When you send him out on the circle, if you do this, do you ask him to go up into a trot or canter in hope to have him give you some licking and chewing etc? Or do you ask him out a loop or two and invite him back?
If you ask for more up and go on the circle, do you use a whip and/or voice to keep him moving? Or do you just ask once and then let him set the pace?
Do you always send him out to achieve Join Up? Or do you simply invite him in to be with you?
So how do you achieve Join Up? If you answered yes to the first set of questions, I now want you to think.. Are you nagging or chasing your horse into submission? This is something so many people are unaware they do. Sending a flight animal into flight mode, that’s a step in the wrong direction, that’s predatory behavior. In saying that yes, we can lunge our horses, but that’s another topic to be covered!
So if we send our horse out and nag/chase him either because we think he will slow down or stop or because we think he wont Join Up other wise.. what are we actually achieving? Not the Join Up we think. So why does it seem we are? Well when a horse is in a flight mode and he has run from the pressure or predator but has not escaped the pressure following him he has the choice of submitting to the pressure “Joining Up”. Even tho your providing him with discomfort on the circle and possibly depending on the horse sent him into a right brain prey animal mode. Submission if fleeing dosnt work being a last resort tactic. Flight, Fight or submit, they are the choices a prey animal has. Have we ever sent a horse out that has never wanted to stop, come in or slow down? A result of nagging/chasing and/or being driven into flight mode. Again for the Lunging topic.
So why would he “willingly” Join and Follow us? Pressure and Release, if he finds release in “Joining” you or find if he leaves you and you then again apply pressure and chase him, its obvious where he will find the most comfort, with you. But not necessarily because he wants to be with You, because he isn’t pursued when he is with you!.. or is he?..
(See “Follow Up” Topic)
If you answered yes to the second questions, then he should most likely “Join Up” with you for positive reasons.
The NH Method Of "Join Up"
24 September 2013