How to long rein?

[Ruskii]

That video is awful ! Doing that around the streets as tight and as narrow as that

 

[chunky monkey]

What a bad video. The reins should be in completely separate hands. Not holding the bundle in just one. I have tried lunge lines and there is too much excess. For a beginner this can be dangerous as you can accidently drop the reins and get your feet caught in them. Either get some short lunge lines or buy a set of driving reins. Also the stirrups should be up out of the way if not being used. If the reins are knocking them and they are swinging into the sides of the horse it could frighten him or cue him thinking you want trot or canter or even tanking off.
For a beginner I would not use a whip as it is too much to think about and by the time you move your whip to flick or tap you are moving your hands out of position. Which may result in you inadvertently pulling one rein unevenly and horse moving to one side. Remember driving reins have to be soft like riding hands.
Also using a roller keeps the reins more on the top of the body and not draping round the back legs. A horse not use to reins pulling tight round his back legs when turning may cause him to panic and kick out at the beginning. If you can have them in the roller along the top line. I found with mine that as he got better I was doing tighter turns and therefore moved the reins over his back to start with, rather than turning tight with the line round his back legs.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

I bought a pair of lightweight nylon knitted long reins from Richard Maxwell. They are brilliant, so light and easy to handle. Me and my friend Carol have tied a couple of little pieces of cord to the middle rings on Ziggy's roller so that if we don't want the reins or we want to put the whole bundle away neatly, we can just roll them and tie them to the roller.

I don't use a whip at all when long reining but then Ziggy is not a plod!

 

[ponylover88]

I long line D. I put the lines thru her stirrups but I have a spare leather which I tie under her belly to secure the stirrups to her sides. I'm another who never uses a whip, I have no need to. My horse moves amazingly well off my voice, she even turns to vocal commands. I long line around trec obstacles, over poles, lunging with two lines etc.

I think the main thing for me is ensuring the horse is responsive to the voice, I'd always have someone at the head to begin with and a second person in case you get in a muddle.

 

[Wally]

I would agree with @horseandgoatmom , carry a whip, If you don;t need it don;t use it, but if you need it and havn't got it you are thtuck!.. Carriage driving you carry and whip and you have it in your hand at all time, never in the whip holder.

 

[chev]

A rough idea of one way to do it, bearing in mind the pony is blind on one side and the handler is semi paralysed (hence no whip). It was an excercise in how much could be done within the confines of disabled handler and pony.

 

[Mary Poppins]

Thanks for the photos Chev, and everyone else for the advice. The only thing that worries me is using lunge lines as I am sure to get caught up in them and fall over. I would prefer shorter lines if I can get them.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Long lines are certainly very long. When I'm out and about with Ziggy, including on the roads, I typically drive from quite close behind him, called "short long reins" I think in Germany where they are commonly used for High School training. In fact I much prefer to be quite close, though my general position is much like Chev's driver in the pictures above. I just put the reins into loops, they are not so hard to handle.

 

[Jessey]

I cheated teaching Bo and Jess to long line, I had a super length rope lunge line which I used clipped on one side and looped round to the other, it gave me enough rein to be in a good position but not so much I got in a muddle

 

[Wally]

If you can get yacht rope make yourself some shorter ones to suit you and the horse.