Dressage: Foundation for All Riding Disciplines
Lesson Four
Longeing and Creative Longe-Lining
Now that you can look
at your horse in "free-movement" and move his body around with
"hands-on" techniques to make him more supple, let's get him moving on
the longe line.
Longeing is putting your horse on a 10-meter long line and
moving him around you. Through safe and
correct ground work and longeing, working
consistently with patience and empathy, you will be able to improve your
horse's gaits, muscular development and response to verbal cues. This will help develop better communication,
trust and respect.
Being
able to work your horse from both sides will really be of benefit now!
You have done the
hands-on ground work, so longeing should be easy. If you have difficulty in getting him started
on the longe, then go back to the previous lesson's
exercises and repeat those, step by step, until he can do them very well.
To get your horse
started on the longe line, you should be able to
stand on either side of your horse and send him forward and away from you. This is most easily done by facing the
horse’s hip and stepping directly toward his hip to drive him forward.
A little following up
with the longe whip to drive him forward and away
from you should be all you need to get him started.
Be sure to continually face his hip, driving
him forward, as he starts off. Do not
pull back or stop him. Say, "Walk,”
while driving him forward. You can make
a soft clucking noise to encourage the horse.
You want to stay about four feet away from the horse, at his side, still
facing toward his hip. If you are at his
shoulder or head you will be blocking his forward movement and he may turn to
face you.
Try to keep him
walking forward and around you as you stay parallel to his body. You can put him by the fence or a wall if it
helps you.
Ask
the horse to halt by saying, “Ho”, or “Whoa".
Be consistent in your
verbal command. If the horse does not
listen, get a little closer and jiggle the lead slightly as you ask him to
halt. When he attempts to do as you ask,
be sure to praise him.
If
he does not seem to understand, then get closer and lead him by hand. Now say, "Whoa" as you gently
jiggle or vibrate the lead. He should
understand this quickly if you were successful in the last lesson. He should be able to do this from both
sides.
When
the horse shows some understanding, begin to increase the distance between you
and your horse.
Once he can halt on
command, keep his attention on you and slowly walk around him. If he moves, repeat "Whoa" in a
deep voice, vibrate the lead, and continue moving around your horse. Try to describe a wide arc from one side to
his other sided, so you are passing in front of him from either side.
Sometimes I will
point at him and keep eye contact and say "Stand". That works with some horses. Keep your mind quite, picture him standing
still, and exhale audibly. This often
works to keep him standing still.
I want your horse to
move forward and away from you, and to stop squarely without turning to face
you. It can be very frustrating if you
are trying to work with your horse and he is always turning to face you.
If the horse faces
you, then point the end of the longe whip toward the
horse’s neck and say, "Out", and wiggle the whip a little as you step
toward the horse. (You are not trying to
scare him, just trying to get him to turn.)
If he does not turn,
then use your hands and push him on his neck and shoulder and ask him to move
away from the pressure. When he does,
praise him, patting him on his side.
Repeat as necessary until he learns not to turn and face you.
At
the beginning, be sure to praise him when he halts, then praise as you are
walking around him if he remains still, then as he stands without facing
you. Successive approximation is a
behavior modification technique (we have a course on this) which uses
praise to reinforce the horse’s attempts to do as you ask.
Do not pull the horse
toward you when you ask the horse to halt, or when you finish an exercise. Instead, walk to the horse and praise him
with pats and voice. Work from both his
sides until the horse understands he is to walk along side you, but at a
distance, and halt on command without facing you. Before doing more, the horse should stand
still and allow you to move around him.
Once
he can do this, send him forward until he continues a small circle around you,
while you, also, move in a smaller circle. Do not stand "planted" and pull on
him bringing him closer to you. At this
time, you are still "following" him (facing his hip) at a
distance. If he goes wide, go with him
and encourage him to move forward again.
It
is very important not to wrap the loose end of the longe
line around your hand or arm, and do not let it unravel loosely around your
legs and feet. Fold the loose end in
moderate open loops in your hand. Never coil any rope or longe
line around your hand.
If
you are longeing your horse to the left, your left hand
is the "leading" hand, and your right hand is the "driving"
hand.
The driving hand
holds the long whip. Your left hand is
facing the head/neck of the horse; your right hand is facing the hip/haunches
of the horse. With your arms extended,
you make a “V”. The horse should be in
the open end of the V.
Keep the whip end
pointed toward the ground and facing the hip of the horse. The longe whip is
about 6 feet long, with a lash about the same length. It enables you to touch your horse from about
12 - 15 feet away.
At this point in his
schooling, you should only need to gently flick the whip towards the hip to get
him going.
