Join up is one of the very first things I do with one of my horses. It is by far the most valuable tool in my training program. Join up was developed by equestrians as a more humane way of training horses. When training a horse you have two options, to train through fear or through trust. Training through fear is forcing a horse to do something through suffering, pain, and violence. Besides the obvious moral implications, the issue with training through fear, is for a short period you may see results, but the horse will soon build resentment, discontent, and develop violent tendencies. While training through trust brings contentment, relaxation, and a desire to work in partnership with you. Join up is a way of developing a bond and trust with your horse by speaking the horse’s language. By mimicking maneuvers commonly seen among herds, one can communicate with a horse. Join up is a mutual understanding between you and your horse by letting your horse know that you are aware of his language and that you understand it. It has also gone by many names including Join up, Hooking-On, and Latching-On.
Let’s jump into what you need to perform a Join up. First, you will need a round pen. While this can technically be done in almost any space, the bigger the space you are in the harder and longer it will be for you. In a space with corners, it gives the horse a place to “camp-out”. If you have ever tried free lungeing in an arena, you know that once the horse gets tired, he will run to one side of the arena and stop before you can catch up with him. As far as a grass area goes everyone knows the struggle of trying to keep a horse working when he would rather just munch on some grass. That is why a grassless round pen is the best option for a Join up. To start you will simply need yourself, your horse, and something to drive your horse, for more energetic horses your arm may do but for lazy horses, you may need a lungeing whip (NEVER HIT your horse with the whip) some other options include a lead rope, carrot stick, hat, or just a rope.
Now, let me teach you how to perform a Join up. Going into the arena you should always remain patient and keep in mind that stubborn or more wild horses will more than likely take longer than calmer, more submissive horses. Some horses may take more then 1 session to complete a Join up, and that is okay. I would recommend sticking to a maximum of 30-minute sessions. A frustrated horse or trainer is going to get nowhere, it is best to take a break and come back to it in eight or more hours. The first thing you’ll want to do is, get your horse moving and keep him moving using your driving tool. All you have to do is keep pressure on your horse. Doing this just means to wave you arm or your driving tool at your horse’s hind end. You don’t want to let your horse rest, unless necessary, like for a medical emergency. The preference is to keep your horse at a canter, but if your horse needs a rest, you can let him trot for a while. As with lungeing a horse you want to keep the center of your body facing behind the horse’s centerline, which is their girth area. If you move in front of the horse’s centerline it will signal your horse to stop. After approximately 1-5 laps, mix it up, you will want to turn your horse and canter in the opposite direction for a while, repeat this step until he is ready to come in. To turn your horse around, you will want to step in front of the horse’s centerline, (do not step directly in front of the horse) switch your driving tool into the opposite hand and wave it at the horse. This should cause your horse to change direction, but if it doesn’t, just wave your arm bigger and step further in front of your horse’s centerline. Out of respect some equestrians, myself included, prefer the horse to turn in towards you. We don’t want the horse’s hind end to face us as that can be perceived as disrespectful. If the horse turns away from you all you need to do is turn the horse back around, let him canter a few strides, and turn him again, repeat this until he turns towards you. Once the horse begins to relax and starts licking his lips or chewing, and lowers his head you know he is ready to come in. Some horses will display these signs more obviously, while some will be more subtle. When your horse is ready to come in drop your driving tool, turn around so you are no longer facing your horse, and keep your head down. The reason for dropping your driving tool and keeping your head down is to show the horse you are not a threat. Another thing that can cause some level of fear in horses, is making quick movements with your body and even with your eyes. While turned around you will want to try to watch your horse out of the corner of your eye. If he doesn’t stop, or if he has stopped and takes two steps or more not in your direction, then he isn’t ready. If you can’t tell if he is coming towards you or not, wait for him to take more steps. If this happens pick up your driving tool and continue driving your horse around the round pen continuing the same steps as above, until he starts showing signs that he is ready to come in again. Sometimes your horse will just stand still for a while and that is normal. Ideally if your horse is ready, he will walk over to you and nudge you gently. Now, this part is where a lot of trainers will branch off in different training directions. For me though, if the horse is a few steps or less away from you but doesn’t nudge you, I will continue as if he did, because if he isn’t ready it will show in the next step. Next, you will turn around, while never lifting your head or eyes up off the ground, you will pet the horse for around 10 seconds. Then you will simply walk away slowly, if you did everything right your horse will follow you. If your horse doesn’t follow you, keeping your head down, walk back to the horse, pet him again and walk away. If your horse still isn’t following you, you will need to send your horse back out and drive him around the round pen again, repeating the beginning steps. Once your horse is following you, walk around the pen for a few minutes. That is the end of a join up. Be sure to give your horse lots of pets and a treat, to reward him. Don’t get discouraged and if you feel yourself getting upset or frustrated, take a break for several hours. This whole process can take many sessions or a few minutes it just depends on the individual horse, as they are all different.
I hope you enjoyed my first article. Please remember there are lots of training techniques and opinions out there, this simply is my way. Let me know in the comments if you have a different style, if this helped you improve the relationship between you and your horse, or just taught you something new. Be sure to subscribe, to receive our monthly newsletter and be notified when my next article comes out. This is a new website and a new blog so if you have any feedback, good or bad, please let me know! If you have any questions, or need training advice, leave a comment or send me an email and I will get back with you as soon as possible!
Jaynie Kiel
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