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  Discussion on Long reining
Author Message
Member:
Mientjie

Posted on Thursday, Jun 15, 2006 - 2:51 am:

I started long reining my mare last week and she is doing very well. My only concern is that I'm always worried about hurting her mouth. I keep a very light contact but enough to keep her on the bit. Is this ok?

Does anyone know some fun excersises I can do with her on the long reins?

Thanks
Lea-Anne
Member:
Ajudson1

Posted on Thursday, Jun 15, 2006 - 8:22 am:

Are you using stirrups or a surcingle to run the lines thru?

Are you using a really gentle bit, such as a 3 part snaffle?

I usually start my horses doing this before riding for the 1st time. I start out standing in the middle of a circle with the inside rein shorter, of course. That way I am pulling more from the side, not straight back. I try to avoid keeping direct contact on BOTH reins until I ask the horse to back later in training. I usually use a saddle and the weight of the stirrups keeps the bit in contact enough in the horses mouth.

I have had horses get tangled up, and step on the reins and bump their mouths. I'd prefer that didn't happen so what I would suggest if there is any chance of the horse being spooked by the lines/ropes, do all that first with the halter.

2 excellant books are Lungeing and Long Reining by Jenne Loristion-Clarke, and Schooling with Ground Poles..by Claire Lilly. The 2nd book is for riding but you can do most of the exercises with the long lines too.

It's a great way to introduce your horse to anything, so just use your imagination! And great exercise for you too, take some walks through the woods behind a fast walking horse and you'll see what I mean.

Have fun!
Member:
Green007

Posted on Thursday, Jun 15, 2006 - 9:04 am:

Hi Lea-Anne,

When I long rein green horses, I use a surcingle and a cavesson to make sure not to injure the mouth. Green horses can make sudden movements that catch themselves in the mouth no matter how great your hands are. I only long rein directly to the bit with a more experienced horse that is extremely steady with the rhythm and does not lean, pull or barge in and out of the circle.

Long reining is wonderful but you do have to be extremely careful if you want to keep the mouth soft. I think a properly fitted longing cavesson might be the way to go if you are at all unsure about the contact. You should also watch for signs that your horse is DrOpping the contact or going behind the bit. If so, you should go the cavesson route. If the feel on the reins is whisper soft, your mare is extremely steady and her head is consistently on or slightly above the vertical, then give yourself a huge pat on the back and keep doing what you are doing.
Member:
Amara

Posted on Thursday, Jun 15, 2006 - 11:44 am:

what kind of long reining reining are you doing? i always start on a circle as angie done before going to true long lining behind or slighyl offset behind the horse... some sort of surcingle or use saddle with stirrups (i tie them so they dont bounce around)is necessary to keep the lines in place... the less trained the horse, the lower the lines should be.. stirrup height is about right for a green broke horse.. as a horse gets more properly collected the lines can be placed farther and farther up...they should never run across the top of the horse unless the horse is capable of doing some mid level or beyond dressage...
if you run the reins thru the stirrups and around the hindquarters of the horse the horse will get used to his mouth getting lightly touched as his legs move... this is a good thing.. the lines should never be so tight as to restrict the horses forward motion early on... as long as you have a nice soft feel on a general basis then you neednt worry about hurting your mares mouth... and dont get too upset if she bangs into the bit on occasion.. she needs to learn to give.. better she learn here on the ground then in the saddle!... work on lots of changes of direction at various gates, both to the inside and the outside, so that she is as easy to long lines as she should be to ride.. i usually dont long line a horse anywhere but an enclosed area-if something goes wrong you can too easily lose the horse and the horse can get tangled pretty bad in the lines-or something else (think tree)...
as you advance you can use long lining to teach movements you would eventually teach under saddle, depending on your discipline... i taught leg yield and shoulder-in to my horses in long lines before i taught them under saddle...
my favourite book is by sylvia loch, aptly called the art of long lining...

nowadays i dont do much real long lining, as i long line/ground drive my horses without anything on their head (or body)... brings whole new meaning to being in touch with your horse!

good luck!
mel
Member:
Mientjie

Posted on Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - 2:02 am:

Thanks for all your advice!

I use a surcingle and a KK bit. She is steady and always on the bit. I only long rein her in an enclosed area. I first started in the longeing ring and next week we are going into a small arena.

Before I started long reining she would DrOp the right side of the bit and lean onto the left side. Now she excepts the bit and stopped leaning!
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