More About Hooking On/Joining Up

During the last several months I have not done much writing but I have spent a lot of time watching DVDs about horsemanship.  One of the topics I was interested in was Join Up.

I watched a DVD program by Monty Roberts, who is probably the originator of the term Join Up and another by Bryan Neubert, called Wild Horse Handling.

The Monty Roberts program is an excellent demonstration with a couple of different horses.  He thoroughly explains and shows the process he follows, pointing out the key responses of the horse.  I have read a number of articles about Monty`s method and have heard a number of other horseman describe it.  There is nothing like seeing Monty do this and explain it in his own words.  The beauty of DVD`s is that you can watch it again and again to see the subtle changes in the horse and observe the details of the horseman's timing and techniques.

The Bryan Neubert program is not exactly about hooking on.  It is a 2 hour DVD in which he starts a wild mustang.  It is a really pure example of natural horse behavior and the skills of an experienced horseman.  This is a program that I would highly recommend to anyone who really wants to observe horse behavior and see the results of using methods that connect to the nature of the horse to achieve communication leading to desired responses and behavior.  I have spent countless hours watching this program and I learn something new every time.  A key part of the process is getting the horse to hook on to the human.

For both of these programs it is very helpful if you have a foundation in understanding horse behaviour as explained by Dr. Robert Miller in his program,  Understanding Horses.  This is my  main reference for everything in establishing a bond with a horse.

More About To Come

I apologize to those of you who have followed this blog. 


My father once told me don`t get old and don`t get sick.  Unfortunately over the last couple of years both have caught up to me.  Age has slowed me down but I have acquired a rare neuro muscular disease which has made it almost impossible to walk and so I have been neglecting other things like this publication.  I have however been studying more horse programs and will be sharing my views with you very soon. 


Stay tuned.

Hooking On / Joining Up – Part Three and Beyond

Every time you go to the paddock to be with your horse you need to be consistent in your attitude, expression and methods.  As you progress the process will become more and more subtle but you must never forget the steps you are going through.

Once your horse is caught you will probably proceed to groundwork and then to in saddle exercises.  Personally I prefer ground exercises that translate to the in saddle work.  Here again there are a great number of instructional DVD`s by experienced horsemen for ground work programs.  You should examine as many of these as you can, to find the one that is the best fit for you.

The objective of this phase of the process is to establish clear communications between the human and the horse.  The length of time that this takes is dependent on the experience level of the human and the horse.  For someone embarking on this path for the first time you should be prepared to spend several months before you get to a level of trust, confidence and understanding at which a firm bond begins to form between human and horse.  The path to a true partnership really never ends.  It must always be in your mind with a view to continuing to improve the strength of the bond. 

How do you know when there is a bond developing between you and your horse?  The signals will come from the horse.

• ·       The horse will meet you at the gate.
• ·       The horse approaches you with ears forward and head lowered.
• ·       The horse will offer to do things for you, picking up a glove you dropped, putting his foot on a ball, bowing, holding the lead rope in his mouth, etc.
• ·       When the horse sees you near the paddock he/she whinnies at you.
• ·       When you approach your horse when he/she is lying down they stay and allow you to approach and stroke them.
• ·       The horse will want you to carress and rub their head and ears.
• ·       When you are with your horse he/she will be fully relaxed.

The horse begins to see you as a part of the herd, in particular a leader of the herd.  This is a position of trust which you must learn to accept and honor.  Maintaining this relationship with your horse never ends and the rewards just keep growing for both of you.

Hooking On - Part 2

There is one important thing to consider about the human and and the horse when first making contact.  Is the horse and/or the human green or experienced?

A green human is not familiar with horses in general and/or this horse in particular.  The same is true for the horse.   As the experience level increases the time required to obtain desired results will shorten but the steps to get to the result are always there.

One of the most important things for the human is to be self aware.  You must be fully in touch with your emotions and and your physical expression.  Horses are masters at reading body language and if you think you can fool them you are going to learn very quickly that you are wrong.

On entering the paddock the first objective is to get the horses attention.  This is usually quite easy because horses are extremely observant.

The next objective is to get the horse to focus on you through movement, expression and focus.  At first (green stage) this may be quite exaggerated and very obvious to an observer.  With  experience it becomes very subtle and imperceptible to a casual observer.  The exaggerated stage is like shouting at a horse, and that is exactly how they perceive it.

The next step is to get the horse to face you and then to move towards you.  Again  initially (the green phase) this will take time and the movement may be only a small step.  That small step must be recognized and rewarded by release of pressure.  The recognition of the smallest try by the horse is one of the hardest things to master, but it is critical to your success.   Eventually the horse will follow the human and finally allow the human to get close enough to have physical contact.  This contact should be the horse’s idea and will usually be a nose touch to the back of the hand.  Immediate reward by looking away and moving away is important at this stage.  Don`t get impatient and try to get more RIGHT NOW!  This event is usually called hooking on and can be achieved by experienced horsemen within a few minutes (30).  There are many excellent DVD`s produced by professional horsemen who demonstrate this process in great detail.   Another great source of information is the Road to the Horse event.  The DVD`s from this event, especially the first day of the competition will give you examples of different horses and different techniques.  I highly recommend these learning resources to both green and experienced horse people.

The next objective is to have the horse stay with you while you put a halter him.  When you accomplish this you have only reached the first threshold of hooking on.  

