Over the next few posts you will hear me talk about something called 'Join-up'. For those of you who aren't familiar with what Join-up is, I'll do my best to explain...
In simple terms, Join-up is a way of creating a bond of trust and respect between you and a horse. You do this by, essentially, speaking the horses language. This throws the doors of communication wide open and invites the horse to see you as a safe place.
Join-up as we know it originated when a young Monty Roberts watched horses in the wild and how they interacted with one another. He noticed that the dominant horses in the herd moved the other horses around, they controlled the feet of the other horses. This behaviour was most obvious when a dominant mare would discipline one of the younger members of the herd, driving them away from the safety of the group and keeping them out there until they have shown enough apologetic behaviour. Then the mare releases the pressure and allows the youngster back into safety. A very direct and clear way of handling a young offender in the herd, but surprisingly, very rarely involving serious violence.
What Monty then discovered was that humans could harness this communication method to better our understanding and trust between us and the horse, creating a foundation for a relationship based on trust and willingness rather than fear and submission.
I could write for days about Join-up, and I will certainly go into it in more depth as my knowledge and experience grows. But for now, if you want any more information on Join-up or to see it in action, I'll put some useful links below;
http://www.montyroberts.com/ab_about_monty/ju_about/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dx91mH2voo
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