I can't stop laughing, today I introduced Shilo to the double lunging lines, I use his saddle because I don't have that special equipment that Monty has, so I put the lines through the stirrups and then connect to the Dually halter.
Anyway,......Shilos face was just a picture all bound up in the lines....( like WHAT ARE YOU DOING WOMAN ??) .well, I did get him to move forward but got so caught up in the lines that I just laughed and laughed, and I'm sure that if horses could laugh then Shilo could still be heard laughing.
I have so much to learn!!
It's good that Shilo is so forgiving, but today I just let it go, I will try again .
We went for a walk instead.
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Horse Behavior and Training
Ha.ha.lunging with two lines.....I have a lot to learn.
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Good for you Dionne. Your laughter is probably the best outcome out of an attempt to new training. Long lining can be a handful if either the horse or the trainer has never tried it before. I would suggest you start with one line instead of two and practice leading from behind until your horse is relaxed with you being somewhere other than just beside at the normal leading position...........Monty makes long lining look very easy to bring about. That`s because he is a master at reading the horse and the situation as it takes place. The very first thing that you need to happen is forward motion from your horse with your body slightly drifting to the rear side as he walks forward. Sometimes you will need something in your hand to wave to keep him going out ahead of you... All horses are a little different in how freely they go ahead especially if they are being led from behind. Leading from behind is a whole different feeling for the horse with a trainer, however they instinctively know how to do this as they do this with each other in the wild .......... Practice using incremental steps and you will look back in a few days and smile. . . . . I can remember my first attempt. That was hilarious also; just about like you described your outing. I hope that this helps you. Bud
I love your attitude Dionne! I'm pretty sure this will be me and Bente someday. :)
Hi Dionne, it's wonderful that he didn't panic and I am sure you will get there. One tip I can offer.
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Think about it from his point of view. He has accepted you as his leader and he has learnt to follow. All of a sudden, you disappear behind him and ask him to go off on his own and YOU follow - it's confusing for him :-) If you try to long line in a straight line with a horse that's never done it before he will turn to look for you. He will not understand being driven forwards with no-one at his head. So, either (a) long line him in a circle using a round pen or fence line as a boundary for him to keep within (if you haven't got a round pen use the corner of a rectangular school or the field). If you want to do it in a straight line, have someone at his head that he can follow but the cues/instructions come from you - the person is only there to give him the confidence to go forwards, then in time the person can drop back. It's a lot easier doing it in a circle first! That way he can still see you.
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If it is still a tangle when you are in a circle it means you are too far forward and cutting off his forward path, you need to be at a 45 degree angle back towards his hip looking at his eyes to send him on just like Join Up. SO, if he is going left, your right hip should be 'pointing' to his left hip and your left hip is pointing towards the middle of the circle - does that make sense?
Hi Vicci. Thank you, yes, that makes alot of sense and i thinkyou are Right about trying in a cirkle first. I do have a round pen at home, it's just a home made temporary one made from rope and metal rods in a big circle about 16 feet in diameter.
Shilo respects boundaries/ fences / and ropes so it seems to work very well.
I don't have a inside training area, I only have a 'dirt' arena which I can only use when the weather is good, but I do have a very large and wide driveway in front of my home which is made of gravel, so on bad weather days I use the gravel area, but I'm careful not to make Shilo run around in it because he can slip, so I use this gravel area only for training that can be done in a walk.
The weather is so terrible her in Danmark, it's just raining and raining all of the time so my dirt arena is just a muddy mess.
Hi Dionne, Vicci describes long lining beautifully ie. the angles the distance away from the horse and where you are. ........If your round pen is muddy you probably would wise to wait on this activity. I think that everything you have done prior to this time with your horse has been cementing a solid relationship. It would`nt due to get him injured now. However you can practice leading from behind at liberty in his paddock. You will need something in your hand to encourage forward motion. Start out by his side and the drift back a short distance at a time. The main thing is forward motion. Keep singing to him. Bud
Hi Dionne,
If you're new to longlining, I'd suggest you try it first on an older, well trained horse, before you start working with Shilo.
Getting tangled up seems to be a stage we all have to go through!
What we learned is to longline, without lines...
Like in Join-up, you use your body language, your speed, your direction, your eyes, your breathing etc. to move the horse as if on longlines in a roundpen. To help him take a turn, you first fall back a little, "opening the door" to come away from the fence. Then you "close the old direction" while going before his movement, and soon "opening the new direction". There's your turn without lines!
This sounds complicated, but really helps you with your signals to the horse.
When this works for you, the next step is to add the longlines, always using the same signals you did when without lines.
Hope this makes sense!
Have fun, let your horse have even more fun!
Miriam
Hi Dionne, Hi Miriam what a great idea. Dionne even though you might be uncertain at first with this at first, give it a try and watch how things can change for you. Bud
Hi Dionne, I'm with you on the mud thing, my carrel area where I keep my herd at knight is just slushy mud from all the rain and 7 lots of hooves mashing it up. Roll on spring.
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Follow the advice above and you'll get there.
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Our BamBam still struggles even after doing lots of desensitizing with rope around his back legs. He's very tolerant of it now but when the lunge line sits across his back legs he draws his legs underneath him to try and get away whilst standing still, at first he used to spin and get tangled. Everything else he's 100% confident even climbing stairs and backing down them again when I find him in the tack room :D He was our first rescue and at 21 months of age we were his 5th owners :( I dread to think what has happened to him.
Mel
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