Hooking On / Joining Up – Part One

The terms “Hooking on” or “Joining Up” are the first terms I heard horseman clinicians use.  I understood it to be an event when a horse first approached or willingly follow a human.  After watching and practicing the various techniques used by a lot of different horsemen I have come to believe that this not an event but rather a process.  Indeed it is one of the most important processes in building a relationship between horse and human.  The following comments are not intended to criticize the concepts or techniques of clinician horsemen; they are my own observations and thoughts about this and are offered to give a bit of a different perspective on the topic.

This was the young ladies first close encounter with a horse.  I gave her simple instructions about leading; don`t look at the horse, don`t pull on the lead rope and walk forward with purpose and focus on the spot you are going to.   She followed the instructions carefully and she was completely relaxed.  Kai has been through the hook on process and understands these human behaviours.

During many of the clinics and training DVD`s I have watched, this process is given relatively little attention.  Especially in colt starting competitions “hooking on” is usually the first and briefest portion of the event.

The following are the phases of what I see as the full process:

·       Curiosity

·       Facing up

·       Approaching

·       Following

·       Touching

·       Bonding

This process continues throughout your partnership with your horse.  It grows and expands with time and is held together with confidence and trust.  Like any partnership it can be broken if you damage that trust.

Following blogs will expand on each of these phases.

The Hazards of Round Pens

Now that Spring is here our horses will be returning to more strenuous activities in paddocks, round pens and corrals.  There are a few things that should be considered to try and keep our partners safe during this more active period.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

During the past year I have read about a number of tragic accidents in which horses have died in accidents involving their encounters with round pens.  These accidents usually involved the horse getting their legs or hoofs trapped in the fence.

The following few pictures illustrate how this can happen and suggest some precautionary measures that you can take to keep your horses safe.  These may be things that experienced horsemen already know of, but, they had certainly not come to my attention in the last 8 years.

This picture shows a round pen that was originally intended for use with cattle.  It is 5 ft high and is constructed with square tubing.  The gates have been modified to accommodate horses.  The square bars are a bit of a problem because although the edges of the bars are not sharp they can be pretty harsh if a horse gets his leg between the bars. 

The really big problem is the connection point between the panels.  The curved top bar and the large gap between the panels makes it very easy for a horse get his foot and leg trapped in the opening.  This can lead to catastrophic injury and death. 

 In order to eliminate the problem a filler panel should be installed to fill this gap.  I have found that it is simple to cut two pieces of wood in the correct shape and bolt them together to fill the  gap.

In one very sad case a horse rolling beside a fence like this, got his foot caught in the gap. 

  Unfortunately the owner was away for a period of time and the horse died.

Round pens that are specifically designed for equine activities generally use round tubing.

The connection points of the panels are configured to minimize the  gap .  They are also are not rounded toward the gap.  Still if the gap is too wide a filler should be   installed to make it safe.

Another thing I avoid is having one horse in the round pen and another outside the pen in the open paddock.   Especially with geldings who will start to play over the fence.  If they start rearing they can easily get hung up in the panels and get hurt.  If the horses are in the paddock I keep the round pen closed up.

A Worried Horse

This is just a short story about the sensitivity of horses to changes the pattern of activities that affect their lives. 

Anyone who has studied the nature of horses and observed their behaviour will know that their observation of their environment and everything in it is extremely refined.  Their ability to read body language is extraordinary and it is one of their primary means of communication.   The way pattern changes affect them became very clear to me during a recent experience with my horse Kai.

For the past two years I have had a medical condition which has made it impossible for me to ride.  I spend time with Kai doing ground work exercises and just wandering around the paddock with him.  He enjoys spending time like this and is always offering to do things for me, (putting his feet on objects, bowing, or picking things up that I accidentally drop).

A few weeks ago my daughter came for a visit.  My wife, Val, and my daughter decided to go for a short trail ride.   Tracy rode Kai.  It was the first time he had been saddled in almost 2 years.  Everything went well and although Tracy is a novice rider they got along well together and he seemed to enjoy the experience. 

The following weekend my granddaughter and her boyfriend visited. Both Taryn and Ryan are novice riders.  Taryn rode Val`s horse, Bob, and Ryan rode Kai.  Taryn and Bob got along well but Kai was a bit less willing.  He didn`t want to move much and when he did he would come right back to me.

The following day when I went to the paddock Kai was acting kind of depressed. He came to gate and gave a soft knicker that sounded a lot like a whimper. When I went in to see him he came over and tucked his head under my arm. I thought he might be feeling sick. The next day he did the same thing. Then I realized that this horse had been moved a half dozen times in his lifetime. Since I hadn`t been riding him and because new people were showing up and riding him he recognized a pattern. That was the pattern that preceded being moved again. He clearly was not happy with that idea.

During the following week I spent more time with him and reassured him that we are still partners. Basically it is just reinforcing the normal pattern that he has been used to over the past few years.  The worry is starting to go away.  Horses never forget what happens to them, but it was surprising to me to see how he picked up these events and related them to experiences that were several years in his past.  It is a lesson that I will not forget and something that I will watch for in behaviours in the future. To a horse, nothing means nothing and everything means something.

When I look at this picture I see a horse with a lot of worry.  His ears and the eyes are asking me what is going to happen to me.   I thought we were partners.  We have re-established the partnership but I will need to be more careful in the future.