Long and low...

Charlie007 said:
How do you achieve long and low in walk??
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You give the horse the rein - ALL the rein - encourage him forward and, if he's been properly trained, he will stretch forward and down, "seeking the contact". If the horse rushes off, pokes the nose up, stays in the fixed outline or tugs and jerks at the rein, the training needs to be fixed.
 
Horse in question is not at all schooled, ex chaser. He doesn't understand long and low. Looking for ideas other than the normal in case he throws a curve ball. Will read the link later thank you
 
You cant work a horse long and low until it understands accepting the contact and working to the bit. Therefore mouthing him, flexions, softening and release will teach the horse to yield and then you offer then hand foreards for the stretch
 
TheMule said:
You cant work a horse long and low until it understands accepting the contact and working to the bit. Therefore mouthing him, flexions, softening and release will teach the horse to yield and then you offer then hand foreards for the stretch
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All true, BUT you must move the horse forwards (with the legs, obvs) towards the contact. Just fiddling with his mouth will not achieve contact, which has to be a two way street between you and him - you offer it, he accepts it.
 
Auslander said:
Urggh. I can't read his stuff any more! I tried really hard, but it's just makes my brain go all wobbly
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It took me about three goes, and in the end I read it when I was awake with insomnia :D It is interesting though, and I do think it's important that, whether one agrees with him or not, there is an understanding of physiology/anatomy and the reasoning behind something like "working long and low".
 
Rowreach said:
This is an interesting read.

http://scienceofmotion.com/documents/equine_anatomy_verses_equine_anatomy.html
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I find his attitude unnecessarily obstructive and divisive. His writing always feels like he's constructing a straw man argument to set fire to - and then refuse to engage in any discussion, dismissed as "thinking like a cult". It's just not helpful and it's certainly not scientific.

But that aside, I've never heard anyone suggest that the lower neck muscles pull the neck down - I thought it was obvious it was a release to gravity - and his suggestions about the upper neck muscles are only helpful if you assume that you are asking the horse to alter his head carriage because the altered head carriage is in some way innately beneficial. Surely most people alter head carriage to mobilise musculature in different planes in order for the benefits of the mobilisation / alteration of movement.
 
you will know when you are training your horse correctly because after a period of proper work he will take the rein down and forward as a relax from the work automatically.

love cornille his love of horses shows through, so rare.

its nowt to do will his gob, its his back that initiates taking the contact down and forward in walk.

i
 
It's really difficult to work long and low correctly. It's easy to throw the rein forwards and the horse falls on it's forehand. You still need the lift through the wither to be working correctly.

For some horses, it is very difficult to telescope the neck forward and down as well as lifting through the wither, depending on the set of the shoulder, hence some horses are working long and low correctly, even if the neck is still raised.

Think more forward, down and out, rather than long and low :)
 
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