Join Up - The Language of Equus
By Prarie Rose
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12th Jul 2010 •
7,030 views
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9 comments
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Join Up is a gentle method to training horses. It was developed by Monty Roberts. In Join Up the trainer persuades a raw horse to accept a saddle, bridle and rider freely. Monty grew up as a horse breaker's son in Nevada. His father used harsh methods of training and forcing the horse to give in. No trust was involved and the horse was literally broken. Monty developed Join Up to stop the violent ways in horse breaking.
Monty would go out and watch the wild horses in the area and he noticed the way horses talked, which he now calls the language, "Equus". Horses talk with body language which we ourselves can also do. Through body language we can talk to horses. Some people call it Horse Whispering.
To do join up work in a round pen let the horse free in the pen and make large movements and noise like a predator. Begin driving the horse to run away. Make yourself look big by spreading your arms and standing tall. Look the horse in the eyes and jog or walk toward it. Get it cantering around the pen. You can use a lunge line or whip to toss to the horse's rear to keep him going. While driving the horse look for these signs. First you should see his ear toward you. He is listening to you. Then he'll put his head down and start chewing. That is him saying, let me come to you, I want to be with you. Since horses are prey animals, their instinct is to be with others. In the wild a horse can be killed if it's alone. Safety is in numbers.
Once you see those signs stop driving him and turn away from him with your head and eyes down. From now on do NOT look him in the eyes. That is telling him to go away. The horse will then have the choice to come to you. Give him a while if he takes it. He'll then walk up to you and might touch you with his nose. Once he does turn to him, pet and praise him keeping your head and eyes down. That is Join Up.
Then what you want to do is see if the horse will follow you. Monty calls this follow up. Start to walk around the round pen. The horse will probably follow you. From there you can find trust from your horse. Very few horses do not accept join up. Typically only those who were extremely mistreated. Join Up is the start to a great relationship with your horse. Enjoy it! :)
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Dreamer100
I do it for respect a lot. With all of our horses. It really works and is great. Thank you for this article.
I do it for respect a lot. With all of our horses. It really works and is great. Thank you for this article.
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Jul 12, 2010
• 4,903 views
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Dragonfly Farm
While I love what you have written, and I am a very strong believer in the use of Join Up, I just have to be annoying and point something out.
Monty Roberts wasn't the first human to use Join Up as a method of training.
Paintings and acient texts suggest that Join Up was first used as a training method several thousand years ago.
Most of what I have heard and read about Monty Roberts suggests that he is a very wise and capable horse person :)
While I love what you have written, and I am a very strong believer in the use of Join Up, I just have to be annoying and point something out.
Monty Roberts wasn't the first human to use Join Up as a method of training.
Paintings and acient texts suggest that Join Up was first used as a training method several thousand years ago.
Most of what I have heard and read about Monty Roberts suggests that he is a very wise and capable horse person :)
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Jul 12, 2010
• 4,939 views
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bucknut
I thought there was already an article on this....I could be wrong but otherwise not bad!
I thought there was already an article on this....I could be wrong but otherwise not bad!
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Jul 12, 2010
• 5,157 views
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Prarie Rose
Thanks guys. Dragonfly, now that you say that,you are right I forgot about that. But Monty named it,that's all.
Thanks guys. Dragonfly, now that you say that,you are right I forgot about that. But Monty named it,that's all.
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Jul 12, 2010
• 4,876 views
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horseworld
isnt one of those pictures shy boy?
isnt one of those pictures shy boy?
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Jul 13, 2010
• 4,955 views
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Jul 13, 2010
• 4,876 views
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Jul 13, 2010
• 4,876 views
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Estella Noire
I have watched this on TV too-I would love to try it out.
I have watched this on TV too-I would love to try it out.
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Jun 23, 2011
• 4,877 views
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BarrelRacersLove
I was stalking your page and decided to read this. I use Join Up every time I train a horse. :P
I was stalking your page and decided to read this. I use Join Up every time I train a horse. :P
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Jan 20, 2012
• 4,876 views
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