I have actually been wondering about them too Rudi and have been (quietly) question the necessity of them when long lining with two lines.
In the past I have always lunged in the traditional way (with a single line, cavesson, snaffle, side reins and roller). I could see the purpose of them in this situation because I was lunging from the cavesson and therefore needed the side reins to hold contact with the bit etc.
However since I have started long lining I have not used side reins. To begin with, this was because my children's horse (Cloud) is a mini and is only 10hh and I could not buy side reins small enough locally. Also, I have not started him in a bit and bridle yet, so have just been working him in the dually.
Now as time has gone on, I haven't seen the need. Cloud is working and responding very nicely without them. I intend to start him in harness and when a horse is in harness they have no side reins, so the need for them has seemed less with that in mind.
I have been wondering though, if he were much bigger and stronger, would I need side reins when training...?

When I first started long-lining my gelding he was very hard in the mouth. The first time I used the side reins on him I could instantly see the benefits to the side reins teaching him to let off of the bit. Actually I long lined him in the dually first few times, but that translated to the bit. He was used to pushing through the bit and when someones was holding the reins in the saddle he could easily pull your hands forward. However with the side reins he couldn't push through the bit as he was used to doing, he had to let off or he made himself uncomfortable. So for my horse the side reins were essential to softening his mouth. It also taught him a much better posture while riding keeping his head a little more down and not so high and rounding out his back.

Hi am am busy mouthing my newly backed 4year old using side reins with elastic. As I rode him the other day he was vey good but I felt he was really resisting the contact making me feel a bit like a passenger. I have done quite a few 20 minute sessions with the reins now and have gradually tightened them and have witnessed him relaxing into the contact rather than resisting. I have yet to ride him out and see the result but I will be sure to let you know as soon as I have. Happy training!

Rudi - I'm with you on that one, I feel that young horses should be encouraged to work using self carriage. Sidereins, especially elastic ones, are probably much milder than some other methods used (like strong bits) but I would worry that the horse might come to rely on them and start to lean on the reins rather than working in a naturally independant outline. If a horse is poking his nose out and leaning on the bit it could be he is experiencing some discomfort in his mouth, so this should be checked out first. However, I can see that they may have some value for working with a remedial horse who is very hard mouthed through being ridden with harsh hands in the past, but only as a gentle encouragement and not to force the head into position.

Thank you for your interesting comments.

Hi Helene - it would be interesting to note what others think here but if you are just beginning to ride your youngster I wouldn't be asking for contact at this early stage. It would be better for him to be allowed to stretch out a bit - contact can come later.

I have found the side reins to be of great benefit with my horse when longlining. I always start my session without, and he can be careering around and bucking etc, and then when I put the side reins on he actually starts working properly, and using his body as he should. Especially in canter, if he doesn't have side reins on he will quite often be looking to the outside and bending incorrectly, but with the side reins he will work really nicely. He has a super soft mouth, so I can confirm that (with my horse anyway) it does not cause the horse to lean on, nor rely on contact. In the early days, I would attach the side reins quite low, so that if he so chose, he could stretch down and work long and low. Now however, I tend to have them up higher, closer to the position of my hands when riding.

Montys videos on single line lunging and his advanced longlining videos clarify a lot of the points mentioned so I wont rabbit on :-) A couple of other points that may be useful though (1) Even though the side reins are elasticated, Monty still has them very loose so there is a lot of movement still possible - essential for horses new to side reins as they can cause panic at first. (2) Monty uses the side reins for a couple of reasons. In the single line lunging its a correction aid and most impotantly the side reins are different lengths on each side (i.e. inside one is shorter) to encourage the horse to 'arc' normally again rather than being 'banana shaped' and having a disunited canter as a consequence of single line/cavesson style lunging. (3) In the advanced longlining he uses them on Chrome to encourage a more collected outline and shifting the power 'behind' more but again they are very loose and Chrome will have been encouraged to 'self carriage' rather than leaning before using side reins etc. The practice of forcing horses into an outline by standing them for long periods in side reins is, as we all know, revolting but sadly still continues. On that basis, I guess the point is to consider what the purpose of the side reins and to think of them as an aid to achieving something therefore they may or may not be useful. I think this gives us the flexibility to think about it rather than wondering whether we should use them or not. (I said I wouldn't rabbit on and here I am doing it again... I type as I'm thinking out loud sorry!)