The higher you hold
the whip, the "louder" you are with the cue. Keep it as quiet as possible. If he is too fast or upset, then change the
whip so that it is pointed behind you and "inactive".
If something really
spooks or upsets your horse, then let the whip drop and use both hands on the longe.
The
circle size we want to achieve is 60 feet in diameter, or 20 meters in diameter.
We use a 10-meter longe line. It can
be made of nylon, but I prefer cotton web or cotton rope, which is much kinder
to your hand or your horse's legs, if it becomes entangled.
I do not want you to
use a longe line with the chain; for me, the chain is
too severe.
I
prefer you use a halter when longeing. Be sure the halter fits snugly and is smooth
under the chin so it does not pull or twist on his head. Either hook the lead of the longe under the horse's chin, or hook it on one side ring
or the other, changing it to the inside as you change the direction of the
horse.
Do not wrap the longe line over the horse's poll or around his muzzle, as
it can tighten and cause injury if he were to step on it or pull very hard.
If
your horse is frightened by the lead or whip, then spend some time getting him
used to them before you begin longeing lessons. In a safe place where the horse feels
comfortable, gently rub him with line and the whip. Let the horse see them, feel them and even
taste a little if he wants. You may give
the horse treats as he calms down.
Gradually increase his time with them until he is not concerned.
Always take the time
during training to be sure the horse is calm and focused. He cannot learn well if he is feeling any
fear.
Be
sure not to spank him with the whip or longe; or hit
him on his face, neck, or legs. In nature, a horse will
usually only reprimand another horse by kicking him in the haunches or sides,
or biting him in those areas or sometimes the base of the neck. It is
wise to follow nature's example as often as possible.
With some practice,
you should be able to longe your horse safely on a
60-foot circle. Nothing smaller!
If you longe a horse on a smaller circle, do not move at a gait
other than a walk. Small circles create
stress on the horse’s joints and ligaments.
Keep the circle as
large as you can. Always keep the horse
under control. You will need to work on
your skills at letting him go wider on the circle, then spiraling in towards
you gradually. You must be able to
adjust the longe line length so neither you nor the
horse become entangled.
If you have to fold
the longe often, place the whip in an inactive
position, under your driving arm and pointing behind you. Then use both hands to fold the longe. When you are
increasing the length of the longe, let out a small
length of fold at a time. Do not let the
longe line drag on the ground. As your skill increases, you will be able to
both lengthen and shorten the longe line smoothly. It takes practice, practice, practice.
While you and the
horse are learning, allow the horse to walk or trot, but do not canter.
Learn to adjust the longe as your horse pulls out. Move a bit with him, continually vibrating
the line until your horse stops pulling away and stays on the correct arch.
Never pull hard or
tug or jerk, unless the horse is getting out of control. If you find it necessary to do this, then go
back to the basic work to reinforce his manners and understanding.
When
he "dips in," try pushing him out by pointing the end of the whip
toward the part of the horse that is coming toward you. If he is "dropping his shoulder"
toward you, allow the whip to point or flick at his shoulder. Say,
"Out" slowly and firmly and keep the whip pointed at his shoulder
until he moves out.
If the horse is
"dropping his haunches" toward you, then do the same thing with the
whip, but point toward his haunches. If
he is trying to spin inward toward you, point the whip at his forehand.
You
must respond quickly, but calmly before he gets too far out of position. The more you "nip it in the bud",
the quicker he will learn.
Praise him
immediately when he responds in the way you want. Remember, he does not have to be
perfect. He just has to show that he is
trying to learn and respond in the way you want.
A TRAINING TIP
Using
voice commands will help.
Here a few ways to
use your voice. Adapt these to your
training and be consistent:
1. Walk from a halt, say, “Walk” briskly with an
emphasis on the K.
2. Trot from a walk, say, “Trot” briskly with an
emphasis on the OT.
3. Canter from a trot, say, “Canter” briskly
with an emphasis on
4. Canter to a trot, say, “Trot” slowly and
quietly with emphasis on O.
5. Trot to a walk, say, “Walk” slowly and
quietly with emphasis on A.
6. Walk to whoa, say, “Whoa” slowly and quietly
with emphasis on O.
7. To slow the horse’s movement, say, “Easy”
slowly and calmly with emphasis on E.
The following are
advanced and subtle, but work great! Get
used to the others before trying to tackle these:
8. To keep moving, "cluck" briskly and
with the horse's tempo, and repeat the command of the gait you want them to do
(for example: "cluck . . .
trot").
9. A subtle slow down, (sometimes to
"drop" gait if done in a deep, throaty voice), "hummmm", slowly with a calm rhythm, which also works
great under saddle because it is not only quiet, but the horse can feel the
"thrum" of the word; works great in the arena when you are not
allowed to speak to your horse.
