Long reining

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rachmacypixie111

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Hi all,

Sorry - bit of a long tread but....

I have a youngster (he is 18th month old) and is very well bred for racing.His future trainer came to see him at the weekend - he really likes him but said I should now start his initial training. Basically he want me to back him before we send him. I have broken in horses before but at the age of 4!!

I had him going on the lunge ok in walk a few weeks ago but now when i ask him to go forward he is just stamps his feet and comes towards me!

I want to start long reining him but have had little experiance of this for a long time!

Any help would be much appreciated
 
I assume that he is bred for flat racing?

You need a lunge whip to keep him away from you and moving forward, he really needs to lunge before you start long reining him. He also needs accept the tack before you start driving.

There is not really a lot of difference between starting a 4 year old and a yearling except that you need to know when the yearling is tiring, which will be faster than the older horse.

Often you have to keep them on a shorter lunge but not a smaller circle, this means that you need to be walking a larger circle rather than standing on the same spot.

When it comes to riding away the yearling needs very little trotting, most of the training is done at walk and canter - yes, they do trot but not as much as an older horse would.
 
Foxhunter49 said:
I assume that he is bred for flat racing?

You need a lunge whip to keep him away from you and moving forward, he really needs to lunge before you start long reining him. He also needs accept the tack before you start driving.

There is not really a lot of difference between starting a 4 year old and a yearling except that you need to know when the yearling is tiring, which will be faster than the older horse.

Often you have to keep them on a shorter lunge but not a smaller circle, this means that you need to be walking a larger circle rather than standing on the same spot.

When it comes to riding away the yearling needs very little trotting, most of the training is done at walk and canter - yes, they do trot but not as much as an older horse would.
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Thanks for the reply! Yes bred for flat - 1 mile

I have a lunge whip and he has never bothered about it before but now if I try to push him out with it he just turns in on me, walks towards me and stamps his feet! He is always trying to to get near me and when I try to push him away he just turns in - generally he is very sweet natured and kind and not at all like a colt! He has accepted a bit and roller no problem!

He is not forward going at all so just getting him to walk on the lunge is proving difficult!
 
I very rarely use a lung whip.

Long reining would be really good if done properly.

Instead of using a whip I would get behind him and ask him to walk on. If he doesnt bend him left and right ( I think of it as a kick start). You could also long line him in a circle as if you were lunging. I have really gone off lunging recently once I felt comfy to long rein my mare mare has learnt a lot about contact, aids and self carriage. Infact I have a different horse.

Here is Micheal Pearce long reining how I do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3cwjLxKkOE&feature=fvst


Takes practice just keep hands light, be motivated in voice and body posture. :)
 
I suggest that if you haven't done long reining before you practice on a quiet horse first, it is so easy to get all the knitting mixed up, trip over the reins, and the thought of a young TB taking off in a panic with long reins flapping is not a happy one. Or bucking and kicking out with you in the firing line.

Long reining is very good training, but you need to know what your objective is and take every safety precaution, as ever with a TB.
 
i would suggest as he is well bred you let the trainer do the work! even tho he has a nice temp he has already got the better of you and is now stampng his foot. sadly you only start/break them once so really you have to make sure it is done well to get a good, allround nice horse.
 
I was really hoping the trainer would say that - I expected him gone in a week (although I would miss him loads!) but they wanted me to do it!

So .. do you think I should ring the trainer and tell him I am not up to the job or get myslelf together and do this!

Just some advice would be nice! (or help if you live in the area! lol)

r x
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
i would suggest as he is well bred you let the trainer do the work! even tho he has a nice temp he has already got the better of you and is now stampng his foot. sadly you only start/break them once so really you have to make sure it is done well to get a good, allround nice horse.
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im afraid i have to agree with this ^^^, Unless you can get someone to help you.
With him turning in to face you and stamping his foot is his way of challenging your dominancy(sp) and i wouldnt try and longrein until he understands your the boss. However it is really good for getting them to work forwards independantly(sp), but i would address this issue first.
When he does turn in use whatever you have, either the lungeline or whip and drive him backwards, he needs to learn that turning in is not acceptable as you loose control.
When you finish lunging dont pat him on the head, pat the shoulder as that tells him where you want him to be as patting on the head tells him to come in and face you whereas he doesnt need to move for you to pat his shoulder.
 
