#95 - How Teddy Bears hate to be ignored

For the last two days I have tried a new method of catching Teddy, one that doesn't require me restricting his access to leave. I'm determined that he will not be left in a paddock with a halter on, which he never is, and that he will want to be caught.

From what I have heard and read catching a horse is the number one problem people have. With Teddy we have progressed in the right direction but very, very slowly. What was once a hour long chase around a paddock with me being a predator has gone to me luring him to a specific area on the property each time, which is the crush area (aka dining room) without a halter in my hand, then closing the gates on either side of him which restricts the distance he can retreat, then walking over and putting a halter on him. Mind you I have worked up to this. Once when I got him to the dining room he was on high alert and initially tried to leave before the gate was shut and then he eventually just accepted what was coming but has remained evasive to this day. It's at the stage now that it is always easy and works well because he accepts he has nowhere he can really go but it's far from my ideal.

I don't see this as being successful with my goal. I want him to come to me while I have the halter in my hand AND not want to leave, just be haltered, happy and not find it as the threat that he currently does.

On Saturday I tried something new. I walked out to the paddock with the halter in my hand in plain view and a piece of liquorice. I gave him the liquorice and walked away. He followed. I had one more piece of liquorice in my pocket that he couldn't see put most likely could smell. He walked up to me and I went to put the halter on him and he backed up. At that moment I shooed him away and walked in the opposite direction. 'Bugger off" I'd say, "I don't want you." In a few seconds he was following me again. I had my back to him and he put his head over my shoulder. I talked to him calmly and went to put the halter on him. He backed up, I shooed him and walked away. Again he hesitated with a look like he was trying to process what I was playing at. Then he walked over and stood beside me. I put the halter on him and gave him the liquorice that was in my pocket.

To me this was a success. He could have ran a mile like he used to but didn't, he came to me and he had to do what was needed to get what he wanted. Then when it was done I gave him heaps of pats and scratches which he loved and took the halter off. He continued to hang around me in the paddock for the rest of the time I was out there. There were no more treats but plenty of pats and scratches and that was reward enough for him.

This morning I did the same thing but with those mini Reese peanut butter cups which he also adores. This time he was different. He came over to me with the halter in my hand but he didn't get the treat. I went to put the halter on and he backed off sideways so I shooed him. This time he looked at me like, "get stuffed!" and then he went and ate grass as if to say "two can play this game". So I went and talked to the chooks over the fence. I was watching him from the corner of my eye and could see he was doing the same to me. I had to laugh at this mexican standoff! I continued to talk to the chooks and then I saw him walking towards me. I waited until he was half way and turned to say hi. He stopped but I wasn't going to him so he stamped his front hoof into the ground then walked over to me. I walked away. I thought that I wasn't going to reward his little hoof stamping tanty! He followed. I shooed him away one more time after he tried to back up and then he came straight over and let me halter him. He was wrapped to get that mini peanut butter cup.

After more pats and scratches I took the halter off him and just hung around the paddock doing my own thing and he followed me everywhere. Then he started licking me on the hands and arms like a dopey puppy even though he knew there were no more treats. He wanted to hang with me, to the extend that when I was leaving he was whinnying as I walked away. That has to be a good sign that he is starting to see the benefit of being haltered.

I've never had a problem with him wanting to hang without a halter, but for whatever reason he see's the halter as a negative and runs. He used to gallop around so fiercely at the sight of the halter that he actually made my oldest brother fall in the mud while he was attempting to get out of Teddy's way! So where we are now with his halter issue is leaps and bounds ahead compared to those days.

I figure that this is working so I will keep at it, even if it means that in the end he gets a little something tasty each time. It a far cry from chasing a a horse for an hour in the stinking heat or driving rain. Besides, its also very cute to watch him try to figure this whole tactic out.

He's certainly no dummy ol' Teddy, he's on to everything. Some people want a clever horse, as do I, but I tell you it's hard keeping a step ahead of them when they are quick to your every move. I envy those people I see with their horses that can walk up with the halter behind their back because Teddy would never fall for that! A bucket of feed wont even convince him. But liquorice - well that it seems is Teddy's Achilles' heal. So I'm off to the shops to buy more liquorice.