Steering on long lines - a question

[Jeanette]

I’m trying to piece together what I’m learning in my lessons on my instructor’s horse and how it relates to what we teach a young horse to make sure that I don’t inadvertently teach anything to my youngster, Rannoch (who is 4) that will have to be unpicked later.

The question relates to the difference between asking for a turn to the left (e.g.  to come off the track into a circle) or asking for a bend to the left (e.g. to bend left but stay on the track and keep the shoulders straight). What I understand is that on the ridden horse the key difference is the seat aid. When you work in hand in a bridle (i.e. the method that Becky Holden teaches) you can take a feel on the outside rein and nudge the inside shoulder a little to keep the shoulders on the track if you don’t want a turn to the left .....but how about when you are long lining?

The reason I’m asking this question is that I want to get my youngster out and about on long lines exploring our village but want to make sure that when I teach Rannoch basic steering and brakes on the long lines I don’t mess things up for what comes later.

Put another way how does Rannoch know that I want him to turn to a feel on the left rein rather than flex onto the rein?

I’m assuming that he is to work this out from my body position when I’m long lining him ..i.e. that I must step nearer to the lunging position for a few strides (and/or open the rein) as well as just take a feel on the rein ..whereas if  were asking just for a flex I would carry on walking absolutely straight at his quarters and not open the rein.

Is that right? Seems to me that it would be awfully easy to just take a feel on the rein when you are long lining round the village and teach the horse/pony  always to turn onto a rein.

Or to put it another way if we entrench in the young pony’s mind that the rein is for brakes and steering would we have to unpick that later when we want the rein aids for lateral work and rebalancing/collection?

[Jeanette]

Perhaps my question was a bit too involved!

What are the aids for turning on a lunge line:

..using the method where you stand just behind the girth with the outside line going across the wither ?
....and using the method where you walk behind and the outside line comes round the quarter?

I've got three books on the subject of long linning ....they all go into the fancy stuff and none of them cover the real basics!

[issywizz]

Urm,same as when you are riding except you have no inside leg 
The inside rein asks for inside flexion and the outside rein keeps the horse on the track ( in place of the inside leg) and controls the outside.
I prefer to work them in hand from the shoulder first until the bend is established so that I have my hand for an inside leg aid,then I gradually move further back and can use the stick as an inside leg when I am at the Qs so its only when you are walking right out behind the horse that you completely lose the inside leg aid by which time you should have enough control with the reins.
If you are going out on long lines its advisable to have an extra person by the horses shoulder for safety for a while.
Hope that helps,I had hoped that somebody else would answer