Everyone loves to see horses coming when they are called – there was a cool video, a bunch of years back, of a Parelli student cracking a bull whip and his horses coming running from the other end of a large field and loading themselves into a trailer. I posted the clip on a social media account and Ian Leighton, the Tasmanian horseman, commented “just fill the trailer with carrots and let them know” (or something to that effect). The sound of the bull whip denoted the carrots were ready.
The reality is really that simple – there has to be something in it for the horse to get that kind of response. I have two horses, one of which is better at coming when called than the other, but they will usually both come to a whistle. There are several; reasons for this result, one is that the younger one will usually come easily and when turned out together the older one doesn’t want to be left behind.
After the younger one was shipped to me as a two year old (from British Columbia) she was underweight and had ulcers, requiring grain and medication. I used to put the grain in feed bowl on the ground and block her from eating until I gave her a specific whistle. Now, when I say “block her” I don’t mean with some form of barrier – she always had a choice – but I would snap a coiled rope on my leg to make a noise that would startle her if she went for the food before the whistle. Sometimes I’d tap her with the coils to make a noise and surprise her.
Pretty soon she came to associate the whistle with permission to eat – then it simply extended out into the yard where the whistle would indicate that I was ready to provide her with feed. But that is not the whole of the story, the rest of the tale is that they actually enjoy seeing me, because they enjoy the attention of being groomed and worked, horses like to work both their bodies and their minds. And since I never treat my horses harshly they have nothing to fear.
Now that is not to say that sometimes they’d rather stay out on fresh grass than come in, but most of the time they are compliant. Another tip is for you to stop going out to catch them, learn to draw them to you. This is an easy to overlook concept because it is so fundamental. If you have been around horses for a while you have surely seen someone following their horse around the turnout or even inadvertently chasing them around the turnout. Some horses learn quickly that if they are evasive, and they know they can outrun you, they get to hang out with their buddies.
So always make sure your horse comes to you to be haltered. You can draw them in the same way you get them to hook on in a round pen – but without the flag moving them out. Use simple pressure and release, when the horse looks at you back away, when they come towards you reward them with vigorous rubs and scratches. Don’t try to halter them – mine halter themselves, when I have the halter in place they will drop their noses in.