long reining

[drivin*me*buggy]

Wow! Ashley--that was a lot of work--and I appreciate every word

Glad to be of assitance :bgrin . I have nothing else to do, my beast is lame

& the flies make Mr. BuckWheat hard to work with, I gotta go find some fly spray lol

: Then he's in for some work lol. :lol:

And the reins look better than mine--mine are not rolled at all--flat all the way.

Hmmmm, They might cause a little bit more friction then... hmmm well you never know till you try so, I would say try them & see if they work alright or not.

Well Good luck

: .

Ash

Edited to say,

I really like the way you train Kim, I bet by the time your horses are in the cart they are very solid

:

 

[willowoodstables]

Nosebands...

Notice in ALL the pics there is NO NOSEBAND!!!! The one of the white horse longlining is actually a thick peice of leather over the nose to keep the blinders from sliding back. The bitting rig pictures are the halters. I HATE seeing a horse with it's mouth crammed shut. Yes they will open their mouth at first, but eventually they do shut them. If a horse can't move the bit by moving its jaw, how can we ask them to give in a direction change or headset change if we can't move the bit either (as in noseband tight). If I do have one that is a little slow to learn, I put the noseband on but loose enough to get my 2 fingers between..that way when they open the mouth they feel the noseband eventually.

Oh here is another one showing the purpose of keeping the line down around the hock to help with bending and impulsion.....

Kim

 

[drivin*me*buggy]

Nosebands...
Notice in ALL the pics there is NO NOSEBAND!!!! The one of the white horse longlining is actually a thick peice of leather over the nose to keep the blinders from sliding back. The bitting rig pictures are the halters. I HATE seeing a horse with it's mouth crammed shut. Yes they will open their mouth at first, but eventually they do shut them. If a horse can't move the bit by moving its jaw, how can we ask them to give in a direction change or headset change if we can't move the bit either (as in noseband tight). If I do have one that is a little slow to learn, I put the noseband on but loose enough to get my 2 fingers between..that way when they open the mouth they feel the noseband eventually.

Ditto!, I don't like nosebands nor does my horse lol. Is there really a reason to use them, I don't see why they are included in like traditional harnesses..? I don't know it could just be me lol. I do use one but it's loose, like you said 2 fingers easily fit between him & the noseband & I use it sortof like a halter to lead him by it.

Ash

 

[willowoodstables]

Yep Ash..

It's like a halter to lead with LOL.

I think the noseband does help keep the blinkers in place, and of course if a horse runs off and it's mouth is WIDE open control is an issue in the showring. So all my show harness has one and all of them are so loose when you put on the bridle the only buckle to buckle up is the throat latch (even my riding bridles are the same). 'Cause the noseband is already buckled closed at the proper LOOSE hole LOLOLOL

K

 

[drivin*me*buggy]

Yep Ash..

It's like a halter to lead with LOL.

I think the noseband does help keep the blinkers in place, and of course if a horse runs off and it's mouth is WIDE open control is an issue in the showring. So all my show harness has one and all of them are so loose when you put on the bridle the only buckle to buckle up is the throat latch (even my riding bridles are the same). 'Cause the noseband is already buckled closed at the proper LOOSE hole LOLOLOL

K

:bgrin Well it looks like I know what it's for then lol, ha ha I loved that explaination :new_rofl: :new_rofl: :new_rofl:

Ash

 

[wiccanz]

Awesome pics and advice Willowood, thanks so much. :aktion033:

When I start long-lining / ground driving, I have the reins right down around the horse, but as they progress I tend to raise them up to a position that is closer to what they will be when being driven.

I use a noseband, not to keep the mouth shut, but for looks :bgrin It's pretty :bgrin

 

[Chamomile]

I just had to get in on this! I love long lining as it really teaches the horse a certain lightness and suppleness. I have a bitting rig from Mini Express and I LOVE it! Not only does it have everything I think is important in a bitting rig, such as lots and lots of saddle rings, an open bridle and the three straps back to the crouper to help with the twisting of the saddle, it's also pretty!

:

Anyway, here are pictures of my set up. We took these this winter, I think I need some more updated ones

:

 

[Chamomile]

I use a Myler Knock off... Made by Kelly bits. You can buy them on eBay for around $20. They work very well! I have two of them that are half cheek, mullen mouth bits, they don't bend in the middle, but I will be purchasing a low port as well. I also do have an actual Myler bit, low port and I love it as well. I use that one on my show harness, not every day as I would have to switch it between three different harnesses and also the bitting rig

: So I use the knock offs for every day use, they are cheaper and so I can have more of them!! Glad to be of help

:

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I also like the bitting rig in that I can raise or lower the sidelines accordingly. This picture shows a greenie and I keep the sidelines a little higher than on the older horses. The lower the position of the sideline=the lower the head. A greenie may want to throw the head up and if the sidelines are too low they may buimp themselves in the mouth. Ignore all the hanging straps..I do this with the greenies to get them used to stuff moving and touching them...

Kim

Kim, I've always heard that with green horses it's important to keep the lines low to help show the horse the way to the ground and to prevent them from overflexing as they might tend to with the reins in that higher position. Green horses also tend to have either a very low natural headset (having not learned to collect yet) or a very high one if they travel inverted. Either way, a low rein helps them to learn acceptance of the bit and to round up correctly. If you are holding contact with the horse, shouldn't they not be able to bump themselves in the mouth from either position? How do you keep your horses from overflexing?

Leia

 

[willowoodstables]

I keep the long reins low as I do have control on how fast to give or take, but with solid sidelines I tend to start them right at the top of the back pad. As they get comfortable I tighten and lower. I find if I keep longlines and sidelines low I get a lower frame than if I raise everything up. So I manipulate the lines up and down as I want to work on their frame/impulsion and head set.

Kim

 

[wiccanz]

They both look OK to start on.

How will I know if I'm being light enough?

You will know - it's just a feel thing

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Karla, here's another one.

Chimacum Tack leather bitting rig

I really don't think you need anything that complicated though for just enjoying a walk around your neighborhood. No side reins, a very loose sidecheck if you are worried about grazing, and a surcingle with crupper if you use the check. There's no reason to strap your horse into a frame if they aren't showing. Just enjoy!

As for rein contact, think of it this way. Without your legs, weight and seat, what does your horse have to go on? Only your voice and hands. If you aren't holding rein contact your horse is out there blind and alone, which is a very unsettling feeling for a herd animal. A snug check can give the horse some of that missing support and I think that's probably how so many of them get used to driving on no contact. They learn to just keep going straight unless someone tells them to change direction. (Not necessarily a bad way to go for a trail horse!) If your check is looser you really need to be holding about 5lbs of pressure, enough that a twitch of your finger is felt and responded to by the horse. You keep a soft feel of their mouth and they know that you are right there supporting them and everybody is happy.

:

Leia