longreining

[teddysheep]

Wonder if anyone has some advice please - my 3yo welsh sec C. I've done a lot of in hand work with him & he's done really, really well - he responds readily in hand to voice cues without prompt & I'm really pleased with that, so I've moved on to long reining & he is obviously struggling, it's just our first week mind you but I don't want to mess it up. My main issue is that he won't move forwards - obviously it's me. I have a helper leading him in front but he still won't walk on readily yet when the long reins are removed he will 'walk on'/stop without any prompt at all. If I push things, he gets cross, so of course he's just showing he's frustrated/doesn't understand, so I have to find a way to help him better - I need a few strategies! Unfortunately I don't have a fancy arena, just a field. He walks well now with his bridle in & accepts this very well. I have long reined horses in the past but not from scratch like this & of course I don't profess to be any kind of expert!

 

[millitiger]

He needs to learn the voice commands and respond to them, wherever you are standing.

Below is just how i start mine off-
In stable getting used to lines being dragged and flicked all over them and through legs etc while tied up.
Then 'lunged' in stable with outside long line trailing- this is where they start to understand voice aid to walk on.

Next is outside on a 10-15m circle, again outside long line attached and trailing and 'lunging' again. Just to do walk and halt but with you further away. You might need a lunge whip to encourage them on a bit to start, don't crack it, I find pointing it at the quarters enough.

Then both lines attached, just circling again, lots of voice and lots of encouragement. Lots of halting and walking on to cement the 'walk on' command.
The out and about in the field, as much straight line as you can as it's easier for them to understand and you might need to give them a flick with the slack of your line to start with to really help them forwards- expect they might trot etc. and be prepared so you don't grab their head by accident.

I find it easier without a helper, otherwise some youngsters don't really understand they are being long reined and they need to listen to the person behind them- they just concentrate on the leader at their head which won't help you!

 

[catkin]

Break it down into smaller chunks:

Is he used to you giving cues from further back rather than at his shoulder and from all around him
Is he fully comfortable with the equipment? and the reins swinging (and the sheer weight and movement of them)
Have you done work on signals from a side pull or a bit? Classical in-hand work helps a lot here

Once he's worked out what you want then put it all together Welshies are very clever - mine have all loved learning stuff, but they do like to understand that they are doing it right!

 

[teddysheep]

He needs to learn the voice commands and respond to them, wherever you are standing.

Below is just how i start mine off-
In stable getting used to lines being dragged and flicked all over them and through legs etc while tied up.
Then 'lunged' in stable with outside long line trailing- this is where they start to understand voice aid to walk on.

Next is outside on a 10-15m circle, again outside long line attached and trailing and 'lunging' again. Just to do walk and halt but with you further away. You might need a lunge whip to encourage them on a bit to start, don't crack it, I find pointing it at the quarters enough.

Then both lines attached, just circling again, lots of voice and lots of encouragement. Lots of halting and walking on to cement the 'walk on' command.
The out and about in the field, as much straight line as you can as it's easier for them to understand and you might need to give them a flick with the slack of your line to start with to really help them forwards- expect they might trot etc. and be prepared so you don't grab their head by accident.

I find it easier without a helper, otherwise some youngsters don't really understand they are being long reined and they need to listen to the person behind them- they just concentrate on the leader at their head which won't help you!

That’s great advice thank you, several times so far I’ve realised I’ve needed to break stuff down in smaller chunks & I see now how I need to do this again… thank you

 

[teddysheep]

He needs to learn the voice commands and respond to them, wherever you are standing.

Below is just how i start mine off-
In stable getting used to lines being dragged and flicked all over them and through legs etc while tied up.
Then 'lunged' in stable with outside long line trailing- this is where they start to understand voice aid to walk on.

Next is outside on a 10-15m circle, again outside long line attached and trailing and 'lunging' again. Just to do walk and halt but with you further away. You might need a lunge whip to encourage them on a bit to start, don't crack it, I find pointing it at the quarters enough.

Then both lines attached, just circling again, lots of voice and lots of encouragement. Lots of halting and walking on to cement the 'walk on' command.
The out and about in the field, as much straight line as you can as it's easier for them to understand and you might need to give them a flick with the slack of your line to start with to really help them forwards- expect they might trot etc. and be prepared so you don't grab their head by accident.

I find it easier without a helper, otherwise some youngsters don't really understand they are being long reined and they need to listen to the person behind them- they just concentrate on the leader at their head which won't help you!

That is great & helpful advice, thank you!

 

[teddysheep]

Break it down into smaller chunks:

Is he used to you giving cues from further back rather than at his shoulder and from all around him
Is he fully comfortable with the equipment? and the reins swinging (and the sheer weight and movement of them)
Have you done work on signals from a side pull or a bit? Classical in-hand work helps a lot here

Once he's worked out what you want then put it all together Welshies are very clever - mine have all loved learning stuff, but they do like to understand that they are doing it right!

Yep you’re absolutely right on breaking it down, thank you! He doesn’t bat an eyelid with any equipment but I don’t think he would respond to voice cues from further back, I see now that it’s more baby steps, thank you

 

[millitiger]

That’s great advice thank you, several times so far I’ve realised I’ve needed to break stuff down in smaller chunks & I see now how I need to do this again… thank you

Good luck he sounds great if he isn't actually reacting poorly and is just confused, should be an easy fix.

