Can you teach a horse to come when called?

Question

My horse is turned out in a twenty acre pasture and I would sure love it if he would come to the gate when I call him. Any suggestions on how to do this? Right now he pretty much ignores me until I get to wherever he is in the field.

Answer 1

A horse acts a lot different in a huge pasture with grass than a small field. I have a great bond with my mare, and she will come when I call....sometimes. In a small pasture with no grass, horses are bored and will run right up for some excitement. If there is food out there, forget about it.

With having your horse in a large pasture (like I do), you will never get him to come up all of the time. If he is hungry and just started grazing- he won't come up. Food has a major priority over anything you would want to do.

First of all you need a great bond with your horse- or they will not want to come by you. Second- every time you take him out, bring him a very tasty treat. I usually use a handful of grain because my horse will walk through a pack of hungry wolves for it.
The first couple times, call him but walk out until you are about 6 feet away from him (or just outside the range where he comes to you). Call him again and show him the treat (several times if need be). Then wait. Do not walk towards him anymore. I have had to sit 10-15 min in the beginning. Once he comes readily to that distance, make it about twice that distance. Wait, and make him come to you. Then triple the distance. Repeat. Once you are this far away, if he hears you, he should come.

Keep in mind though, you may be waiting forever if he just started grazing, or hay was just put out for him. In those cases, where he shows no interest in you whatsoever, your bond is either not strong enough, or he is so busy eating that he does not care. If either of those are true- you are walking the whole distance that day.

Answer 2

You have gotta make coming to you the best thing in the whole world to your horse! If your horse is food motivated as many "lazy" horses are ,then it may mean treats. If you can't whistle then use a unique code name or word when you call or buy a whistle from the store. Every single time you call your horse use the word or whistle and when he comes give him something that he really loves. That may be his favorite treat or a good scratch in his favorite itchy spot (horses really ,really love itchy spot scratches). Contrary to what you have been told proper treating does not cause mouthyness. A high play drive does.Mouthy horses are bieng disrespectful so you would need to work on gaining more respect from your horse. For the come exercise I would not recommend the clicker training method just because there is not enough motivation there for a horse.And if you don't want the whole herd coming when you call then watch how much you reward the other horses.

Answer 3

it would appear you can ...

In this step, you will teach your horse to come to you when you call him. This will save your poor legs from walking an extra 50 ft or so. Never, ever call him when you are about to do anything unpleasant!!! That would reverse what you are trying to teach him! If it is time for his shots, then walk out there yourself and get him, don't be lazy!

You will have to decide on a voice command or a sound to use for the call. This could be the horse's name, or as simle as you whistling. Whatever you decide, use it consistently. Don't call his name one time, and whistle another.

1. Walk through the pasture gate and stop. Call him with the sound you've decided on. Make sure he can hear you!

2. Wait a couple seconds, then walk up to him, give him a carrot, and immediately walk away from him.

3. Repeat.

The first time you call him and he walks up to you on his own, give him a whole handful of carrots, stroke his neck, and tell him "Good Boy". He will begin to associate your call with something pleasant, and will begin to come to you when you call him.

Have Fun!

Answer 4

i have an 8 yr. old and a 4 yr. old i just got the 4 yr. old in nov. 2006 the younger horse has already picked up from the older one my whistle has something to do with food or an apple treat they just about break their neck running to me from about 30 acres anywhoo everytime i got in the pasture to catch him (the older horse) i gave him a treat lead him out let him graze a little on the green grass while i groomed him he loved the attention so it didn't take me very long with him. It all depends on his and your attitudes toward each other also is he a shy horse or stubborn? work with him as some here say some are easy to train some it takes alot of time.

Answer 5

Yes you can. I used to ride a roan gelding straight off a ranch. The cowboys probably roped him to catch him. In the beginning he was almost impossible to catch. He was in a large pen with other horses and it would take at least 3 people to catch him and some time.

Then every time I wanted to catch him, I would call his name loudly and I always had a treat. Carrot, grain something. Eventually, hearing my voice meant a treat. My friends were so surprised when I would come out and holler his name and his head would jerk up out of the feeder and he would hurry to the gate to get his treat.

Patience and never call him without a treat!

Answer 6

First I taught my horse to come when I whistled three times. After that I taught her to come to a hand signal just so I could call her from a distance. The hand signal is that slap my chest twice and then throw my arms up like a big hug.

Food is the way to do it, of course.

Answer 7

Yes, you can, but take it slowly. Call him from a short distance, and then make it bigger. When he comes to you, give him a reward, whether it's a pat on the withers, a kind word whispered in his ear, or a carrot, he will respond. My horse for instance, when i lunge him, it's a lot easier for him just to come to me, instead of me having to pull him in. I trained him to come to me when i point at him.

Whether or not you can train him all depends on your bond with him. If he is a new horse, you might have to just get used to walking out there for a while until you can get to know him, and vice versa. And some horses just aren't people horses, and even once you get to know them, they run off when they see you. Good luck with your horse!

Answer 8

I believe it has a lot to do with your bond with the horse. I have had Friends who's horse would come when they whistled. They spent an enormous amount of time with their horse though. Good Luck!

Answer 9

Yes. Routine is usually how you train them. Have a set time everyday (maybe for about a week or two) where you call the horse to you and when he does give him a treat. Make sure you do this all the time if you are training him.

That's what my FIL did to train his horse.

Answer 10

is this a new horse? because I think if that horse knows you real well and even sometimes when they do they like to be left alone. Most likely a bonding thing, it takes time. Keep some treats with you, and he will start to like you alot.