Practicing long-reining and hitching up with a single tree for the first time

After our first lesson in long-reining, Flora is now ready for some more advanced exercises. We practice going around plastic cones and over a pole in the paddock - both useful exercises to train Flora to respond to the reins and voice.
The next step is to get Flora used to pulling. I start her with a light training breast harness. With this harness, I can carry the traces in one hand (with the reins in the other hand), and start applying some pull on the traces, so that Flora can learn to push into the breast plate, rather than stepping away from the pull.
Flora is then ready to be hitched up to the single tree for the first time. The weight of the tree pulls enough on the traces to make her feel the pressure on the breast harness - all we want for a first lesson in pulling is gentle pressure she can manage easily. A heavier load would discourage and demoralise her. When I try something new for the first time, I find it is more important to achieve a small step well, rather than getting lots of work done. This success, however small, gives reason for praise and gives the horse confidence and raises their self-esteem and motivation.

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Видео Practicing long-reining and hitching up with a single tree for the first time канала Work Horse Trainer