Longeing a three-year-old

From: Allison

Hi,

This is in response to your side rein response. I've been reading a book about starting a 3 year old horse. They recommend starting the horse in side reins (they caution about making the reins too tight also). But they say that by using side reins you can teach a horse balance and collection. From your response, I gather that they have to be taught this first and then they can be longed with side reins.

Under what circumstances would recommend using them?

Thanks,

Ally

After the horse has learned to carry himself well and understands (and is prompt to respond to) your asking him to walk, trot, canter, halt, and reverse on the longeline, you can add a bradoon carrier with a bit, and just let him do his normal longeing routine while he wears it. After a week or two of this, you could introduce the sidereins adjusted so that he can carry his head in its normal position and doesn't have to pull his neck up or his head in to "find" the bit.

You can encourage an already-balanced horse to STAY balanced by the careful and occasional use of sidereins while longeing. You can encourage a horse that is already working in collection WITH a rider to work in collection on the longe -- but if we're talking about a three- year-old, collection should be the LAST thing on the trainer's mind. That comes much, much later in the horse's physical and mental development.

When do I use sidereins? On an older, well-trained horse, I'll sometimes use them for part of a longeing session, to reinforce whatever the horse has been doing under saddle. The horse gets warmed up without sidereins, then trots with them for perhaps ten minutes each direction, with breaks to stretch down, and then works the final ten minutes without them, to stretch again. On a young horse, I'll use them just to introduce the horse to the concept of moving forward while feeling pressure in his mouth from the bit. I'll adjust them long, so that they will be taut (but not tight!) when he carries his head normally, and I'll just trot him -- no walk or canter, just trot and halt. He'll wear them for just a few minutes, no more, and then they come off again. The next day, he might wear them for five minutes. It's just a way of introducing a young horse to bit pressure without adding the stress of a rider.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the use of sidereins, but very few people adjust or use them correctly, and sidereins used incorrectly (too soon, too tightly, or for too long) can damage the horse, and create problems that are difficult to solve.

If your instructor is good at longeing, or if you can find a clinician who is good at longeing and can help you learn how to work with a young horse and teach you how to longe a well-trained, experienced horse so that you will learn what you can hope for when your horse is that far along, you'll have a great advantage. And that's the sort of person you want helping you when you decide to try sidereins!

- Jessica

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