Hi, this is both good & bad. How many times did you do Join up with him? If only once or twice perhaps you have given him a disproportionate sense of trust. If that is the case then have a friend Join up with him, even if you need to instruct them from outside the pen/arena. Alternatively, transfer the Join up to your friend - like Monty does when backing horses in demos so they accept the rider. Perhaps your horse has a bad history, that even you do not know about. It's not always possible to know where their idiosyncrasies come from. We are supposedly the intelligent ones so the onus is on us to work out a viable plan. Get this horse in touch with as many different people as possible. Short ones, tall ones, males & females, old & young. Vary it & soon you will find he is much more accepting. Cheers, Jo.

Thanks ...I did join up once , Will have some one else do join up with him ...

QH are very special horses as they do get very attached to their owners if well treated. Perhaps more so if they have been badly handled by others. I would just enjoy this precious relationship you have.

Thanks , I am enjoying his loyalty and friendship, i do have another question tho reguarding tick repellent .. What is the best recommendation for tick repellent ? Here in Australia . I think he might have an allergy to ticks , he gets a large lump within a few hours of the tick biting him.so far its only been bush ticks and not many ..yet .. And I am concerned as i live in an area I'm told does have paralysis ticks ... Any sugestions would be very much appreciated .. Cheers Nik

Hi Nik. Here in Scotland we have midges that swarm in such large numbers sometimes it's like you could take slices from the air - yuk! I've tried some of the commercial repellents but have found nothing is significantly better than my own mix. Make very, very strong tea (simmer 4 tea bags for 30 minutes). Add same amount, a litre, of vinegar & 5 mls Citronella oil. Add one whole glove of crushed garlic. This can be applied as a wipe or a spray. Garlic in the feed is also helpful & healthy. Cheers, Jo

Sorry that I can't offer any help here as I am fortunate not to have had tick problems.

Thanks every one ... Jo - when you wipe the mixture on should I saturate to the skin or just a lite wipe over ? Cheers Nik

I use it ad lib. It's as good as anything I've brought. That's up to £25.00 per litrre. My recipe is much cheaper! It's good, at least I've found it to be so. Cheer, Jo

I am not very experienced with Join Up but it might help to have him join up with someone else. Let us know how it goes.