That's really interesting! Sorry, but i don't personally have any ideas or experience with something like this (even though i did once take care of a pony that followed me around without having done join up, but she did go away when i drove her off) so i can't help you... Have you tried being as aggressive as you possibly can in your stance? Eyes on eyes, shoulders square, acting really 'scary' (waving arms/rope, fingers open, maybe even stomping or growling)? If you have, then it's really interesting that you have such a calm horse, especially at such a young age! Maybe you should submit this question on the weekly Ask Monty newsletter, i would be very interested to hear what Monty has to say about this.
Sorry again i don't have any real advice! Good luck!

I've tried waving my lunge line about and making some really strange "scary" noises and his face looks wary but he just doesn't go to run, I wish I could video it and post it for everyone to see, it is really strange, especially with a young horse, you would have thought he would have been more flighty because he doesn't understand? I agree, it is strange and I too would love to hear what Monty has to say!

Uranus
You need to do some ground work. He needs to know how to go forward and back on a lead line. If you can't get him to move his feet you are not going to have much luck trying to lunge him. Once you have a couple of hours ground work in take him into the round pen with a stick or whip with a plastic bag on the end tap him with the bag on the hind foot nearest you to get him to move forward. Keep following him around and keep him moving he my spin back and look at you. Raise your hands and look him in the eye while moving towards him. He should either spin back and go the direction you want or he will go past you at a distance. You just need to keep driving him. One he has made a few laps stop and either drop the stick or lower it and walk towards him eyes o. His shoulder only put the lead line on and give him a good rub walk out of the round pen and call it a day

You have stopped on a good note and the horse is starting to understand what is expected of him next day just repeat the process and have him change directions in the round pen at you command. At this point you should be able to do a good join up if you think you need to. But if he is following you still on his own I don't see the purpose if you both are understanding each other

Cheers

This problem of very quiet, bonded, trusting horses not wishing to move away in order to join up has come up a number of times on Forum. My shetland was one of these. Views are mixed as to whether we should try to persist in gaining join up and sending these horses away or not. It seems to me and some others on Forum that these horses are already joined up so do not need the join-up experience particularly if they are behaving as we wish. Your horse is very young and it is rather unique to have him so joined up to you at this early age unless he was a poddy. If I were you I would not try join up at this stage as you may lose some of the precious trust he is showing you and confuse him too. I would just use the dually and my eyes, hands and body movements to get him to be more responsive to me. Move him away from you with the dually etc., move him backwards, forwards and around you - all fairly low key stuff. Get him used to picking up his feet and walking over poles and other objects on the ground. Get him used to walking with you - find the sweet spot-, trotting and stopping etc. There are so many things you can do to keep this youngster interested and responsive other than join up. Later if bad habits are forming then it maybe time to forcefully send him away and try join up but by then he should understand better what your eyes, hands and body movements are telling him to do. Good luck with it. You are so lucky to have such a quiet, trusting baby to work with.

Hi Uraeus,
I had a similar thing with my Brumby who is only just 2 years old so not much difference in age to yours. He would follow me round the paddock, stand untied to be brushed etc and when i went to do join up he would not leave me, he would just turn to look at me and got quite aggitated when i tried to send him away. I only tried the once then got some advice off here :-) I had done successfull join ups before so i knew i could do it but this time it was not working. Someone on here advised me to look at the size of my round pen because if it is too small the horse will come 'into pressure' not go away. I made my round pen to monty's size recommendation (16 metre diametre) and we got a successful join up! My horse was saying to me that he had nowhere to go when i sent him away so he came TO me. I suggest you look at the 'into pressure' lesson on here and then look at the size of your round pen. Also asses your body position when sending him away. I had to drive my boy from just behind his shoulder, and slapping the rope on my leg worked better that sending the line out behind. If none of these appear to be the problem for you then i would just leave it for now because as Maggie said, you don't want to lose the trust you have now got :-)
Hope this helps a bit :-)
Janelle

Thanks guys, I think I'll skip join up for now then, just work on introducing him to things and his life to be :-)

Hi Uraeus,
All the above advice look very good to me, I'd like to add that it seems an understanding-problem to me. Your youngster doesn't know what is asked of him, until now you stayed close to his body and worked on desensitizing to all sorts of things. Now all of a sudden he should move away from you. Shorten your line, ask him to walk or trot around you in a small circle, maybe driving him with a plasicbag on a stick. Then you can widen the circle, as he understands that going around you is what was asked of him. To change directions you unfortunately need to ask him in towards you, later you'll ask him to turn away from you when changing directions. Always remember to stop your ques as soon as he does what is asked of him, he'll associate the new thing with your request.
Let us know how things go!
Miriam

Thank you, Miriam. I didnt know how to go about long lining, never having done it. I got my first horse when I was 8, and nobody ever taught me anything, had to teach myself, as nobody in my family knew anything about horses or riding. And wouldnt let me take lessons. It was kind of like, we got you the horse you wanted, now go ride it. So thats what I did. Then graduated to breaking them, still not having any idea of the right way to go about it, but what I did seemed to work fine. I didnt want to get bucked off, so decided to gentle them first, which worked. Although I HAVE been bucked of several times over the years, but hardly ever by one I was breaking. Mostly they were horses someone else broke. But I never could figure out how to long line them. Then I had several years of having nothing but adopted mustangs, which were wonderful horses, but now I have a 2 and a half year old quarterhorse filly, who decided, the day I got her, that she was going to follow me everywhere, she decided all on her own to join up with me. She wont spook at anything, doesnt care what I do, accepted the saddle like she was born with one, and doesnt care if I get on, she just wont go. So we are working on that, and someone, one of Montys instructors, I guess, told me to long line her. But not how to go about it, so thank you very much. By the way, I did join up with my mustangs before I ever heard of Monty, it just seemed to make sense. And the more I learn from him, the more it makes sense. He is the teacher I wish I had had several years ago.

Hi phantommustang1,
You seem to have a great feeling for your horses! I'm glad I could open a new road for you in training to longline. Remember, that your goal is to drive the horse with body-language and ques with the 2 lines, but to start this process some horses need a pre-step as described above. Don't go on for too long, otherwise it'll be more difficult for the horse to learn to turn to the outside. But as an initial step it can work very well.
Have fun,
Miriam