 

[Boulty]

When we taught mine to longrein we started at the shoulder and gradually moved further back until I was behind / off to one side of him. He was already very used to having ropes draped over him / near his legs etc so wasn’t really fussed about that bit but working our way back gradually seemed to help him be less confused. We literally just did laps of the yard / car park until we had brakes & steering!

 

[teddysheep]

When we taught mine to longrein we started at the shoulder and gradually moved further back until I was behind / off to one side of him. He was already very used to having ropes draped over him / near his legs etc so wasn’t really fussed about that bit but working our way back gradually seemed to help him be less confused. We literally just did laps of the yard / car park until we had brakes & steering!

Great thank you, I think I’ve been doing too much too soon!

 

[Caol Ila]

Does he lunge off a single line?

I started off in the standard lunging position with outside rein draped over her back. I prefer this position anyway to directly behind them because I can see what the whole horse is doing, but the ground driving position is useful too, especially for the change to ridden work. Once she accepted that, I moved further and further back until I was directly behind her, driving her forward. It was a bit drunk as first, but she got it quickly.

 

[dottylottie]

i had this with me 4yo - if someone stood in the middle of the school with the lunge whip she’d long rein really nicely, but she just wouldn’t go forwards for love nor money. she understood all the voice aids, she just stood rooted to the spot.

i put loose side reins on to stop her taking bites of the bush every 2 seconds, but i found that walking her in hand in them a few times really helped her figure out that she could go forwards with the contact on her mouth. it was literally an overnight cure, like a lightbulb moment. the first time i tried again i had my mum with me with a rope in case i needed her to walk at her head, and she just marched off like she’s been doing it her whole life

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

figure out that she could go forwards with the contact on her mouth.

I think this is one of the main challenges to long reining, assuming they are happy to otherwise walk relatively independently. You've had plenty of advice OP so I won't add, but I find that side reins very loosely then lunging help massively with this, like DL has said above.

 

[daffy44]

Lots of great advice. On a less serious, but still useful note, when I taught my last youngster to long rein (I was alone) he started off by following the cat, which seemed to give him lots of confidence, and he happily long reined out and about round the fields etc after one session in the school following the cat!

 

[Gloi]

When I am starting off in long reins I never put them through rings on the roller. I do that later when they are going well.
Without them being in the rings , if the horse spooks or spins it is easy to just put them on a lunge circle, no problems.
With them in the rings , if the horse suddenly spins and ends up facing the person with the reins , pressure on the reins ,which are then like a pulley, can make the horse run backwards and get into a real panic or tangle
I actually prefer to use a lunging Cavesson with the two reins until the horse has got the idea and will walk forward sensibly.

 

[tristar]

i always longrein with the reins through the stirrups once the horse has clicked its not going to get eaten by two long snakes and made a few fuddles, which is good so they know they can survive a mild tangle

then go forwards in walk and trot and then back to halt, first lesson in learning to stand still in halt

then go around obstacles to learn to turn

i have always used a bit, i would never get on an unbroken horse unless i was confident it understood how to stop when asked, has never affected the horses training, the head carriage comes from the ridden training and developing the balance, so i never worried about them going deep or head up, all that comes much later

 

[Caol Ila]

Lots of great advice. On a less serious, but still useful note, when I taught my last youngster to long rein (I was alone) he started off by following the cat, which seemed to give him lots of confidence, and he happily long reined out and about round the fields etc after one session in the school following the cat!

How did you train your cat??

 

[Carlosmum]

With big apologies to the OP, rather than start another thread please can I jump on this one. I have been long reining my partially broken 6 yr old. He is not happy with clips ( side reins or lunge limes) on his bit so I have been running the liens through his bit and back to the saddle. Is this too awful? Its a bit like draw reins but not running under his chest. He seems happy like this, we are wobbling round the paddock and i want to venture out round the farm soon brakes and steering seem to work.

 

[daffy44]

How did you train your cat??

The cat loves the horses, so the cat trained herself!

 

[millitiger]

With big apologies to the OP, rather than start another thread please can I jump on this one. I have been long reining my partially broken 6 yr old. He is not happy with clips ( side reins or lunge limes) on his bit so I have been running the liens through his bit and back to the saddle. Is this too awful? Its a bit like draw reins but not running under his chest. He seems happy like this, we are wobbling round the paddock and i want to venture out round the farm soon brakes and steering seem to work.

I wouldn't be happy to work like that to be honest- the potential leverage you have there is too high, particularly if you want to get out of the arena.

What exactly doesn't he like about the clips on his bit and perhaps people can make suggestions?

 

[Carlosmum]

What exactly doesn't he like about the clips on his bit and perhaps people can make suggestions?

I think its the weight/feel of the clips. He just seems very aware of them. It may be me over thinking things, but of course normal reins are billeted or buckled and don't have the weight. He is currently in a straight bar happy mouth with cheeks.

 

[millitiger]

I think its the weight/feel of the clips. He just seems very aware of them. It may be me over thinking things, but of course normal reins are billeted or buckled and don't have the weight. He is currently in a straight bar happy mouth with cheeks.

I understand that, some clips are really heavy and create their own 'swing'
If you have proper long reins, rather than using lunge lines, they tend to have smaller clips.
Or what I have done before is swap the clips over and re-crimp the line with a smaller, neater, lighter clip?
I'm about to replace another on a new leadrope I have bought, as the clip it came with is horrid and heavy.