10.
To get more action in a gait without speeding up his tempo or moving
"up" in a transition, "cluck" and "hummm"
with the tempo you want the horse to assume; the cluck keeps him forward and
the hummm
slows down his tempo and keeps him from moving "up" into another gait
(for example: "cluck . . . hummm").
11. To slow him down
without letting him "die", use "hummm"
and "cluck" with the tempo you want; the hummm
slows down his rhythm and the cluck keeps him moving forward.
These are some
excellent uses of voice, and can be used on the longe,
in the field (as practice) and under saddle.
It is a skill to be learned and practiced. Always remember to reward quickly, and if you
have to say "No!" say that just as quickly. If your horse corrects himself right away,
then reward him right away.
CANTERING
By
now you should have your horse moving forward on the longe
in a basic circle. Warm him up in an
energetic walk, and then send him into the trot. Use your voice and the whip if needed. Be sure to change gaits and directions
often.
When he is
comfortable and listening, ask him to canter.
To tell if he is on
the correct lead, watch the front leg.
The leg on the inside, closest to you if you are in the middle of the
circle, should be reaching out farther than the opposite front leg. If he is wrong, carefully bring him back to a
trot and ask again. Use your verbal
cues! The tone and way you use your
voice will do a lot to help teach your horse.
In
lesson two we discussed what we want to see in our horse. Now is your chance to observe. Take your time and really watch the horse
move. If you do not like what you see,
slow him down, or speed him up.
Practice changing the
way he is moving and see how it affects him.
When he is slowed, does he jog about or lengthen his stride? Does he need to slow down, but have more
energy? More bounce? Is he rushing about with his head up? Is he trotting so fast he is leaning into the
center? How can you correct these things
from the ground? How can changing his
tempo help him in any way? What is his
rhythm like? Is it consistent? Does he speed up in certain areas and slow
down or stop in others? How can you make
him go consistently? Clue: It is all about his balance!
Be
careful not to let him go galloping around.
Slow him down and keep him focused on you. When you are starting, do
only about 10 minutes on each side. Vary
his directions often, but do not spend more than 10 minutes total in either direction. Keep him working on a large circle, as he can
injure himself easily on very small circles.
You
may wish to use leg wraps or boots on your horse for leg protection.
One
of the goals is to get the horse focused and relaxed; that has nothing to do
with exhausting him.
You want to keep his
personality and spirit, not spin him to death and make him a zombie. If he is relaxed he can think and reason; if
he is exhausted, he can only become resentful of the work.
As
his stamina increases, the horse will be able to work for longer periods of
time. Always be aware of your horse’s
fitness and never overwork him. The
proper amount of exercise should be enjoyable for the horse and the horse
should show improvement in his gaits. Don't over-do it!
TURNS
Turning on the longe line can be difficult.
At first, stop the
horse and go to his side. Then turn his
head toward the center and into the new direction of travel. Now send him forward. With your help, this should be easy for him.
The next step is to
use your body language and send him in the other direction while you stay in
the middle of the circle. You should be
able to figure this out. Hint: Explaining how to do this will be one of your
Quiz Questions.
BODY LANGUAGE
Let's talk a little
bit about body language.
Be
sure you realize that a horse is the master at body language. He knows all the rules! You are the one who must learn them.
If you are standing
anywhere from the middle of his body toward his head, you are telling him to
turn back and move away from you.
When you stand toward
his haunches you are sending him forward.
The further back you are in relation to his body, the more forward you
are driving him.
It
is considered pressure; although you don't have to be touching him. Your presence is "pressure". The further back you are in relation to his
body, the more you are driving him forward.
The closer you get toward his forehand, the more you are slowing him
down or sending him back and away from you.
If
you approach from his side, he should stand still and let you get near without
going forward or back. It is sort of
like a teeter-totter. Your pressure will
send him in the opposite direction away from you.
You
may have noticed this while you were longeing him, or
approaching him in the field. If you
approach him in the field with your eyes somewhat down cast and approach
towards his side, then you are putting minimal pressure on him. He will stand still in most cases.
If
you approach from behind, he will probably move away from you. If you come straight towards his head, he
probably turns toward the most open direction available—toward whichever
shoulder you have back.
The
horse, if trying to escape you, will take the easiest and clearest way
out. If you widen your arms you can side
step in different directions and watch how the horse will change his decision
about his escape route. If you move closer
and he is still intent on escape, he will eventually burst past you. If you were bigger than the fence behind him,
he would turn and attempt to go over the fence.
If
just before that point, you back off and remove the pressure, he will probably
relax and stop moving. He will then sigh
and perhaps chew, depending on how excited he was.
