From: deblev@nimoy.ipac.caltech.edu (Debbie Levine)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Subject: Longeing as Training and Tense Horse Update
Date: 25 Jan 1993 22:53:40 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology
NNTP-Posting-Host: nimoy.ipac.caltech.edu

I'm interested in starting a thread about longeing as a (re-)training tool,
especially for older horses with problems.  This is as opposed to 
starting youngsters or simply as a method of exercise.  I'm interested
in other people's experiences along these lines and also descriptions
of technique.

During the recent rain storms, I began a program with Morris that 
I feel is working fairly well.  On the days when the footing was
good enough to longe, I worked him on the longe for 20-30 minutes,
and restricted his ridden work to walking around the arenas and around the 
property on a loose rein.  I'm continuing in this vein, having
ramped up to walking on contact and for the last 3 days, quiet trot
work.  The bottom line is that I can now walk him all around the
property on the buckle (at least if it's daylight and not too
windy!  :-)  and he stays very relaxed.  He will also cheerfully
accept a light steady contact at the walk -- he still tends to get
tense periodically at trot, and I won't reintroduce canter work
mounted until he's fairly consistently relaxed in the trot work.
This is a good test of my patience! 

I feel the longe work has been VERY valuable.  For one, he's learned
to be comfortable with a nice steady contact on the side reins,
and this has carried over quite well into his mounted work, as long
as there aren't too many outside distractions.  For another, I've
learned quite a bit about him:  Among other things, I noticed that
his canter work on the longe was VERY stiff, at first, even though
his trot appeared unrestricted, if rather flat.  When he gets
tense, he tends to canter with both hind legs coming underneath
him almost together, and I now suspect his fishtailing may look
a lot like hopping from side to side in back.  After a few sessions
on the longe he began to either relax or get stronger and his
canter began to improve.  He still seems to tire fairly rapidly,
and as he does, he steps less and less far underneath himself
with the inside hind.  I don't ask for long periods of cantering,
but I'm trying to ask for lots of transitions -- I can really
see him step under as he pushes off!  His canter looks a factor
of many times better than it did at first and is still improving.
He was slowest to accept the contact in canter, but now happily
takes contact with the side reins.  His trot has also improved
with the longeing and has more suspension than it did at
first.

His attitude on the longe is funny -- he's become VERY lazy!  He
has obviously not had bad experiences with the whip and I sometimes
really have to get after him to get him going.  If he's feeling real
good he might put in a few bucks and run around (I leave the side
reins off for the first 5 minutes to give him a chance to stretch
and to play if he wants to) but his overall attitude is really
quite relaxed.  This makes me hopeful that I may be able to 
un-do the bad associations he has with ridden work, if I'm careful
not to ask for too much to soon.  I keep telling people at the
barn I'm trying to bore him to death.  They look at me like I'm
crazy.  :-)

And, I found someone to spoil Split rotten for me.  My friend Judy,
an intermediate rider, was half-leasing a horse elsewhere and has
gotten interested in Split.  They get along really well!  She doesn't
ask Split to exert herself too much and Split really seems to like
her.  Split is a bit of a challenge for her, as she has a lot bigger
gaits than Judy is used to!  She's also virutually awash in a sea
of apples and carrots...  and I have a backup person for days when
my schedule gets out of hand!

Sorry this got so long,

Debbie (and Split and Mo  [and Kira and Merlin the cats who
	inhabit my apartment and feel left out 'cause I never
	mention them])

Sorry this got so long!

Newsgroups: rec.equestrian