Hi this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and today we are talking about long reining. We are on phase four now. Step one is getting the horse to lunge correctly getting the horse to stretch into the contact with the side reins. Step two is having the line over the top of the neck. Step three is having the line around the back of the hind quarters and now we are ready for step four.

The final phase is where we are going to take contact with both reins (Please see video for correct setup). Now we have the horse in a truly ground driving position with direct contact going back to the rings on both sides. Notice there are many rings to choose from, but when we are working with a young horse we want them down on the side whereas with a older more experienced horse in collection we would put the lines on the top. As you can see I have the line once again around the back and also direct contact on both sides, in other words I will be truly driving the horse. It is very important to remember to keep that line up above the horse’s hocks.

Now I ask her to walk but she trots but I’m not going to make a big deal about that now. Notice how light my reins are and how easy it is doing this to get the horse on the bridle. If I take any more contact at all, this horse would have it’s chin pinned down to it’s chest, and that is the hardest thing not to do in long reining. Most people that I have seen do this end up with the horse’s nose pinned down to it’s chest because you can’t really let go. She’s cantering now but I don’t make a big deal out of it because I am letting her relax and get used to the line. Now I ask her to trot and see how I immediately let go of those reins. See how high the neck is? I want to get that longer all the time. The biggest danger is you will over bend the horse.

Now that I have her in both reins, I can work on actual steering. Since she is showing a bit of a reaction, I let her go back into the trot to let her relax again. See how she is beginning to curl up a little there? That is the big danger with this is the horse getting behind the bridle. See how big her steps get and how athletic you need to be to be out here doing this? Now I get her back down to a nice relaxed walk. Now you will see me make the first change, I will start to steer the horse. Since it is this horse’s first time, I have to be ready for her to react. Notice how I keep coming back to the completely light rein. Now I am going to shorten up on the inside rein and let her swing around just like that. See how quick I have to be when she got a little startled there? I am not going to let her freak out. Notice how I went with it, she is going to respond the first few times when she feels that line.

Watch again here, I am going to shorten up on this line and let the other slide through my fingers but still keeping the line above her hock. It is so important to keep the line above the hock to keep from getting into trouble. Now I have a horse that I can begin to steer a little bit. I will try another change of direction, notice how I put the whip under my arm, reach up on the inside rein and let it come around, and then I let the outside rein slip keeping it above the horse’s hocks. I am taking great care not to shorten her neck during these exercises. Beautiful!

Thank you for watching Will Faerber from Art2Ride!

classical foundation driving long reining overbend rein relax San Diego horse training Will Faerber