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Turns around when long lining.

3K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  tinyliny 
#1 ·
When long lining I cannot stop my boy from turning around. I've tried someone in front of him, leading but it doesn't work. He's just more interested in me. Any tips?
 
#10 ·
You need to get him longeing forst. You say that he just kicks at the whip, this is disrespectful and he needs to learn that if he kicks at the whip the whip bites back and give him a good crack with the lash (you should be using a lunge whip) across hos back legs or butt.

Once he is longeing on a line well at walk trot and canter, then introduce a second line get him working on a circle and changing direction from the lines, then start working him in a straight line, you can walk to the sode behind him so he can see you then drop behind him.

If he tries to turn around then you correct with the opposite rein.

If you are using an ordinary halter then you are not going to have enough control.
 
#14 ·
A horse must be 100% comfortable with whips and lines when long-lining and should have basic longeing down pat. This is because they need to have vocal commands down and basic understanding of space.

Long-lining is an art, and a human really should learn it on a horse that knows it well. Because there is a huge amount of timing and learning how to release. And you are learning how to manage anywhere from 20-35' of line.

I would never try to do it in a halter, I would think that the messages could get muddied on the face. A side pull maybe.... But even that can twist.

Green and green does not go so well as you can see. You need to have an experienced trainer walking you through the process in person. It is a great tool, but I can't walk you through it over the Internet safely.
 
#16 ·
Lunging is laying the foundation for advanced rein work. You need a horse who understands how to be forward and work independently on the circle. The fact you say he is kicking at the whip tells more about his attitude towards you as a handle, he's blowing you off and if he tries to do that with lunge lines it's worse. Too many lines to get tangled up in.

That you are asking these question also tells me that you are not ready to be trying to teach your horse this. To correct the habits your horse had developed will take you being able to read what he's thinking, be able to put yourself in the right spot to drive him forward, be able to use that whip strong enough to send him on, and to be able to have enough control of the lunge line to allow him to jump forward without catching him in the head and inadvertently punishing him.

I don't necessarily agree that you can't use a halter. I think it's good way to introduce it to them, especially if they are not used to working off the bit. Once they have the basics I will integrate a bit. If it's an older horse who knows how to react to the bit I will use a bridle. The bride gives more control and the ability to fine tune.
 
#17 ·
Already said but your horse needs to learn to lunge and obey the cues you're using for walk, trot and whoa before you can expect him to long rein
He doesn't know what to do because you haven't trained him to do it yet.
You can lunge and long rein off a halter as long as its a good fitting one - I wouldn't lunge a horse off a bit unless it already respects a bit and even then I never lunge directly off it but clip the line to the bit on one side and then take it over the poll and thread through the ring of the bit on the side nearest to you.
 
#18 ·
Agree with what has been said,and not much more to add.
I used to ground drive a horse ,once or twice, before I got on him, and after he had been bitted up gradually while lunging
You can then keep him between those lines, and I never tried to carry a whip also, as that decreases the effwectiveness of your hands, JMO, unless your horse is already really broke to drive You can use those long lines to slap against the opposite side, if the horse is not following his nose with rest of his body
Anyway, that is what worked for me.
How are you running those lines back, using surcingle, saddle or what?
 
#19 ·
I have been well versed in both longeing and long reining for many years. When my late boss asked what I wanted for a birthday present I said I wanted some lessons from a top auK dressage rider - not on a horse but on longing and driving at a very advanced level.

It was one of the best presents I ever received and I learned so much.

 
#21 ·
Well what you have read and what really happens are often two different things!

Why, if this horse is eight, do you want to drive him? I would never use six feet when I can use four!

I couldn't begin to count the number of horses I have broken, it would be in the hundreds, with all bar one I have always lunged them first and then driven them. (Driven as in long reined) the one I started driving was not possible to lunge her as she had an injury to her hoof wall which resulted in her having a deformed growth of hoof wall which she kept knocking and it would seriously bleed. More or less straight lines until I had a good farrier and vet remove the deformed area and plate over it so the wall grew down flat.

A valid reason for not longeing.
 
#22 ·
Lunging really does need to be something this horse can do comfortably before you ever long line. He needs to be able to whoa without turning to face you while on the lunge before he will ever be able to do it while long lining. When I have taught a horse to long line I always do what someone stated earlier in this thread... start with the one line, making sure you have good control at walk/trot/canter with a good immediate whoa. Once you are going well here you can add the second line. Make sure that your horse is very well desensitized to the line around his legs, under his tail, etc. You don't need a wreck. I have started horses on the long line with the line over the back instead so they can get used to the pressure from the second line first.
Once I can control a horse on the circle I will move over and work on line driving if that is my goal. I have never had a real issue with a horse if they understand lunging, the equipment, etc. But you really MUST have a horse that lunges calmly and whoas off a verbal command.
 
#23 ·
I have zero experiene long lining. I'd love to have a lesson from a knowledgeable person on this wonderful skill.

but, what's more important, just not being able to lunge him is the more fundamental issue. just learning how to 'send' your horse away from you comes first, and that is built on being able to move his shoulder over.

one you can make him yield his shoulder sideways, away from you, you can make him move out on the circle. then, with a lunge whip, you should be able to make him go forward. if you can't make him go forward, then I'd back down to a round pen and just MAKING him move good and fast around the pen, just to establish your ability to move his feet.

then, you get so you can move his shoulder out, so you are able to make him move around you in a circle. don't start this with a whole long lunge line, it's too much to control. use about 12 feet of line, instead of 22 feet.


most people will try to make the horse that insists on facing them go around a cirle by trying to walk around where they are at the hroses hind end to drive it forward. but, the smart horse only turns on his front legs to keep his face toward the human, so the human ends up moving more than the horse. sound familiar?

you need horse to step off to the side. so, make him move his nose, then his neck , then his shoulders over to the side, away from you. do it by walking straight toward the hrose, with you hands ready to tap him sharply on the nose in a way that 'pushes' him over to the other side. if you keep walking and tapping on his nose, he will move it so far over to away to the side, that he will HAVE to move his shoulders, too. when he does, you stop pressuring him. that's his reward.

rinse and repeat. pretty soon, you just sort of 'air tap" toward his nose and he'll move away, then you get to where you can just point, and he'll move away.

once he has stepped his shoulder over. you hold your leading hand out in the direction you want him to go (he's now more or less facing that way), and you use the whip behind his hind end to ask for forward movement. voila! you are lunging.
 
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