schooling on the long reins

[becca114]

For those of you have have in the past or currently school your horse on the long reins, what level of schooling have you achieved?

Can you lengthen/shorten strides, do lateral movements and more advanced movements like flying changes, counter canter, piaffes?

How often do you long-rein?

 

[rara007]

I long rein at least one pony a day, usually 2 or 3, each pony probably gets longreined 3 times a week.

Lengthened/shortened strides I find really easy to get them to do. I taught Pip how to lengthen on them and now he gets reliably good marks for them. I can also do lateral work, with 2 of the ponies. The others aren't at that level so look at me as if im mad or fall in/out through the shoulder. Pip does flying changes to voice too, so I guess you get abit of counter canter, although I tend to do 2 changes along a straight side as his canter isn't really at the level do do counter canter. None of ours are at the level to Piaffe, neither do I think they ever will be

. But Brook can really collect almost to Piaffe, but I daren't overstrech him so havn't asked.

 

[Ezme]

Anything you can do in the saddle you can do on the long reins. Really helps you feel in your hands too. I'm not doing masses of long reining at the moment as the babies are at the stage where they need to be out and about in the carriage and the old guy needs as much rest as posisble!

We do lots of leg yeilding (v importand driving), turns on the quarters and varying the trot as its mainly (but do all sorts of other things too) for driving schooling that we use it for and ours arn't competition horses unlike rara

 

[becca114]

thanks for your replies. Out of interest, what tack do you use when you long-rein, do you use driving reins or two lunge lines? Do you use a roller or a saddle with stirrups or something different?

Also how far away from your horse are you, do you feel like you have more control if you are almost right behind him/her?

Sorry about all the questions just very interested to know.