Long reining issues

[GypsGal1718]

My new rescue Cob (11 y/o )has been doing very well and settled in nicely, I have had her for 3 months, she was rehomed to me as a project and has been an absolute dream to work with, she always tries her best and is a very quick learner, we have taken things very slowly and she is doing well and understanding thing’s clearly before we move on to something a little harder. She is working at liberty,lunging, wearing a roller nicely and understanding aids very well while long reining, our only issue is she just gets very bolshy when we longrein and tries to get away from me, she understands how to turn and stop well and does produce some nice work when she starts listening more, but at the start she is very bolshy, any advice?

 

[meleeka]

Get her thinking from the off. So walk to halt, turning, bending etc. Are you certain she’s not stiff when you start off?

It could be that it’s not her favourite thing and she’s worked out how to make it stop, so I’d keep sessions short and sweet.

 

[GypsGal1718]

Yeah I do little flexions to get her listening at the start but somEtimes she just charges off but I get her back then halt and do them again to get her listening, sessions don’t last more then twenty minutes

 

[millitiger]

Get an instructor to help you in person.

Once they learn they can easily get away from you on the long reins, it's a very hard habit to break.

 

[Rowreach]

Do you lunge on two reins?

 

[GypsGal1718]

Do you lunge on two reins?

No just one

 

[Goldie's mum]

Maybe she was driven before and didn't love it?

I always start longreining with a passive assistant walking at the head on a loose lead rope just in case they try to zoom off.

 

[maya2008]

I long rein with an assistant at first. It’s relatively normal to be a bit bolshy about it at the start.

If you don’t have anyone who can help you, I really recommend the method of long reining that has you standing at their side not directly behind them. That way gives you more control and if they go, you can just drop the outside rein and pull them onto a circle around you. Once they’re confident doing things that way, I will long rein behind. It’s then not an issue.

 

[tristars]

long with an assistant at the head

always lunge first

 

[sbloom]

Ultimately long reining can encourage horses to lean, so it can be a balance issue. If the horse understands how to take the weight back, and you have a way of asking that from behind, then you can adjust the balance. It's quite a skill to long rein without loss of balance.

 

[maya2008]

Ultimately long reining can encourage horses to lean, so it can be a balance issue. If the horse understands how to take the weight back, and you have a way of asking that from behind, then you can adjust the balance. It's quite a skill to long rein without loss of balance.

Only in the same way that a rider with harder hands can encourage the same. It's easier to long rein well from the side in any case, but regardless of where you stand they can only lean on you, if you provide them with something to lean on... I only long rein youngsters (who have very little training at that point) and it's never caused a loss of balance.

 

[Rowreach]

No just one

Well I'd start lunging with two and you will soon be able to long rein.

 

[sbloom]

Only in the same way that a rider with harder hands can encourage the same. It's easier to long rein well from the side in any case, but regardless of where you stand they can only lean on you, if you provide them with something to lean on... I only long rein youngsters (who have very little training at that point) and it's never caused a loss of balance.

With riding we have our seat and legs, and can directly influence balance and speed, I do think longreining is harder because we pretty much only have our hands. Sounds like you do a great job but it's not easy to do it well.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

With riding we have our seat and legs, and can directly influence balance and speed, I do think longreining is harder because we pretty much only have our hands. Sounds like you do a great job but it's not easy to do it well.

IME, that's where having your horse very attuned to your body language comes in, and having a whip to use as an extension of your body/aids.

 

[ihatework]

With riding we have our seat and legs, and can directly influence balance and speed, I do think longreining is harder because we pretty much only have our hands. Sounds like you do a great job but it's not easy to do it well.

Long reining is unfortunately a skill I have never mastered. It’s far too easy to do a bad job and have a negative impact.

So my position is, if you are skilled at it great! If you aren’t then don’t blindly go at it. Just stop and find a better way.

 

[GypsGal1718]

Thanks for all the input, I think she has had a bad experience with driving in the past as when I first started long reining her I had that feeling that she had driven in the past based on how she set out, I don’t think it’s with pushing it on her as she clearly is so tense when I pick up the long reins , she understands rein aids when reins are on headcollar and I am standing at her shoulder. I know we could work through this but I think that I would rather just leave it and not cause her the stress as she understands aids anyways. I know many won’t agree with this decision but i care most about her mental wellbeing so I think we will just crack on without mastering it. It is not because I do not want to put the time in, I just want her to be comfortable. We are still going to be taking things at her own pace as alwaYs

 

[rara007]

Do you need to long rein? My fab ride and drive cob won’t long rein (without getting super stressed/bolting if you do more than walk). Hard to say why he hates it so much but it’s not for him. I’m not a novice long reining. He’s a fantastic ridden and driven pony still.

 

[SEL]

My littlest cob is the ride and drive type but when I introduced her to long reins a few years back she got very tense, very worried and bolted. She lunges ok so I suspect there's something that's happened in a previous life. We don't long rein any more.

If yours is an older rescue cob there could be good reason they don't like the long reins sadly.

 

[GypsGal1718]

Here she is full of beans after a special treat!

 

[tristars]

i mirror exactly the horse when long reining, meaning i keep my hips and shoulders parallel to the horse as if i am riding it so i am able to use say the outside rein as pressure when turning, which is much easier for the horse to understand if it is learning, so when turning the horse cannot see me fully as i am right behind it yet driving it forwards into the turn

also i find i need get fairly close to the horse and keep the reins shortish and well under control some shorter rather than longer reins help, and weighty clips onto the bit so to make the horse move off the weight not just pulling it round

you need super concentration` on` doing several things at once, matching the horses walk and trot stride with longer than normal steps sometimes, holding your arms higher and more forwards to be kind on the mouth and relaxing so you do not communicate tension through your arms and hands


when they get used to walking on the reins , i always teach walk to halt for few seconds then into walk and later walk trot walk halt, turning in the open, then weaving in and out of obstacles doing a full turn about to go back the other way

the main thing is not to jab them in the mouth, if they jab themselves they soon learn not to, as when riding you need to be aware of what your hands, arms are feeling and what your legs are doing and your posture


personally i do this with all breakers and would never get on any unbacked horse without knowing that it can stop, turn etc and find the backing process comes as a natural extension to long reining and lunging, i have never long reined a horse established in ridden work but lunge all the time, sometimes for a few minutes, but also loose, my horses will lunge around me without lunge rein loose and then canter away and return to work around me, and jump loose

 

[ester]

She’s lovely
I’m with those that say if she’s tense/it doesn’t suit then do other stuff.

I can confirm that watching rara longrein is poetry and her cob is similar type to yours and an all round super chap - I suspect that they both have some history that makes them uncomfortable/wary long reining.