Long reining

kookoolaalaa

New Member
Nov 12, 2008
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South Yorkshire
Hi, Can anyone explain long reining, what you need, what's the benefits and how you do it properly?
My new TB x has not been worked for a while and we have been told he needs to build up his back muscles and apparently long reining is good...:p
 
Bridle, saddle or roller, two lunge ropes. Maybe a lunge whip, but I find it gets in the way and my horse is now trained to respond to voice commands. Attach lunge ropes to each side of horse's bit, then through the stirrups or roller rings. Try lungeing on a circle with the rope around the horses back legs first, don't rush this as he needs to be happy with the extra lunge rope. Then gradually move him about until you are behind him and he is walking forward confidently. Do ALL this in a school, you don't want to be the kite behind him if he takes off across a field with you attached. Oh, and WEAR GLOVES!
 
Thanks for this, obvously you only walk when you are behind unless you want to run ??? In the circle the horse can trot around?
I am used to lungeing with head collar and lunge line.
 
Long lining isn't lungeing. If you're building your horse up with long lining, you're making him work in an outline in a straight line but without you on board. If you want him to work in an outline on a lunge, you could buy a pessoa.
 
Hi, Can anyone explain long reining, what you need, what's the benefits and how you do it properly?
My new TB x has not been worked for a while and we have been told he needs to build up his back muscles and apparently long reining is good...:p

Long reining is a way of working the horse similarly to riding but without the weight of a rider on the back.

The benefits are that you are working the horse (into a contact etc) in a controlled way but without the weight of a rider and without a saddle (heard of people doing it when they have saddle fit issues).

The advantages over lunging are that you are not just limited to circles, but can work pretty much any way you want. Once you know your horse is ok about long reining, you can also take them on "hacks" long reining. (But you do need to know you have the control you need !).

Over single-line lunging there is also the benefit that you are keeping the horse straighter and talking to both sides.

There are different ways to long rein - different rein positions, different places the person can long rein from. All have a slightly different effect.

I tend to long rein from behind and to the side of the horse (inside). I can walk and jog/trot with mine (especially the 12.1 !) but their canters are not collected enough for me to keep up. So for the faster paces I will often then work back on a circle but with both reins still.
 
I often long rein on a circle, then go straight then change rein circle and trot and run at the side or behind.

Lunging bores the pants off me!
 
Sylvia Stanier - The Art of Longreining is a fantastic book. Old fashioned pics but easy to understand, no waffle and great for starting out. :)
 
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