If you dont feel that you can do a good job with this colt,if you are on your own it will not be possible to get it ridden away,tell the owner/trainer you cannot manage as you are alone. As said earlier you only get one chance and if it goes wrong you and the colt are at risk.
If they still want it done before it goes into the trainers[most good trainers would start them at their yard or send them to a professional] tell them you want some experienced help.
 
Thanks everyone - I do agree with you!
I will give it one last shot this week and if I dont make any progress I will talk to the trainer.

One of you said that a good trainer would do it his-self - well I have to disagree because this is one of the top trainers in the racing industry and also one of the top breeders in the industry agreed - It is me that is failing not the horse or trainer!
 
if he is one of the top trainers he will either be able to do this work himself (well staff!!) at his own yard, OR have access/know a good breakers yard that will do this job well. most good trainers will outsource breaking if not ready to start proper training.
 
If he is a top trainer he should be expecting the best for his horses,no offence meant,but I am surprised that he would even consider getting someone he has no experience of to start a colt he regards as a good prospect.
He will have his others in breakers yards or his own to be started.
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
if he is one of the top trainers he will either be able to do this work himself (well staff!!) at his own yard, OR have access/know a good breakers yard that will do this job well. most good trainers will outsource breaking if not ready to start proper training.
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Agree with this, and also the comments about you not doing it yourself if you don't know where to start.

But I disagree with the comment about teaching a horse to lunge before long reining. It's two completely different things especially regarding your body language and where you stand in relation to the horse. The advantage of long reining is the horse can't turn in to you as you have the outside rein to steer him back on course, plus you are going in straighter lines which is better for a younger horse's frame than lunging in smallish circles.
 
Somewhere along the line your horse has learned to evade by turning to face you. This may have come about by your being in the wrong position for sending him on on the longe, or it may be because you have put to much pressure on and caused him to yield his quarters too far round, and away from you.

Once a horse has learned that by turning to face the handler he can get out of work, it can be difficult to get into a position where he can be sent forward as, every time the handler tries to get behind his ribs, the horse merely has to face the handler to avoid this.

The handler must teach the horse two things at this stage. First, the horse must be taught to yield his shoulder to the handler so that he is persuaded out of the habit of turning in, and so that the handler can, when longeing him, step in toward the horse's shoulder to dissuade him from falling in on the near shoulder and performing a turn-in.

Second, the horse must be taught to stand and allow the handler to move to the side of him to get into the longeing position.

Once the horse has learned these two basic lessons, he can be set up so that the handler can get into a position to send him on on the longe. The handler must take care, at least initially, to avoid putting too much pressure on the quarters so as to avoid driving them away to much and thereby encouraging the horse to repeat the habit of turning in.

I would avoid using a longe whip at this stage of the horse's training.

For long-reining, the horse must be prepared for the feel of the outside rein before he can be expected to long-rein without problems associated with that. He can be longed with a fillet string from one side of the roller to the other, or he can be got used to the feel of a rope around his hocks and thighs by other means. Either way, it is essential that he has experience of such a thing before he is put in long-reins.

The other thing which the horse should learn, before he is long-reined, is to yield to the outside rein. This can easily be done in-hand, and is the means by which he will be dissuaded from spinning round in the long-reins, should he attempt to. If he tries to spin, he can be stopped on the outside rein and, because he has already been taught to yield to it, can be held there until he straightens himself out and can be sent on again.

Preparation is the keyword in training youngsters.
 
rachmacypixie111 said:
Thanks everyone - I do agree with you!
I will give it one last shot this week and if I dont make any progress I will talk to the trainer.

One of you said that a good trainer would do it his-self - well I have to disagree because this is one of the top trainers in the racing industry and also one of the top breeders in the industry agreed - It is me that is failing not the horse or trainer!
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I'd be interested to know the breeding of you horse. Where are you sending him into training?
 
Ive worked in the racing stud business and many youngsters where backed by ourselfs and then after they could walk , trot and canter they would then be sent to trainer to progress with education in the racing career
OP if you are not experienced enough how about getting someone in to help such as a AI or someone who knows the backing process of race horses
 
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