Join Up - with a remote controlled car

[MagicMelon]

Sounds like rubbish to me. A horse is essentialy "pre programmed" to react in certain ways within the herd structure. Faced with somthing completely alien like a model car the horse will be afraid and looking for somthing it can understand. Once the car starts behaving in a manner that fits the horses pre programmed responses, the horse will react with it . Rather than disprove or devalue joining up, this clearly proves that this in built horse language does exist. The fact that the horse is reccognising certain ellements of its body language in the model and tries to communicate back does not disprove anything. As an aside .I have found that after a good schooling sesion with my horse, once I get off he and I are joined up too.

I agree with this. I dont think it proves much. I do use join-up occassionally, usually on a new horse. I dont scare the horse off as others do as such, I find you dont need to so mine is probably as "softy" version of join-up. I find it works though, and is especially useful for horses that won't catch! I've got a friends horse who arrived a few days ago that was a bit of a brat to catch, he'd come so close and then as you reached out he'd bomb off. I did join up with him every time he did that and he was soon choosing to come to me and the catching isn't much of an issue now.

 

[Pale Rider]

Sounds like the 'catching game' to me Magic, rather than join up. Lol.

 

[Miss L Toe]

My horse does not understand the principle of join up, after riding him, I remove tack to let him roll in the arena, but he keeps following me to the gate in spite of the fact I have not chased him round and round.