How To Line Drive A Horse.



This is a picture of a girl line driving. In this picture
 the girl is standing a little close to the horse's backend
and there is no bridle in this horse's mouth.

Line driving a horse can be a great way to start out young horses who are not used to a bridle and bit yet and for teaching horses new movements. Line driving is the first step in the driving process. It is very good for someone who may be nervous to just jump on a young horse and ride. This will help build the rider's confidence as well as teach the horse many valuable techniques.

To line drive you will need some equipment. This equipment includes a halter, leadline, bridle with a snaffle bit, two lines that are anywhere from 30 feet to 45 feet in length, and a surcingle. The halter will be on the horse with the bridle over. The leadline will then be attatched to the halter. By having a halter attatched to the horse, there can be a spotter or someone that holds the leadline while the other person is line driving. This is just for safety reasons and once the horse is more experienced you should be able to get rid of the spotter all together. The lines are attatched, one to each ring on the snaffle and are then put through the sides of the surcingle. The surcingle is attached around the horse.

When line driving a young horse for the first time, the spotter should be close to the horse's head. This will help reasure the horse so he/ she does not get scared. If the horse gets scared it will make line driving a bad experience for the horse. This is the last thing that you want to do. The line driver will be behind the horse. Be sure to stand relativly far back in case the horse decides to kick, so you are not in the crossfire. Begin by asking the horse to move forward at a walk. The spotter should also walk forward too. You can then ask the horse to stop. The spotter should stop too. This can be repeated a couple time. Do not overdo anything by repeating the same activity over and over. This wil bore the horse and if they are young they will find something bad to do to distract themselves. Give the horse a job. This is to help keep the horse's mind sane. In the lesson you can also ask the horse to turn right and left and also to back up. Be gentle on the mouth of the horse so they do not become hard on the bit. This will require harser bits when you actually want to start riding. Just do simple movements and remember do not spend alot of time on the same task. Also, be sure to use alot of voice commands with the horse. For older horses you can still do these simple tasks but also add trotting in the mix. If your horse can trot, walk, and back in a straight line your training as paid off.  

Following this blog, there is a video that is also a great tool. The video is a little blury, but it shows what you should be doing with your horse while line driving. Line Driving Video



This is a typical surcingle. The lines would

be place therouh the first ring above the ground.