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LYNN PALM PARTNERSHIP TRAINING™
Building a Partnership with Your Horse
The Art of Longeing Your Horse-Part 1
By Lynn Palm
Longeing is an art. When done properly, it benefits a horse by giving him conditioning, exercise, and muscle development. It teaches him to carry himself balanced on a curve and on a straight line. In this two-part series, I will share tips for achieving these benefits while teaching your horse to be mannered and responsive during longeing.
We have all seen horses being longed that wildly are running around in endless circles, out of balance, and dragging their handlers all over the place. This is not what we are trying to achieve through longeing. Our goals are to use longeing to teach the horse to be responsive to voice commands, obedient, have self-carriage, and enhance the proper muscle development that will help him in under saddle work.
Longeing allows you to exercise a horse at home, or in almost any area, without needing an enclosed fenced area or round pen. Do not get me wrong…round pens are great for achieving a result similar to longeing, but I never had the money to build one when I was starting out as a trainer. So I perfected my longeing techniques, and that allows me to get the same benefits as in a round pen almost anywhere!
I teach all of my horses to longe as part of their training routine whether they are young or old. However, if you are working with a young horse, especially a yearling or younger, be careful not to do very much longeing as it can put extra stress on their bones, tendons, and ligaments.
Use the Right Equipment
No fancy or expensive equipment is required to longe. All you need is a halter, longe line, and longe whip. I also recommend putting on leg protection such as splint boots or polo wraps for all lessons. Add bell boots on horses that might be uncoordinated, have hoof problems, or have a tendency to overreach with their stride.
I like a nylon halter for training. The halter must fit snugly but not tightly. The nosepiece should lie one inch down from the bottom of the horse’s cheekbone.
The longe line connects the handler with the horse. It is used to control his position and communicate with him. I recommend using a flat, woven cotton longe line. It is easier to grip and keep organized than a round longe line. Avoid a nylon longe line which can cause serious rope burns if it slips through your hand. Nylon is also very slippery and difficult to keep organized. The longe line may end either in a snap or a length of chain called a “stud chain” with a snap at the end of the chain.
Learn To Organize the Longe Line for Safety
An important skill that you must learn is organizing the longe line without looking at it. This lets you longe from smaller and large circles, from a circle to a straight line, and vary the amount of longe line being used without taking your eyes off the horse. I see too many handlers with their longe lines either dangerously coiled in their hands or dragging and getting tangled in their legs. Learn how to keep the longe line safely organized in neat coils.
Here’s how to do it. Practice this technique first without the horse. Hold the tail end of the longe line in one hand, for example, in your left hand. Shake the rest of the line out on the ground. Slide your right hand down the longe, grasp it, and bring it to the left to create a loop. Continue doing this to loop more longe line into your left hand. To get the same sized loops as you coil up the longe line, simply stretch your arms apart the same degree so your right hand grasps the same amount of line. The right hand also untangles any twists in the line as it slides down the line. As you create loops, “stack” them in your left hand so one loop lies on top of the one before it. The result will be that the left hand is holding a neatly coiled line and the right hand is holding the short length of longe line with the snap end.
Attach the Longe Line Properly
The way the longe line is attached to the halter is important for responsiveness and control. Here is a progression of how and where to attach the longe line to the halter:
For horses that are well trained in longeing, I may simply snap a cotton longe line, without a chain, to the halter side ring on the side that I am working the horse. This technique should only be used with a very well broke horse.
The next step in the progression to get more response from an inexperienced horse, or a horse that needs more control, also uses the simple cotton longe line. Take the snap end of the longe line and “thread” it over the chin piece on the side you will be working, behind (underneath) the halter’s cheek piece, over the nose, and snap it to the side ring on the opposite side of halter. For safety sake, always make sure that the button of the snap is facing outward so it will be easier to release in case of emergency. I call this the “longe-line-over-the-nose” technique. It gives better control of the horse’s head.
If more responsive is needed than what is offered by the simple cotton longe line and snap, a longe line with a stud chain end can be used. This is more severe and is the next step in the progression. It is never used to punish the horse, but rather as a tool to get more sensitive responses from him. To properly attach it, thread the stud chain end through the side ring of the halter on the side you will be working from, over the nose and snap it either on the opposite side ring or to the opposite upper halter ring. At least one hand’s length of chain, about five inches, should extend down from the side ring. Too much chain hanging down will swing and interfere with the horse. Too little chain will be too tight and cause you to lose sensitivity through the longe line, and the horse will become dull.
When longeing, never snap the longe line to the ring at the bottom of the halter. This point of attachment gives the handler no control of the horse’s head and neck. You will not be able to keep him slightly bent in the direction of travel. The horse will be able to swing his head from side to side and start longeing his handler!
The most important goal in longeing is safety. I longe my horse--he does not longe me and drag me all around! It is extremely important to have control. The tool that will give you control is the way you choose to attach the longe line to the halter. Choosing the right longe line attachment style from the options that I described above to match your horse’s sensitivity and responsiveness, will help you get the proper amount of control and the best results.
When the longeing session is done, use this neat trick for keeping the longe line organized when you are ready to put it away. Coil the longe line in loops as I described above. When you get to the end, take the portion of remaining line that would have become the last loop and wrap it around the top of the coil several times. Put the snap end through the top of the coil and pull it lightly. The result is a neatly organized coil of longe line with a handy snap at the end just right for hanging up in the tack room, and the longe line is ready to use in the next lesson.
Longeing is more than the horse making endless circles around his handler. It is another step in building a long-lasting partnership with a horse. Longeing helps develop a bond between handler and horse based on good balance and clear communication. Next month I will share with you some techniques that will help you master the art of longeing.
Elevate your longeing sessions to an art with my Longevity Training--The Art of Longeing (available in DVD and VHS). In this visual training aid, I will teach you all the fine points of longeing. It is available, with other fine Palm Partnership Training products, at www.lynnpalm.com or by phoning 800-503-2824.
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