The NH Method Of "Follow Up"
25 September 2013
If you have your horse with you and he leaves you do you, chase him off and send him out moving because it was “disrespectful” or “rude” to leave you? Or do you stop and question, why did he leave?
Do you send him out and make him stay out until he shows some signs of submission? Or do you look for him to take interest in you and invite him back to join you?Do you follow him around and click or use verbal cues constantly until he looks over or comes back? Or do you stay put, maybe move a few steps to see if he will look over and just wait for him to offer to come back? Do you get a bit emotional or impatient and chase him out to make him submit and know your “alpha” and you didn’t give him permission to leave? Or do you take a deep breath, think on it and concentrate on drawing him back to you with your body and intention?
You may be seeing alot of similarity between this and the join up questions. Thats because they come hand in hand. Now lets say we have the horse following us, now a new set of questions are to be answered. So we have walked on and he has followed, when we walk are we just walking and hoping he dosnt stop and leave? Are we walking and constantly clicking or using verbal cues to keep him moving? Are we flicking a rope or the end of a whip behind us to ensure he stay moving with us?
Yes? – Expected of most. This seems what is a normal human insecurity of lack of “control” over a situation, which brings into the play the much to common “nagging’ of cues and asks put upon the horse. Most of this is usually done unaware by the human, by the niggling fear/worry the horse may leave or slow down or do something undesired in the back of the mind.
No? – More questions. When we walk are we feeling connected with him thus drawing him to join and follow us? Are we trying to read him to keep the connection we have whist walking? Are we using our energy and intention to determine how fast we go and where?
So there is just a few small but important questions on the term “Follow Up”. Again how we achieve this and Join Up before hand depends all on the human before it does the horse. We have to be aware and thinking of how need and should we be applying a method or asking something to our horses? How is it we should be asking anything of them to get what we are after? And most of us are after the same thing right, a good strong relationship with our horses? So why is it there are so many questions to be asked?..