Join up

[ritarider]

Hi everyone, I need to ask a question please. My friend has a 7 year old heavy cob that needs lots of training and she asked for my help. I thought the way to start was join up however when we took him in the lunging ménage at her yard he just galloped around completely out of control and we were told we have to stop as it was dangerous. I wasn't worried as I have done this with my own horse and as soon as the energy was out of him he settled down. Is it usual for a horse to do this as I'm a bit concerned for my friend at this yard if they don't understand basic join up Thanks for any help anyone can give me

[alonerawnut]

Join up is a very useful tool, but it's not necessarily right for every horse. It sounds like he doesn't understand what you're asking or you're (unintentionally) applying too much pressure.

Could you give us some more information about you & your friend (what experience do you have so far, have you been taught to do join up or other groundwork skills) and more about the horse? (What has he done so far & what training are you planning to do with him?)

You can't really go wrong with getting in touch with your local IH RA to see if they could help: what part of the country are you in?

[Caroline]

That does sound potentially dangerous. If you are set on using Join Up, it would be safest to consult an RA I feel. Personally, I wouldn't go down the Join up route, but if you are going to, you should do it safely and know why you are doing it and what place that interaction has in the full development of your relationship. Having had one of my horses double barrel at my head when I very foolishly attempted Join up with him years ago, I can tell you it can be pretty dangerous with the wrong horse. In his case, it was one of the worse approaches I could have taken because he was a trauma victim (thus unable to cope with confinement or pressure). We have since recovered our relationship and he is doing very well, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have made that mistake. Your friend's horse may have issues that make him an unsuitable candidate for the technique - but an RA could best advise on that.

Please stay safe!

[marychick]

What was the catalyst for him to start galloping? Did he shoot off as soon as you got in there or when you sent him away? Is he ever lunged/long-lined in there and will he happily walk on the lunge/longline in there if so?

Doing a joinup doesn't have to be about driving the horse away strongly. It can be done from just a walk if appropriate.

[Hannah]

Have you or your friend been taught how to do Join Up on one of the IH courses?

[ritarider]

Thanks everyone, I have done join up with my own horse and did it with my friends horse a few weeks ago and after his initial run around he settled very well and we joined up well.  This time I lunged him first and he was manic on the lunge to start with but then calmed down and listened to me and walked trotted and cantered when I asked and was controlled.  My friend has a broken finger so can't ride or lunge so I thought I would show her how to do join up so at least he was getting some sort of exercise as he is a heavy cob and overweight.  She afford can't to pay anyone.  I have no idea what he has done before and neither does she.  So would you suggest I don't try anymore ?

Thanks

[Caroline]

Free schooling, liberty work and ground work might be better options. But if you are using Join Up to exercise the horse, I feel you are teaching the horse that you will run him down until he submits. That's not a nice basis for a relationship.

If you haven't attended the IH course, I don't think it is a good idea to do Join Up. I don't personally think it's a good idea most of the time in fact, but if you are going to do it, you should understand the process fully and know what you are doing, why and the effect of the process on the mind of the horse and in your relationship. It's not enough to copy a Monty video because you could be missing the signs and getting your timing wrong and ending up teaching a worse message. I don't mean to be rude to you - you may well have made a serious study of the subject and attended the course. It just doesn't sound like it from what you have written.

Is it possible to make sure he has 24/7 turnout and friends to play with? That would give him some exercise and would make him happy.

[Deleted]

If she's looking for a form of exercise, I'd recommend free schooling, not join up. JU usually only takes less than 5 minutes - keeping it going longer just to keep the horse running around is unfair, the whole process is about communication not tiring them out and if you ignore all the signs that they want to come in in order to keep them moving for longer you could effectively teach them that you're not listening - the opposite of what JU is normally used for.

I agree with Caroline, you really need to be taught join up properly on the IH courses, there is so much you can do wrong by just trying to copy.

[marychick]

I agree with the others that JU isn't really a good source of exercise but it can be a nice thing to do for something different or some mental stimulation and relationship building if you know what you're doing. It's fantastic for teaching people about body language but there definitely is more to it then people think and it's not something you want to repeat a lot with one horse as it can send mixed messages if done repeatedly.

Hope your friend is on the mend soon

[portiabuzz]

i agree with the others above, JU doesn't seem to be the right option here.