Side reins slighty shorter on inside or not....?

posie

posie

Honey's slave...
Feb 28, 2008
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www.barkscotland.com
hi Guys

ok - Side reins when lunging - slightly shorter on the inside or equal lengths?
What do you think? Opinions pls....

Ta x
ps - sorry if this is covered in another thread - but did quick search and could not see it...
 
Equal. They can't bend their backs only their necks so you'll be able to see the fron of their heads if you put them shorter on the inside.
 
Thank you
The people i have seen using one shorter say they use it to slightly flex the head towards the inside of the circle.... (when i say slightly shorter i mean by an inch tops - not actually pulling the head round!)
then i have heard people swear as you do to keep them equal as a slighty shorter inside rein encourages the horse to turn his hind quaters away from the circle...
just wanted more views really....
anyone else have an opinion?!
 
mmmm - I think it depends a bit. If you *ride* a corner, you might not physically shorten the rein but there is a small difference by the rider physically making the turn.

I suspect the spacing on most side rein holes is greater than this small difference but I might "help" a horse that was struggling by allowing more with the outside side rein... just a tiny amount.

But once a horse is more balanced etc, I normally don't do this.

In the same way that I don't shorten them up between walk and trot ;) (which in the early days we do when riding).
 
Thank you cvb

Interestingly enough i have just read this on Equisite.com when i did a google search on it.....

"I make the outside side rein 1 hole shorter than the inside side rein. That applies a little extra pressure on the outside so the horse’s outside shoulder will not swing out and the croup will stay on the circle. It is uncomfortable for the horse to bend haunches outside with the outside head flexion. Plus the horse will not narrow the circle and it won’t be necessary for me to chase him away with the whip.

So I achieved 3 things by making outside siderein a hole shorter.

1. I blocked outside shoulder
2. The haunches won’t swing out
3. The horse stays on a circle"

That adds another dimension - although personally i dont like the idea of shortening the outside rein at all - seems v unnatural!
 
I was taught to shorten the outside rein, but I prefer to keep them equal and wait till they are being ridden before teaching flexion. :)
 
My old instructor (FBHS!) said make the inside rein a bit shorter. My current RI says the have GOT to be the same (for my youngster anyway). I don't like them anyway & have no intention of using them, so it's pretty irrelevant to me :o
 
star* said:
Equal. They can't bend their backs only their necks so you'll be able to see the fron of their heads if you put them shorter on the inside.
Click to expand...

A Horse cant bend its back???? :confused:

Err sorry yeah even, just as you would hold your reins. Although they can be adapted for certain problems. I.e shortening outside a hole to so falling out through the shoulder. Just think exactly, what you do with your reins
 
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kaytenherponies said:
A Horse cant bend its back???? :confused:
Click to expand...

the area of the spine we sit the saddle on is where the ribs attach. Along this area there is very very little lateral flexion. Which is partly why it is stable enough to bear weight.

So actually the amount of "bend" that can be created in the horse's *body* is very little...
 
I do this about one hole on Kia's bad rein to encourage him to bring his head to the inside on that rein as he when i ride him he always falls in and throwns his head to the outside :rolleyes:

When ridden I obviously correct it but he insists on doing it when on the lunge or when freeschooles and longreined.

Its been investigated but I have been told it will just take time and effort to fix.

He is getting better tho :)

Nikki xxxx
 
I'd say equal. Then the horse will learn and be able to carry itself around the corners rather than relying on the rein. They don't need any extra support in the rein to go around a corner it comes from the body as the reins just relate to the neck. If you want inside flexion on the neck then that should come when you ride and can use your inside leg to support the inside bend.
 
I was always taught to have them equal, but being horseless i don't do a whole heap of lungeing anyway. But i've always thought that the holes on them are spaced apart further than the amount of difference in length of rein/amount of contact that a rider would have on a circle if that makes sense; i really should word things better! But anyways, I'm not a v experienced lunger (does that count as a word :p?) so i wouldn't want to leap in and say 'ooooh no that's wrong!' i've just been taught to have them equal.
 
going off it a bit im not a big fan on side reins so i got myself a pessoa they are great unlike side rein the pessoa encourages the horse to work from behind and through his back. but back to side reins leave them equal
 
thanks for the ideas guys...
allcludup - i have heard that about pessoa's but as i have not used on/had trianing on one then i'd be scared to do something wrong (i've been offered the use of one before but always chickened out!)
 
posie said:
thanks for the ideas guys...
allcludup - i have heard that about pessoa's but as i have not used on/had trianing on one then i'd be scared to do something wrong (i've been offered the use of one before but always chickened out!)
Click to expand...

they are not that hard to use(dont do it to tight) i always start with the clips attching to the roller between the front legs this will encourge the horse to work from behind and lower his head and neck and work through his back its not until they are more advanced in their training that you then move to the clips to the roller sides the higher the ring the more advanced the outline. if you are not sure how to use one ask the person who said you could borrow theirs to show but start with clips between front legs. what i will do is take a picture of my horse with pessoa on to show you how it should look, will do that for you tomorrow.:)
 
The norm with sidereins is to have them equal, but it's also horses for courses. My girl went through a stage of hanging on to the left rein, so when lunged in side reins I lengthened the left side rein so she couldn't hang on to it. It worked really well, and now she's much straighter.
But, like allcluedup, I prefer the pessoa overall. They can be a bit fiddly to fit at first, so you'd need an experienced person on hand then, but once you've got the hang of it they're very easy to fit and use. I got one for Christmas (been borrowing others before) and use it once a week on average, used it today in fact (Holly wasn't happy about being lunged in the wind and rain!).
 
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