Training A Young Horse

[CrazyDaizy&Beau]

Hi,

After Mouthing them How Long Do You Usially Long Rein Them For ?

The thing is we had a colt and decided to start spending time with him when he was 1 and a half then further on in the year we were mouthing him. my daughter wanted to ride him so we long reined him outside on the road for 30 mins decided then o put a bridle on him and my daughter got on him and followed me and my horse up our normal route, it was the first time he'd been around there and went perfectly well.

So why long rein him for any longer ????

Daizy&Beau xx

 

[horse__obsessed]

To give his body and muscles time to develop, before putting the strain of a rider on him.

Im a bit confused by your post though how old is he now?

 

[shandy84]

It trains them to voice aids (always useful) offers refinement to your schooling and is good for muscle development to name but a few reasons, Bramble was longreined for a year before backing and she is a really good ride

 

[Mehitabel]

yep - primarily muscle development to enable them to carry a rider. also for lifeproofing - one day you might meet a car out on the road, another day there might be puddles to walk through, another day it might be bin collection day. long reining for a few weeks will expse them to more things and give thme more useful experience.

 

[inhs]

be aware that doing too much too young can have negative effets on the hrose physically and mentally (he's not 2 yet?)

try this:

http://www.equinestudies.org/knowledge_base/ranger.html

TIMING AND RATE OF SKELETAL MATURATION IN HORSES

Great article on the age a horse becomes mature and its related impact on starting age and type of training.

 

[CrazyDaizy&Beau]

He's 4yrs now and looks like anyother horse.
when my daughter rode him she was only 3stone and he didn't seem to notice.
We didn't ride him alot when he was 2 only up and down by our house.
A few cars past and he was fine.

I know some of you dont approve of training them at the age of 2 but its only light.

And mehitabl we have to lead them to the field so he has to walk through puddles and he learns the voice when we are also leading.

 

[AengusOg]

Long reining makes a horse brave; it teaches him to respond to the voice; helps him to learn to use himself, and to accept the bit and tack, without the weight of a rider.

It helps him to learn how to bend, and to work straight too.........and, if done properly, they really enjoy it.

It's a very good way to keep the handler fit and active also.

When long reining the horse, the handler is able to watch him and see how he is developing and any changes in his way of going.

Long reining is an art and is worth getting right...........and many movements, which may be required throughout the horse's working life, can be taught him first on the long reins.

It's not only young horses who benefit from long reining either.......it can be used to give a change of routine to older, trained horses to prevent them becoming stale due to too much sameness in their work.

I find it a very pleasurable pastime, and a very good way to build a solid working relationship with a horse.

 

[kestrel]

Long reining is a fab way to exercise & educate a young horse. You can improve a lot of school movements & as already mentioned it helps to make a horse braver. I have long reined youngsters & it really helped build them up & improve their suppleness. It's lovely to walk round the countryside & expose them to spooky objects such as bushes, fallen trees & wildlife & i find it helps strengthen the bond.
Don't think you can do too much long reining, it provide variety to a horses training programme which is never a bad thing.

 

[jenb]

I am starting basic training with my young Lipizzaner now. He's four and a half, and is learning obedience on the lead rein and lunge now, he'll start long reining soon too.

Before I back him, I want the following:
- to walk, trot, canter calmly and on command on the lunge & long reins.
- to be correctly muscled with a strong back
- to be laterally supple - able to bend equally on each rein and without stiffness to either side
- to be longitudinally supple - able to shorten and lengthen all three paces
- to know about the bit and how to respond - ie turning obediently and off the lightest of aids
- to be established in lateral work in hand & understand about moving from pressure where the leg aids will be applied

This is the absolute minimum for me, and I intend to continue his education from the ground once he is backed. It is easier to teach horses things from the ground without the extra complication of a rider & their weight, so in an ideal world I'd like him to be one step ahead with his ground work than he is with his ridden education.

My trainer is ex-Cadre Noir and has a superbly talented Trakehner in training with a rider at the Cadre Noir. The horse started it's education at four, and within three months could do all of the Grand Prix movements in hand. Obviously the horse still needed at least two years of growing and developing before it was able to do those movements seriously under saddle, but you can achieve great things with training horses from the ground, it is not to be overlooked. This particular Trakehner would be at Hong Kong doing Olympic dressage right now if it were not for a particularly nasty virus last year, he is lucky to still be here