Do you have any tips for catching a hard to catch horse? I've tried grain and it works somewhat but he still runs, you can hide the halter but I don't feel like that's fair to him. Any tips?
Grain works, but clever horses don’t fall for that all the time. Hiding the halter is necessary so if it helps to put that behind your back to approach him I would do so. But when you catch him don’t always bring him in to work if you have the time. Maybe catch him, lead him around and give him treats, and then let him go again, and just work on that so he doesn’t always associate being caught with going to work. You can also catch him, bring him in and just spoil and groom him and then stick him back out. I used to do that with a hard to catch pony when I was younger haha.
Another thing which helps sometimes if it’s safe with the actually catching part is to physically squat down when he turns to look at you. When you lower yourself like that it’s kind of a way of submitting and a lot of horses will walk to you when you do that. If he comes when you squat I would halter him and then give him treats and praise rather than just bringing him in and riding him all the time so he associates that behavior with positivity rather than work and you have a trick to fall back on.
Eventually with the treats and not always being brought in or worked he should become easier to catch.
Good luck!
—Mica