Interesting behaviour...

JellyBeanSkittle

JellyBeanSkittle

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I have owned my dressage horse for a good while now and have recently dabbled in a little 'join up' in the hope he would become a little more confident and look to me for reassurance - he is a big wally and scared of his own shadow!! ;)

Today while mucking him out, he came over to me and rested his head on my shoulder (I was crouching down/muck out with skip and gloves!). I gave his head a cuddle and continued with what I was doing. He then proceeded to tuck his nose right into my neck and breathe into my ear!! *note: he has never done this before and he absolutely hates having his head handled*

I blew gently on his nose (as you're meant to do as I believe! Lol) and he just stood there for ages watching me with his head lowered to my level and being incredibly affectionate. I have a disability and have been struggling the last few weeks with the weather, and I have to say that he has been my absolute rock. Today was just the icing on the cake for me, I don't know what he was telling me but I think he genuinely just wanted a cuddle and a right old fuss :')

Anyone want to elaborate on his behaviour?! I dabble in a bit of join up now and then but that's about it for me and NH! :)

♥
 
Lovely when they do that , all ours are very affectionate, but in different ways, they love cuddles and will frequently in quiet moments seek and give affection....:)
 
I don't do any join up or NH stuff, but my mare does exactly this! She also pulls my 9 year old daughter in very gently with her head and neck to cuddle her. Very sweet.
 
Steer clear of join up with this horse. He will not like the pressure, but will do nothing to show you that.
Give him some undemanding time. ie sit and read a book in his stable for an hour as often as you can.
Don't touch him let him touch you.
Be precise when asking him to do things, ridden and on the ground.
He will appreciate you as a strong leader.
 
Excellent advice from pr. And fwiw, your experience in the stable is more in line with my own method of forming trust & a bond than the nh join up method.
 
To be fair, I only did literally 5 minutes of join up with him as I know he is extremely sensitive and have held off for four years! In that few minutes he was absolutely fine and he has been morning visibly settled ever since.

I'm a very experienced rider and am open minded to observe and treat each horse as an individual. Pale rider - I absolutely understand what you mean but it was worth it :) it was not detrimental to him and for him to allow me to handle his head through his own choice was a massive step for him.

He is an absolute sweetheart :)
 
JellyBeanSkittle said:
To be fair, I only did literally 5 minutes of join up with him as I know he is extremely sensitive and have held off for four years! In that few minutes he was absolutely fine and he has been morning visibly settled ever since.

I'm a very experienced rider and am open minded to observe and treat each horse as an individual. Pale rider - I absolutely understand what you mean but it was worth it :) it was not detrimental to him and for him to allow me to handle his head through his own choice was a massive step for him.

He is an absolute sweetheart :)
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Good for you JBS, listening to your horse and gauging what is actually suitable for him as an individual.
Lovely, lovely moments for you, enjoy. :)
 
Pale Rider said:
Steer clear of join up with this horse. He will not like the pressure, but will do nothing to show you that.
Give him some undemanding time. ie sit and read a book in his stable for an hour as often as you can.
Don't touch him let him touch you.
Be precise when asking him to do things, ridden and on the ground.
He will appreciate you as a strong leader.
Click to expand...

Agree with this. Do not do any more join up with him. He has bonded with you, join up will only cause him confusion and distress. His behaviour may be affection, or it may be appeasement, wondering why you've been sending him away. Lovely to hear he has made you so happy. :)
 
Wagtail, I am only happy because he is, not because he has done what I expect him to do. I understand everyone has a different opinion on join up, NH and as I said before I only dabble in it now and then. Each to their own :)
 
The join up thing is interesting but I am highly suspicious of the explanations given by "promoters", however good they may be! They explain things as they perceive them to be acceptable to the public. So "carrot stick" (it's a goddam stick, ffs!) and "games" (aren't they really training exercises?) and other people friendly terms.

The horse is chased away, then allowed to rejoin the "herd" (i.e. the trainer). Could it be your horse feels it has done something which has made you drive it away and it is now trying to regain your affection? Anyway, that's how I read it.

So I agree with others above, join up (or whatever you want to call it!) has reinforced your relationship and shouldn't be needed again. Doesn't something similar occasionally happen in human relationships?
 
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