Join Up - Has anyone tried it?

ya_gotta_luv_em · Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 52

Im sure evri1 has heard of Monty Roberts. Well he used a method called Join Up. Where he reads the horses body language and comminicates with them. Well i tried it with my 8yo mare (the 1 i always complain about) and it went exactly how he said it would.

Has any1 else tried it?

I thought it was awesome & i dont even have a proper round yard. I made 1 out of electric fence tape. Surprised

horse_child · Member Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 433

I have done it and it works really well. I've found that if i join up before a ride my horse works so much better than if i don't. I think it is really important thing to do.

Sara · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:34 pm Post subject:

Some horses don't need to be pushed to "join up" though... My appy was already all trusting and had no idea why I would push him away like that and didn't join up...all he wanted to do was get back next to me period...regardless of what I was doing... He would do well with John Lyons training or something like that... Join up can occur without the pushing and running at times... It can hinder if you rely too much on it working every time...because it doesn't...

Join-up either way is a good thing...

horse_child · Member Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 433

Very true, but it's also a way (for me anyway) to get rid of any unwanted energy off my horse. he tends to be kinda hot, and when he's hot he gets disrespectful and mean, so that's why i join-up everytime i ride. but i totally agree, it shouldn't be used all the time on most horses.

ya_gotta_luv_em · Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 52

i agree that it doesnt need to be done all the time. My horse also doesnt understand "why join up again" yesterday she got all aggresive and ran at me, rearing in my face kicking etc..
i didnt know what to do so i long reined her for ages and then got on her and trotted her for ages(and sometimes cantered) ive always lunged her with two reins because she rears when ever i flick a whip(& if i don use one she stops) so now i use the long rein that goes behind her to make her go. I think she really hates whips, ive tried for ages to get her used to 1 by draping it over her her etc but she hasnt improved.

horse_child · Member Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 433

Has she had any bad expiriences with a whip. i knew a horse that was being lounged and he spooked toward the person lounging him and got all tangled in the whip.

ya_gotta_luv_em · Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 52

she was trained 2 b a harness racer so chances are she had bad experiences then. Ive tried so hard to get her to not be afraid, but i dunno wot to do next.

Shineillusion · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:57 am Post subject:

If she was trained for harness racing, she's learned a whip is a bad thing. Even if she had an enlightened trainer and driver, who only crack the whip against the shafts or saddle pad, a whip means one thing; get your butt going NOW. But a lot of drivers use the whip on the horse, not the pad, and a whip becomes a VERY bad thing.

If she's in a situation where she can't get her butt going, the whip is going to cause her a great deal of anxiety, and if she feels trapped, she might very well react aggressively. I'd ditch the whip for now and give her some time to relax and just be a horse. Her life has been stables and racetracks, bikes and harnesses. No time to just be a horse.

If you can get your hands on some of the videos put out by the Parellis, particularly the ones on games you can play with your horse, you might find them usefull in this situation. Learning to play games with you will boost her confidence, show her how to enjoy being a horse, help her relax and teach her she doesn't have to be afraid of you. At the same time, she'll be learning to respect you, she'll be blowing off a lot of energy, learning new ways to use her body that increase her suppleness and responses, and you'll be learning some usefull communication techniques. And it's fun!

Shineillusion · Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:59 am Post subject:

If she was trained for harness racing, she's learned a whip is a bad thing. Even if she had an enlightened trainer and driver, who only crack the whip against the shafts or saddle pad, a whip means one thing; get your butt going NOW. But a lot of drivers use the whip on the horse, not the pad, and a whip becomes a VERY bad thing.

If she's in a situation where she can't get her butt going, the whip is going to cause her a great deal of anxiety, and if she feels trapped, she might very well react aggressively. I'd ditch the whip for now and give her some time to relax and just be a horse. Her life has been stables and racetracks, bikes and harnesses. No time to just be a horse.

If you can get your hands on some of the videos put out by the Parellis, particularly the ones on games you can play with your horse, you might find them usefull in this situation. Learning to play games with you will boost her confidence, show her how to enjoy being a horse, help her relax and teach her she doesn't have to be afraid of you. At the same time, she'll be learning to respect you, she'll be blowing off a lot of energy, learning new ways to use her body that increase her suppleness and responses, and you'll be learning some usefull communication techniques. And it's fun!

horse_child · Member Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 433

I agree with Shine, I was trying to figure out how to explain what shine did, so ya...good luck and try using body language to drive the horse forward, not the whip.

ya_gotta_luv_em · Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 52

thanx heaps. this really helps. she is like a different horse wen i leave the whip behind