I like your rabbiting, viccihh! ;)
You make an excellent point too. Esp. this line is very good thinking:
"On that basis, I guess the point is to consider what the purpose of the side reins and to think of them as an aid to achieving something therefore they may or may not be useful."
I think that applies to most tools and gadgets out there.

Aww, thankyou Kicki, very kind of you :-)

Wow brilliant! I was just coming on to find out about this and you almost answered my question already weather it is recommended to use the reins at different lengths or not. I had been using them recently to mouth my youngster, I started very loose but was gradually getting shorter so he always has a contact. As Monty says the head should just be bobbing on the bit. I had been making them 2 holes longer on the outside rein which means you can only do one direction at a time of-course rather than asking them to change direction intermittently but I thought it would help, especially as my round pen is a little smaller than Montys recommended size. I have been wondering if this is ok though as an article in my H&R magazine recently said they must be even lengths. Although I am mouthing rather than correcting a "single line lunged" horse do you think it is still better to have them at different lengths?

Many thanks

I think if you are using two lines and you are not needing to correct an over single line lunged its ok to have them at the same length

Oh wow, I never knew people could be so horrible as to leave their horse tied up with side reins on Viccihh.
Anyway, back to the side reins for longlining, Helene I find it is more convenient to have them the same length most of the time, simply because I can mix it up a bit, do lots of turns, figure 8s etc without having to stop and switch them over and it keeps it more interesting for my horse. However, I'm working a little bit with a friend's horse at the moment who is an ex trotter (a Standardbred) and we are doing quite a lot with the shorter inside side rein, as he was horribly bent to the outside, particularly one way. This has been helping immensely!

Thanks guys, yes i was sorry to lose the ability for turns etc as it definitely keeps them from getting bored. I do however make sure to keep my sessions to 10 minutes a side, 20 mins in total. With 2 youngish horses as I have, one 7 yo and one recently backed 4 yo, I am thinking with the older boy Frodo I can work him a bit shorter to exercise his back end more. I normally do the first 10 mins at a longer length to get him to stretch and reach down for the contact and the final 10 mins at a shorter length which I think is fine. For the younger boy Shadow I do the same but don't shorten as much all in all. My question is for Shadow, for example when he is standing still, the reins should be short enough that there is a contact? Is that right? I just don't want to go too short. In Montys videos they look quite long with the youngsters. Shadow has probably done about 15-20 sessions with the side reins (pretty loose).
Just wondering how short to go to be effective for mouthing.
Many thanks for your input.

Hi Helene,
I think your programme sounds perfect really, with the long and low to start. I think each horse will be a little different, but even with my horse who has now done lots of longlining, I only want the reins to come into play if his nose is in front of the vertical. So when he is standing still as I put them on, his nose would usually be in front of the vertical, so therefore there is contact. As he trots though, and his head is closer to vertical, the contact goes soft. I think it's easiest to judge what length to have them when they're trotting. You don't want them so loose that they're swinging around all over the place!
Now that you've done a bit of longlining with them both, I find the advanced longlining lessons on here are great to keep things interesting for them. I quite often longline in the arena now.
I know that doesn't answer your question re mouthing though!
Ruth

Thats helpful though, thanks Ruthy. Have started watching the lessons so will see how it goes.

Hello everyone,
I was just re-watching advanced long lining and wondering about something...: Can anyone explain how in the world is Monty holding those long lines in his hands when driving the horse?? He gets it right, obviously, so they don't fall on the ground, but I'm not sure that I could do it :/

Any suggestions :)

regards,

Mirna