Not in any of the barns I have been in over the past 40+ years - save on two occasions. My first dressage instructor had been taught by Michael Handler, who learned from his father Hans Handler (director of the SRS from 1965-1974 - his teacher was Col. Alois Podhajsky). I learned proper lunging techniques at the very beginning of my foray into dressage - which luckily was my first serious involvement with horses (I had previously not been much involved with horses other than the occasional trail ride on a rented or loaned horse).
And when I got my first young horse - a 3 y/o lightly started Appaloosa gelding - I had an instructor who was a transplant from Germany and had been taught by a master horse starter who had been taught by an old German master of lunging, long-lining, and work in hand. That old master was not really known outside of Germany and I have sadly long forgotten his name but he was apparently a âbest kept secretâ used by many noted training establishments in Germany. I was told that like all the old masters, he believed in âslow and steadyâ and did not/would not rush a horse through training or skip steps to meet some arbitrary schedule set by the owner, etc. If training a horse correctly took time, it took time - and every horse was trained according to its own talents and gifts.
This is not an attempt at drama. Iâm showing how many/majority/you decide use them. Even very well known trainers. And thatâs exactly my point. This is how they are used most often. If such âmasteryâ is required for their use, why havenât I seen this alleged mastery used anywhere?
Iâm not a Martian. Iâve been to shows and clinics and barns for 5 decades now. And this is what I see.
If you know of any esteemed use in video, please do share. Iâd love to see it.
That is not a recent pictureâŠit has been around a few years. So did you actually see this pony in the contraption? Have you seen it at all this clinics you attend?
KM, with all due respect - that is more hyperbole. You do not know THAT is how they are used most often. First off, the gadget shown in your photo is not traditional side reins. They are more like Lauffer or Phillip reins - and they are improperly set and improperly adjusted. Furthermore, I have seen side reins adjusted too long nearly as much as I have seen them adjusted too short - and too long doesnât do the horse any favors, either, esp. if they are the kind with a heavy rubber donut in them that bounces with every stride the horse takes. Although too long is for sure better than way too short, bouncing reins are a detriment to developing a horse that is confident of contact - no matter if the bounce is caused by the side rein itself, or by a rider with uneducated or unsympathetic hands.
I get it that you are passionate about horse welfare. So are the rest of us here. But some of us understand that just because a handful of well-known trainers have been exposed using questionable/harsh/abusive training techniques does not necessarily mean that the tool they are using is in itself abusive. Side reins, lunging whips, et al have their place in training and instead of putting Olympians and other top riders on a pedestal, we should be idolizing the many nameless trainers who are correctly, methodically, and emphatically developing their horses.
No I do NOT know that most horses arenât lunged this way. After seeing video after video of âtopâ trainers and their abusive ways why would I doubt my eyes and my experience? I know my eyes are qualified to tell the difference.
In a world where gold medalist CDJ seems ok for repeatedly BEATING a horse for absolutely no legit reason, to the Power & Paint trussing up, to Anky and electrified spurs to Helgstrand and others blue tongues, why on earth would I take YOUR word that most people (as in trainers) donât do this? I trust my own observations & experience far more.
And I picked this pic because itâs an egregious use of side reins or whatever trussing up that is that I remembered because of the brouhaha the release of the video made.
Please donât insult me by implying my judgment is lacking in this regard. In addition to the famous abusers there are anonymous abusers too BECAUSE THEY COPY WHAT WINNERS DO.
Now of course there are good trainers. But until I see side reins used in such a way that they help the horse and are used properly, my position remains that most horses are lunged incorrectly with side reins.
Like I said before, Iâd love to see video with side reins that is allegedly correct.
So you cited less than a dozen instances of trainers abusing horses through misuse of training tools. And you think that justifies throwing all trainers and all training aids under the bus?
I would change the word to ignorant. Your comments on side reins show that you have a big hole in your knowledge of conformation, training etc. I have no idea what your background is but you can hurt a horse more by riding it upside down than by using sidereins appropriately.
Show me video of someone using side reins appropriately then.
I do not ride my horse inverted. Now you sound like Hester when he proclaimed to me on my page âI bet you bounce on your horseâs backâ when I disputed the merits of his seesaw reined LDR.
Your ad hominem attacks on me mean nothing as you are using your faulty assumption of my knowledge base as your primary argument.
Just show me someone lunging well in side reins getting the horse to stretch over his back with a telescoping neck into an open throatlatch, reaching neck.
Hereâs a hint: were I you Iâd probably look for Manolo Mendez videos. But an Olympian? Good luck.
I have a question for the group. It appears that there were (are) photos of some of the Olympic dressage horses competing in the Games with blue tongues. I assume that the stewards are watching warm ups so rolkur canât really be a causation, so what is causing the blue tongues if not rolkur? Do they not check the nose bands either before or after they show? Iâm just asking because I donât see how that could happen under the stewardsâ noses. Of course, the photos could be fake I suppose.