How To Longline a Horse: The Basics

Long lining – a black art or something anyone can learn?

By IH Trainer Sandra Williams

I chose the title of this article because I was once informed by a student that she had  been told by an instructor she mustn’t attempt long lining. That level of horsemanship, she was told, was reserved for the Fellowship – a Black Art. Crikey, I thought, that’s a bit Harry Potter! It’s also nonsense, so let’s blow the myth and get started.

NB: You’ll hear long lining called long reining, lungeing with two lines and ‘riding from the ground’ depending on who you’re talking to. For consistency in this article, I am going to call it long lining.

Why Longline A Horse?

Long lining a horse is great preparation for starting/ backing a horse; it allows you to introduce rein and leg aids for both driving and/or riding position. But its use isn’t confined to young horses, for example long lining is good physical and mental therapy for a horse which cannot be ridden, or just as an alternative exercise for suppleness or just to add interest to your routine.

For horse owners who like to include lungeing in their training, long lining offers a similar exercise but without the ‘one-sided’ effect of single line lungeing. Because you have two ‘reins’, it’s also possible to introduce your horse to poles, small jumps, tarpaulin, obstacles etc before riding them, and it can be a great way of curing nappiness.

Other uses include:

• Working towards driving a horse (carriage, log, sleigh etc)
• Practicing your dressage test
• Exercising ponies that are too small for adults to ride (child’s pony)
•  Introduction to a new bit or saddle
• Be inventive – think about what other activities long lining could be useful for.

Where to Longline Your Horse? Choosing a Safe Area To Work

When you first start learning to long line, it’s better to do so in an enclosed space.

My choices, in order of preference, would be:

• Round Pen
• Indoor arena
• Small enclosed outdoor arena/manege*
• Small grassy paddock
• Use a corner hedge line and some jumps or switched -off electric fence to make a suitable-sized arena
• If your horse were able to get free/jump out, where would he land? It might seem obvious but it is always worth checking what is on the other side, driveway, concrete, open countryside? Keep it safe.

Equipment You Might Choose at Different Stages For Long Lining a Horse

Preparing to Longline a Horse

If you have attended an IH Course or worked with an IH Trainer you will know how much we value working on ourselves before we introduce you to the horse. Human-to-human exercises are hugely beneficial and allow you to experience things from your horse’s point of view, ‘to be in his shoes’.

Having a practice with a friend or partner with the long lines allows you to ask open questions and receive feedback. Do remember that your ‘horse’, whether human or equine, is pretty much always going to be correct; if you ask a question believing you will receive a certain answer but you don’t, stop, take a breath, think, then tweak your question before asking again. At times long lining can feel counter intuitive, similar to steering a narrowboat or manoeuvring a shopping trolley. Ever noticed that in order to turn either of the above you need to steer in the opposite direction to where you intend to go? Practicing first with a human standing in for the horse allows you to get a sense of using the long lines without confusing your horse.  If you have Kelly Marks’ book Perfect Partners, have a look at page 104 for further guidance.

1.     How to Hold The Lines:

I am going to let you decide how to hold them, but what I will say is that you want to make use of shortening and lengthening the lines as necessary. This allows your hands to remain in a fairly ‘neutral’ position whilst maintaining a soft contact with the horse’s head (remember the ‘smile in the rope’)

Decide whether you are going to allow the ends of the lines to drag behind you or whether you are going to keep them hooked up over one thumb. If you allow them to drag behind you, be mindful of anything they could get caught up in (this is why long lines without a loop at the end are safer). They also become very heavy if the ground is wet as they absorb the moisture. Be aware, too, that coils tend to be unfriendly and can quickly tighten around your hands and fingers: ouch!

2.     Asking The Horse To Walk On:

Make use of body language – if you’re working in a round pen or asking your horse to work around you, adopt a position of 45 degrees to the horse, looking at his eye to drive him forward. You can flap the lines forward against the side of the horse, make a kiss or click noise, and raise you energy and intent to get him moving on.

If walking behind him, look in the direction you would like him to take, glancing through the ears, taking in the whole body: remember, where his nose goes, his tail will follow. Ensure to release an amount of energy/intent as the horse begins to offer a required movement or thinks in the desired direction.

If you would like to work on improving  your horse’s trot and canter then having the horse working around you is far more achievable than if you try to keep up with him from behind! Working your horse from behind is ideal for encouraging confidence, for hacking out, and meeting potential dangers first, ideally done at the walk. Ensure there is the length of one and a half extra horses between you and your horse’s quarters. This gives you thinking space and ensures your horse is able to see you, which is important for him when you first start giving extra confidence, as he’ll feel less abandoned.

3.     Asking The Horse To Turn When Long Lining:

This is about blocking off one route and opening another. For example, if you would like your horse to change direction and turn away from you, you need to step across towards the way he  is travelling at the same time using pressure/ release on the outside line, loosen off the inside line and create some energy in it and then follow your horse back round the new direction. At that time, one line is being used for direction and the other for energy/speed/ impulsion. Try and release the pressure as early as possible to help the horse understand he is getting it right (reward the thought). If you are working behind him in straight lines and asking to turn, then it is about directing the nose to-wards the new direction and stepping across in the direction of the quarters, following in his hoof prints.

