All horse behavior relates to search of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Most people understand this, however many don't consider the effect that instinct has on pleasure/pain. Satisfying nature's instinct is more pleasurable than physical pleasure. Correspondingly, the stress invoked by frustrating these instincts can often be more of a concern to the horse than physical pain. A simple example illustrates this point.
A new horse introduced to an established herd will often be driven away by the dominant horse in the herd. However, the new horse will keep returning to the herd, regardless of how many times it is kicked, bitten, etc. by the dominant horse. Even as the new horse starts to be accepted by the herd, it will suffer physical pain from other horses as part of the acceptance process.
It comes as no surprise that a herd bound or barn sour horse is going to be difficult and will try to go back "home". No matter how hard the rider kicks and spurs, he won't inflict the kind of pain that other horses could, and he often won't overcome that social urge for the sour mount to be with his buddies. The rider has to gain some kind of acceptance from the horse in order to proceed.
What we can learn from this illustration is that confronting natural conflicts in the horse by force is not the best course of action, and such tactics can often increase the horse's emotional stress to the point that it "blows up" or does something dangerous to the rider which might otherwise be out of character for that particular horse.
Consequently, an important element of equestrian safety is to try to understand the horse's instincts and handle it in a manner which creates the least amount of emotional conflict.
When containing a loose horse, it always has to be given a direction of travel away from people and dangerous situations and toward containment or an individual who will catch it. Walls and pressure without a "door" can result in the horse "taking out" the source of pressure, which is basically coming back on top of the handler. Most people have a basic understanding of this.
What most people don't understand is the draw. If an excited or unfamiliar horse is going to be caught, it should never be "driven" directly at the person who is planning to handle its head. The horse's instincts are in direct conflict with the objective.
If the horse is relatively quiet at the time of the catch attempt, the catcher can set up a "draw" along a fence, etc., whereby he puts slight energy behind the horse's rib cage (just enough to cause the horse to walk or preferably disengage), then step back two or three steps in a relaxed posture. If done correctly, within a few attempts, the horse will instinctively face the catcher.
Once the horse has taken this posture, the instinctive factors play altogether differently and the horse is much more likely to accept the catcher's approach. Some horses will actually "hook up" to the catcher so well that the catcher can continue to walk backwards and the horse will come all the way to him.
Keeping the situation calm and relaxed improves the odds of this technique working.
An excited horse may require some natural domination before being handled. (Please note that in the horse world, domination does not have to equate to force or brutality!) An easy and safe way to set this up is along a fence or other solid barrier and applying energy (twirling a rope overhand, using a flag, etc.) in front of and behind the center of the shoulder.
The purpose of this method is to establish, in natural terms that the horse can quickly grasp, that you are the dominant animal in this situation. The intent of the handler's movements is to send the horse forward by applying pressure behind the shoulder, then turning the horse back by applying pressure in front of the shoulder, causing a roll-away. (This should not be done with such force that it sends the horse flying away.)
After several successful repetitions, the handler should try setting up a draw. If the horse turns into the draw, it is accepting the situation and a catch may be attempted.
Using this method, the handler is never directly in front of or directly behind the horse, which is much safer.
These methods, although not difficult, require some timing and reading of the horse. The first attempts may not be properly timed, resulting in the horse not responding as desired. The key element here is to be as quiet and relaxed as possible, and watch the results of your attempts. Before long the horse can be set up to be safely caught.
Does this method work? We'll take horses who are taught to be caught (including mustangs), turn them out on the ranch to graze, then bring them in when it's time to be put up, with seldom a fuss!