Ground work is essential in preparing a horse to be a good mount, and for developing a healthy, happy horse-rider relationship. All work performed on the ground leads to the creation and maintenance of the human’s lead horse status in the two horse herd. Improper longeing can break down such relationship. Therefore, there is great significance and value to working a horse from the ground and to performing such work properly.
Some riders believe their ground work is fine and they only have problems when in the saddle. However, all training experts agree that lack of foundation, i.e., lack of sufficient or properly performed ground work - to the point of a horse not accepting you unconditionally as leader, leads to nearly all problems in the saddle.
Consider that a human standing on the ground appears far more threatening to the horse, a flight animal, than one on its back. The time to establish your leadership role is then and there, and not in the seat where, once flight commences, you may be unable to do much more than dismount, even sustain serious injury. As noted above, the lead horse relationship must be established firmly in the horse’s mind before the rider steps into the stirrups. Therefore, use your “predator” status on the ground to your advantage, firmly establishing in the horse’s mind your lead role. In the saddle is not the time to begin such a conversation over pecking order with your horse.
Two major problem areas come to mind in a relationship with a horse: Fear (spooking, bolting) and pushiness (a horse who invades your space, does not accept your authority or cues). While desensitization is key with a fearful horse, if you have established yourself as a good leader, a fearful horse will be much less inclined to spook if the lead horse (you) is not spooking. A pushy horse is a dangerous situation building. While it may seem cute that he leans on you, such behavior can be prelude to an outright challenge to your leadership. For the well-being of both rider and mount, boundaries need to be established and herd pecking order determined, in the rider’s favor. These are two examples where ground work needs to come into play.
The time to do ground work is 1) first-time gentling (“breaking”) a previously unridden horse, 2) prior to riding a horse with which you are unfamiliar, and 3) whenever problems arise that show the horse is not accepting the rider as the lead animal in the two horse herd.
If a horse is performing well and has no dominance problems, most experts do not recommend repeated longeng. Boredom is often a major problem in training, so it’s preferable to present new challenges to this type of well-behaved horse. At most, a brief longe line session can be held every six months or on the occasional day when the horse could use exercise but riding is not an option (i.e., owner injury precludes riding).
Longeing should also not be over-used in the problem horse. See an expert trainer if intensive longeing (20 minutes a day, at least 3 days in a row) has not helped you reestablish your lead horse position. It could be your body language that is incorrect, and no amount of incorrect longeing would be successful in that case.
Lastly, always rule out health problems first in case of horses who are reluctant to obey your aids but are otherwise docile and accepting of your leadership. Back problems, saddle pressure points, and aching joints can cause a well-mannered horse to suddenly go off his training. Longeing in this case would be unnecessarily cruel and detrimental to the partnership.
SPECIAL NOTES:
• Foals and yearlings should not be longe-lined.
• Ill horses should not be longe-lined.
• A horse must have good muscular condition and be over two years of age before working in a round pen at speeds over a walk. It requires flexibility, stamina and athleticism. To condition an out-of-shape adult horse, begin with ten minutes a day and increase gradually over a period of several weeks.
See Tools for Longeing for more information.
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