the corral (cause she knows she is caught) and not out in the pasture.

When you do get her caught and she stands for you, just pet her and walk away. She will
have this look like "what the heck" and realize it wasn't all bad. She mat even follow you as you walk away. It will be easier the next time. If it were me I'd keep doing this until there is no question she will stand for you, let it be the new normal behavior before I would turn her back out. If this is not possible and you have to corral her every time she might just get smarter about corralling and you will be doing the same thing in a larger area.

There are loads of other methods , but they are too harsh for me. I want my horses to do what I ask cause they trust me, not because they fear me.

Just another note, if every time a horse is caught the person does something to them they don't like (trims, deworm, shots, ride etc...) The horse will not want to come to that person anymore. So you have to mix it up. Catch them just to turn'em loose or to grain or brush'em. 99 percent of the horses are not born ornery or bad, we make'em that way by poor communication skills. Just put yourself in their shoes (lol) and work with them like you would want to be worked with.

I have had to do this on a couple of horses that I bought, only one kept it up for more than a day. She was tough, it took about a week with her. They all came around and I never had another problem with any of them, using this method.

Some one else may have a better method out there, this is just what works for me.
Good luck, keep us posted.

I copied out all your really good suggestions. In the field (appox 2 acres) where she spends the time loose we are putting up a 12 x 12 area and will offer apples or sweet feed to get her to come in. From there we will be able to put the halter back on and walk her to the corral. If this works, it will be an easy fix. Then we can try the training method for long term. I think she has been able to run the show with previous owner.

Thanks for your time. I'm impressed!

Cuttin74,
What size round pen do you normally use?

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You can get a lot better advice on here than i can give you thats for sure! this forum has helped me alot being a novice also, I have a 2 yr old dun that did me the same way , once we took her halter off she wouldnt come to you at all if you had a rope or halter or anything in your hand that she thought you were going to try and catch her with, I was watching a traing video on you tube the guy was running his horse around in a round pen ,eventually he walked up to the horse, and in time put bridle on one time , the next the saddle etc..I used this technique in a make shift round pen, one time i would run her to the right ,then to the left for a while eventually when she was stopped i walked right up to her and put the halter on without a problem. now she is more than willing to let me walk right up to her brush her put on halter rub her etc... you might try the round pen thing , it"s sure worked for me and Buttercup!

Rosalind,

I prefer 60' , 70' +. depends on what I am doing, but nothing smaller than 60'.
Because I like a horse to feel like they can get away from me if they want. I do not want them to work because they feel they have no choice. I want them as relaxed as possible.
It's much easier to get into their mind if they are relaxed. (trainability)

yes, that's a good size round pen, and thanks for explanation too.

I also do not use grain/treat to train this action.
Because, I may be somewhere that is not available. It was just a habit I got into many years ago from riding in the mountains.
I will give an apple cookie at the end of a good day and after a cool bath.
I only do it the same time, so the horse will not ask continually for a treat.
I am sure you all have seen those that nip for a cookie. I may also walk through the barn at night and give everyone a treat, just because.

the only thing i can think of is really try if you have another horse, get the other horse and start to walk away from yoru other horse, and then try and get her. if you have to when your horse is in the stall leave a long lounge line on her and when you get close enough you can grab it and teach her to walk towards you, just as if she were in halter trying again. another think you can try, some people don't believe in but i had the same problem with my 3 yr old when i bought her nd this is what i did. try joining up with her. where you put her in a roundpen and lounge her. after she gets tired ask her to turn into you and walk in. when you stick your hand out and she doesnt come in after about 30 seconds, then you send her out working again. after about 5 rounds you ask her to come in again, this time turn around and give her your back. after about 30 secounds if she doesnt make any moves you send her out working again. you have to stick to it though you cant qui until she comes in, sometimes it will take an hour, sometimes much much less. you need to do it every time she gets out until she learns to come in the second you ask her to stop and turn in. it takes time but it teaches her to trust you and look to you when she is out of her own comfort zone. i did this with my mare, and now she is in a 3 acre pasture i whistle and she trots right to me,and she looks to me and trusts me completely.

i hope this can help you, you just have to be patient.