Our equipment makes a difference!
Easy to handle and lightweight.
In cooperation with Arthur Kottas-Heldenberg, our longstanding mentor and trainer, we developed the EPP Longeing Equipment.
Regardless of our horses’ training level we are regularly working them in-hand as well. First, they have to be warmed up forward-downward during the loosening exercises in each training session when working correctly. Afterwards working continues in Gebrauchshaltung – not as free as in a “natural bearing” and the nose should be no lower than the point of shoulder – while we aim for a certain degree of elevation in our more advanced horses.
We always felt it to be inconvenient and time-consuming to remove and re-fasten the auxiliary reins – we used either side reins or running side reins.
Usually the side rein has to be freed of the roller’s ring in order to laboriously re-thread it in a new position. Naturally, this took quite some time and disrupted a smooth flow. Delays arose frequently when working with the double longe or doing Schools Above the Ground, because the longe lines did not always run smoothly in their rings.
Together with Arthur we often discussed these problems and how to solve them in a clever way. Along with him we devised a system for a swift re-attaching of the side reins allowing for a smooth running of the double longe lines through the rings.
The Long Roller
The roller is made of easy-care and durable neoprene which has less weight than a bulky leather roller. The girth is sufficiently long to use the roller on top of a saddle. The upper rings are fixed in an erect position to guide the double longe and longe line.
In addition to the commonly featured rings there are eight extra buckles on the roller so that different options can be chosen and each requested carriage of the horse’s head can be preset applying our EPP Schooling Side Rein.
On the lower girth section there are four supplementary buckles located, enabling the EPP Schooling Side Reins to be fitted as follows:
- Like Vienna running side reins fastened to the roller between the forelegs and laterally. This setting leads the way downward.
- Like Lauffer reins fastened laterally in the middle for Gebrauchshaltung – not as free as in a “natural bearing” and the nose should be no lower than the point of shoulder. Such a setting is relevant for the working phase of a training session.
- Like Lauffer reins in the upper section; this setting supports a certain degree of elevation.
The EPP Schooling Side Rein
Our EPP Schooling Side Rein with its buckle attachment embodies a practical advancement for selecting either the features of a Vienna running side rein or a Lauffer rein according to the present case of training level. Exactly fitting into the respective buckles of our roller it allows for an easier, faster setting – be it a forward-downward position, the “not as free as in a natural bearing” (Gebrauchshaltung) or a more elevated carriage. Since our reins run freely through the bit rings – unlike customary side reins – they encourage the horse to hold themselves up in self-carriage in every adjustment. Thereby, a “resting” by leaning on a rigidly fixed side rein is no longer possible.
To inflict less harm on the horse’s mouth we principally use a Vienna Cavesson when longeing. Correctly implemented, the cavesson is a great help in schooling horses in a healthy and considerate way.
Christy Scotch of Christy Scotch Dressage in Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a pupil of Arthur Kottas-Heldenberg and shows half steps with her 7year old mare “Damenwahl” (Sire: Desperados) by using our EPP Longeing Equipment.
Conclusion
With the full-range set consisting of the EPP Longeing Roller, EPP Schooling Side Reins and Vienna Cavesson – complete with straps for attaching the bit to the cavesson – you are optimally equipped both for longeing and in-hand work.
From the young remount to basic work from the ground to support riding through to the most collecting exercises – the EPP Longeing Equipment assists in your work at each stage of training.
