Long Lining [is hard]

One of the things I've been itching to try with Teddy are the longlines. I'm a huge fan of long lining and what it can do for the horses. Building hind end strength and topline, better communication that translates to the saddle, and I feel like it's more interactive than traditional lungeing can be.  

Teddy needed his hocks done and had a few days off riding as we came up to his appointment since he was a bit sore through his back, but I wanted to keep him moving. Perfect time to try him on the lines! 

Our color scheme needs work. 

I learned something very important about Teddy this week. He is absolutely ADAMANT that lungeline = zoomies and buckies. There was no quiet start to this training, there was holyshitteddypleasestopsoIcantaketheseoffbeforeyoukillusboth. Luckily he's a good boy and paused his porpoising long enough to let me remove the lines, keeping my lungeline, and I let him exorcise the demons from his body. Unfortunately I do not have footage of this, no one was around and I was holding on for dear life, but I also learned that he is exceptionally athletic. 

Eventually, his brain shifted back into place, I clipped the longlines back on and we were in business. 

Hi lady I'm done being wild now. 

This situation is exactly why I use a lungeline as an 'emergency brake' when teaching a new horse to longline. If I have access to a roundpen, the 'e brake' is less important, but it is SUPER helpful in cases like this. 

Blue rein = brake. I hold the excess lungeline and longlines in my left hand, and one longline in each held the same way we hold reins. Whip in my right hand as well. It's important to stand straight, elbows at your sides just like in the saddle, it gives you a strong base of support to work the lines and if they pull, you're not off balance. It's A LOT to juggle and takes time but it's a lot of fun when you get it! 

Here is my set up: the blue is the 'emergency brake' attached to the bit, just a regular lungeline. The black lines are my reins, left and right respectively. 

Why do I need an emergency brake if I have two other lines attached to the horse already? Great question! Longlines attach in two places: one at the surcingle (either with a clip and pulley system like mine has, or it goes through a ring on the surcingle) and of course at the bit. Because of this, the longlines allow steering and contact with the bit more in the way they would have contact with driving or riding. 'Pulling back' rather than 'pulling sideways', like a lungeline attached at the bit does. When horses who are used to traditional lungeing first feel the 'pull back' pressure on the bit, without a rider's leg to push them forward, a lot of them think backwards is the answer, and then they feel the lines, and it can get a bit messy even with the softest of introductions. In a roundpen this is usually simple to work through quickly as you have the panels to channel their direction and all you have to do is press them forward with encouragement from your whip. In an open area, there are many directions they can go and it's less pleasant. Of course, once the horse understands the job, the lungeline brake goes away and we can work with just the longlines. 

This is Forrest and did I make my friend buy a Welsh Cob because she wanted a pony and I've been following blog friends' adventures with cobs for years? Maybe but you can't prove it ;)

You can see I have a line attached to his bit super slack but there if I need it. You can see more easily here where the part of the line clips to the surcingle, and theres a pulley at that clip so the line goes through the pulley and attaches to the bit on each side so they give really easily and smoothly. 

My theory behind the emergency brake is that when in doubt, I can leave the lines slack and just grab the lungeline to keep the horse on a circle around me or to halt them. They're used to that, it's what they know, and we slowly learn that forward is the only answer as I pick up the lines again. It doesn't become a whole dramatic thing, it's just a pause and move on and they learn to understand the pressure from the lines, and the whip and voice as forward. 

Back to Ted. After he went fully bananas, I hooked him back up and off we went. Something I really struggle with horses who have had a natural horsemanship background is that they turn to face you when asked to halt, or when they want to be done (if they're a little naughty and evasive). I totally get the theory behind this, but damn does it make it hard when that is the LAST thing you want on the lines. Tilly does this when I'm working with her, my friend's lovely Welsh Cob I'm also training to the lines does this, and Teddy does too. All three of them have super groundwork basics and love to turn to face their person. Sigh. 

He turned himself to me here, and you can see how it's hard to get behind him to send him forward. When I'd walk parallel to him to get a little behind to send him forward, he'd keep backing up. Thus, the brake line is helpful to hold so he stands as I move, and I don't touch the longlines so I don't accidentally ask him to go backwards with bit pressure. 

All I wanted to get out of this session with Teddy was to walk him around, let him feel the rein pressure, and get him used to me walking a little behind and to the side of him, rather than traditionally perpendicular on a circle. I wanted to move him around the arena instead of just staying on a circle, and we were able to accomplish this in about 15 minutes. At first, he really wanted to keep turning to face me - he had already had his yahoos and could NOT figure out why the stupid human was still making him do things. He had accomplished what he thinks he's supposed to do on the lunge - buck and get a little tired. 

Working on our circle. It doesn't look like it, but there is quite a bit of slack in my brake line, and when I wasn't taking pictures I was able to hold the lines with a little more contact. Good boy!

I never made a big deal out of it, just used my lunge to stop him if I had to, got a little behind him again and sent him FORWARD. He really did not want to go forward and would sometimes keep backing up to face me, and I calmly insisted until he complied. After his fourth time trying this, he got the gist and walked quietly on a circle and I picked up my lines a bit. Good boy! 

Starting to send him STRAIGHT instead of on a circle, changing my position to be more behind him

Working straight up the wall

Asking him to use himself just a tiny bit as I steered him off the outside track and then back onto it

As soon as I had established that he is meant to WALK when I tell him to, I started changing my position in relation to him too, staying a little behind and to the side. Not super close to him in case he had big feelings again, but this position allowed me to steer him around the arena instead of always being perpendicular and sending him around me. We did some loops and practiced going up the side of the arena, coming off the track and then back on to it. I didn't ask him for much in terms of putting him together, this is just meant to be a "hey dude I can steer you while you keep going forward and that's all I want" and we totally got there. A few times he did offer to face me again, and I was able to halt off the outside rein without him backing up. He was like "oh why didn't you say so I'll just stop."

A nice calm Teddy, halting off the outside rein instead of turning to me like the pro he thinks he is. 

We ended on that great note, and he got all the pats and good boy cookies. He's been really fun to figure out. He's one who is pretty sure he knows everything and is always right in his mind, so finding ways to really get him to think about something is cool, seeing his little wheels turning like "this lady is trying to tell me something and I'm pretty sure she's stupid and wrong but also I guess I'll try... OH why didn't she say so, I can do that!"

I'm excited to keep playing with longlines with Teddy, and eventually Tilly. I'm not ready to put a bit in her mouth yet, I'm thinking later this fall, and she's been doing all kinds of fun groundwork things lately that I just need to document so I don't bore you with a million words and no pictures. 

In the meantime, Teddy got his hocks done yesterday so we'll be back in the saddle this weekend and I'll be working with trainer D on his fitness plan, and my own. Playtime with Tilly scheduled this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some fun pictures and videos of her doing all her baby things! 

Sweet drunk Ted <3