The
point of this is to realize that horses will understand your body language,
even if you do not. They will take the
easiest way out if upset. Please realize
how much "pressure" you are putting on him when you longe him. Extremely
uptight horses can harm themselves if there is too much pressure. Remember to use only "enough" to
get the job down.
It
is important to be nimble on your feet and put on pressure as you need it, and,
if he panics, let it off by either backing away, lowering your gaze, or moving
back towards his midsection. No training
session is so important that it should be allowed to cause harm to the
horse. Never let your ego get in the way
of teaching your horse in a calm and respectful manner. Better you end the session than you or your
horse gets hurt. You can always approach
the lesson again in a different manner that will be more understandable to your
horse.
Long-lining
You should be able to
"long-line" him now. We are
going to do this with the one longe line. There are several ways to long-line, but I
find this way easy and with few problems.
Begin by sending him
out on the longe until he is warmed up and going
easily in both directions. Now move your
body a little toward his haunches which should send him forward and straight
for a few strides, then gently vibrate the longe so
he turns once again. If he stops,
encourage him with your body position or whip (softly) to keep moving.
If you do this twice
on a circle, you will begin to get an oval.
I like to move a lot with a longe line. I will stand still for his corner, and then
jog at his hip a bit for the straight lines.
If he does not want to move in a straight line, move your body, in
relation to his, toward his front end until he stops turning. He should be able to do this based on what he
learned in earlier sessions.
If he does not
understand, wiggle the whip while pointing toward his shoulder to move him out
and encourage him to go straight. If
that does not work, repeat the beginning steps of teaching him to move out and
away from you on the longe line.
Now comes the fun! Once
you can get him to do ovals without too much fuss, ask for longer, wider,
creative ovals and polygons. Depending
on how much room you have, vary the straight lines and corners until you can
put him anywhere in the ring you want.
Move your horse all
around the arena with the straight lines, do corners, circles, and polygons
anywhere and everywhere. Be careful to
leave enough room when you get near a fence or wall. Eventually you will be able to gauge how
well your horse turns and moves around you.
Once you can
accurately predict where you can place your horse’s body, get out the
games. Place a ground pole and longe your horse over it.
Have the horse go over the ground pole with a straight approach at
first. Then let him do a circle and trot
over it while on a curve.
Add more ground poles
as the horse becomes accustomed to the work.
As you go along, space the poles so your horse can walk and trot over
them without stumbling or hitting them.
You will soon learn the horse’s natural stride and be able to place the
poles according to where the horse naturally puts his feet. It is good if you have someone help you with
straightening the poles at first.
If you put the poles
out in a straight pattern (like a ladder), be sure to jog along side the horse
as he goes straight. Vibrate the lead
and hang back a bit to send him back on the circle for the corner. You may need the whip to keep him moving
through the corner, as horses sometimes fall back into the walk if not
encouraged to move forward.
A young horse
sometimes needs you to actually lead him over the ground poles at first. This is fine. Do whatever it takes to prepare
your horse for something new so he is not frightened.
Using a verbal cue
will help greatly. Say "hup" or "cluck" or whatever you choose, just
be consistent. Use a cue when you are
sending him straight, and another when you are having him circle back. This will prepare him for the change of
direction and make things go more smoothly.
Using cones in a
pattern is useful. Place the cones
anywhere. Circle your horse around one,
send him straight toward another, and circle him around another. If you get good, you can do
"figure-eights" and "serpentines".
Get creative and have
fun. Do not over-do any of these exercises, as he can get frustrated and quit
on you. Watch his expression and see if
he finds the challenges enjoyable or disturbing.
If he appears
disturbed or greatly frustrated, go back to regular longeing
and find his comfort zone. You just may
need to slow down with him. If he seems
bored, make the challenges a little more difficult and interesting. Use your imagination, but remember to keep it
safe and not to let him go galloping around.
Do most of this at the walk and trot, and keep changing directions.
We want to create a
bond and have fun with our horse. These
exercises will help increase his trust in you and allow you to see how he moves
and reacts to challenges. They will also help him build his confidence as he
masters these exercises. You are
building a solid foundation with your horse.
Praise him often!
TERMS:
BODY LANGUAGE -- communicating with another by means of using or
reading body gestures and postures.
DIP-IN OR
DROPPING -- the horse leans a
part of his body toward the inside of the circle.
DRIVING
GROUND
POLES -- preferably 8 foot
long poles, wooden or plastic, that are placed on the ground.
LEADING
LONG-LINING -- controlling your horse from a distance on the
end of a long line.
NIP IT IN THE
PRESSURE -- a force, from either your
body posture, hand or gaze, that will send your horse away from you.