4.     Asking The Horse To Stop When Long Lining:

Prepare, slow your energy and intent down, soften your eyes along the horse’s body, then come to a stop yourself with soft knees. Let your hands close around the line and be ready to spring open to release to the horse as quickly as possible; this way, the horse meets the end of the lines and looks for the release to find the comfortable place (you can always ask again if the horse misunderstands your request). Keep your eye on his face, reading his ears and eye; if you are behind him he may well turn to look for you. When you are starting out this is a nice reason to have a second person involved as they can step in and praise him immediately he gets it right and reassure him that standing still and straight is ok.

5.     Asking The Horse to Stand Still When Long Lining:

It can be quite difficult for a horse to stand still ‘out there on his own’. Be sure in your mind of what you are asking, try to keep your position as fixed as possible and ensure that you are the one taking control of the horse’s movements, rather than the horse taking control of yours. Cheat in favour of your horse; use the end of the arena, a side of a hedge or a second person – some-thing/one that can reaffirm to the horse what your request is. Build incrementally the length of time you request his stillness.

6.     Asking The Horse to Back Up When Long Lining:

From a place of stillness, prepare to step back yourself with your whole body engaged. With a clear hold on the lines, as you step  back you will begin to take the slack out of the lines and they will appear to become straight/taut: it is at this point we would like our horse to respond. He may take a moment or two, so allow him his thinking time and repeat your step back if necessary.

By working with lines that have a ‘smile’ you will have enough space to step back two or three times. He may benefit from you causing more of a request through the lines as you step the second time. He will feel a positive squeeze around his face in the same way he would from a rider applying pressure from the reins; please note, however, that this is never about hauling a horse back through his mouth/face. You are creating space by stepping back yourself, taking the slack in the line and offering release as he thinks/acts. Repeat as necessary.

Rein back should become as light and responsive as going forward. Remember it is a 2x beat like trotting, so he will move back through diagonal pairs. If he really struggles with this, ask a horsey friend to stand at his head and ask for the step back through the use of a lead rope at the same time you ask with the lines from behind. He will soon work it out with this extra cue.

7.     How To Emergency Stop When Longlining A Horse:

You should always know that you can bring your horse to a stop in an emergency. Hopefully the majority of you will never need this but I would like to think, you all have it in your tool kit should the occasion arise! It may not be pretty but the emergency could be a lot uglier.

Simply drop one line and take a strong hold on the other with both hands, include a step to that side as you do, and your horse will spin around to face you (you only have to think about bringing the head around You can then take a deep breath, praise him for coming to you, and work out where you need to make changes before starting again. This affirms once again working with slack in your lines; it creates thinking time for you, as your horse takes his first fast stride away you can apply the above actions. It can still come as a shock, however, which is why we recommend you practice human-to-human first.

As you become more proficient it is possible to allow your dropping line to slip through your fingers (rather than total abandonment) and regain your long lining position, especially if it was a false alarm. However the main thing here is to STOP the horse, not to look pretty.

8.     Exercises To Acclimatise Your Horse To The Longline’s

Acclimatising your horse to the lines is crucial, especially if you are starting this new skill outside of a round pen. The exercises below are designed to be fun and educational. We are looking to create a horse who remains responsive to our aids whether through lines or legs, able to feel the smallest request to move off from the lines whilst avoiding over-stimulated reactions (horses are amazing at learning to ignore  our ‘white noise’ whilst remaining sensitive to the touch of a fly landing on their back). This in part is down to your intent, focus and belief.

Listed below are a selection of exercises we can all do with our horses whether we intend to long line or not:

• Follow the line back to the handler – unwinding themselves to follow the pressure and finding the release
• Moving around with one line around your horse’s quarters on the away side to you, similar to lungeing but with the line on the outside. This can be done in walk and then progress to trot. You can use your body language to stop the horse by turning towards his quarters and away, dropping your shoulder; he will turn to the outside and once again follow the line back to you
• Draping coiled lines over your horse’s back with a swinging motion
• Draping uncoiled lines over your horse’s back and away over the quarters
• Pulling lines between your horse’s legs – unattached to your horse
• Laying a line evenly over your horse’s back and then taking them for a walk, firstly in circles to enable you to stay in a safe place should your horse react with flight (remember the line can be pulled off at  any time as it is unattached)
• With a horsey friend, ask them to hold both ends of the lines out behind your horse whilst it lays across your horse’s back. You remain in charge of speed and direction through the lead position, your friend moves around as described in exercises 1, 2 and 3. You can progress this to laying the unclipped end of the lines through the roller rings or stirrups – again should anything happen they can just fall out
• Swap roles with your horsey friend and begin repeating the above exercise. When you feel your horse is comfortable, you can attached the lines to the Dually or bit rings.

Further Reading

All of the above exercises and any extra ones you add in should be performed equally on each side of your horse. For further help, see Kelly’s books Perfect Manners (the ‘Follow the line’ exercise is on page 78) and Perfect Partners (chapter 5) – both are available via the IH shop on www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk.

In part 2 in the summer issue of IH Magazine, we will look at long lining through obstacles as well as getting out and about.