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9/26/07: I have studied Join-Up extensively. I have watched the tapes and I believe I know what I am supposed to do. I go in the round pen and while working with my horse I see the signals that I have trained myself to observe. But, when I attempt to transition to the next step, my horse is non-responsive. Why is that?

9/19/07: I find that after a few minutes of dealing with my horse he tunes me out. He becomes what I would call resistant. He ignores me and I cannot seem to get his attention. What have I done wrong?

9/12/07: I can get my horse to Join-Up just fine, but he will not follow. What should I do?

9/5/07: My horse gives me his gestures but he does not seem to understand mine and refuses to Join-Up with me.

Answers to September 2007 Ask Monty Questions

Question: I have studied Join-Up extensively. I have watched the tapes and I believe I know what I am supposed to do. I go in the round pen and while working with my horse I see the signals that I have trained myself to observe. But, when I attempt to transition to the next step, my horse is non-responsive. Why is that?

Monty's Answer: I am pleased that you have taken the time to study the process thoroughly. I believe the problem here is that you have not practiced sufficiently with live horses to get your timing right. Often students will become quite knowledgeable as to the procedures they need to follow. However, watching them in the round pen, I realize that the flow of their movements and the timing of their gestures are out of synchronization with their horses. Often, a student will observe the gesture made by a horse and then walk a few more steps thinking about exactly what to do to execute the transition. By the time he does, the horse is off on another subject. We have had several students in our school that pass the written tests successfully. Later in the round pen, I observe a person who is unable to execute the simplest elements of the Language of Equus. In a case like this, we will try to assign him a young horse to hone his practical skills. I have adopted several mustangs who serve as the greatest teachers available for students who fit this category. If you have the academics down, the likelihood is that you need more “hands-on” time with live horses to perfect your skills. Read more in my textbook.

- Monty

Question: I find that after a few minutes of dealing with my horse he tunes me out. He becomes what I would call resistant. He ignores me and I cannot seem to get his attention. What have I done wrong?

Monty's Answer: A horse will only give you a few tries to get it right and then it seems that he says “He does not understand my language; I’m going to stop bothering myself about it. I am just going to tune him out.” Again, more study and more practice is the answer to getting it right. Read more in my textbook.

Question: I can get my horse to Join-Up just fine, but he will not follow. What should I do?

Monty's Answer: When I hear this query, I find that the student is telling the horse not to follow with the gestures he or she uses. Most often, it will be bad eye movements. The student will take a step or two and then snap his or her eyes back toward the horse to see if he is following. This tells the horse not to follow. I often explain that within a few minutes I have no doubt this horse would follow me. This means that my movements better execute the Language of Equus.

- Monty

Question: My horse gives me his gestures but he does not seem to understand mine and refuses to Join-Up with me.

Monty's Answer: This is a question I am often asked. My answer is that you are not speaking the same language yet. I suggest that you doJoin-Up with ten to twenty head of trained horses and then try your horse again. You will probably laugh at how easy it can suddenly become. Meanwhile it would be good to study the principles through my videos and books.

-Monty

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