The classic method of attaching a longe line to a horse is to use a longing cavesson and attach the line to one of the rings on the nose. But longeing cavessons are very expensive, and, honestly, they’re not absolutely necessary.
Four other methods are also useful, depending on the horse and what you’re doing with him. Note, though, if you longe your horse in a bit, it should be a snaffle.
1. For youngsters who are just learning how to work with a bit in their mouths and to longe, put a leather or leather-crowned halter on over the bridle and attach the longe line to the halter ring under the chin. We start longeing young horses in halters (without bridles), as we believe that gives them a less distracting introduction to longeing.
2. A second method is to run the longe line through the bit’s inside ring, under the chin, and attach it to the outside bit ring. This method puts equal pressure on both sides of the bit, but we’ve found it can be a confusing pressure to some horses, especially to horses who try to pull away from you.
Run the longe line through the inside bit ring, under the chin, and attach it to the outside bit ring.
Run the longe line through the inside bit ring, over the head, and attach it to the outside bit ring.3. A third method is to pass the longe line through the bit’s inside ring, run it over the horse’s head, and attach it to the outside ring. Again, the purpose is to provide equal pressure on both sides of the mouth, but we’ve found some horses object to the longe line being passed over their heads, while it encourages other horses to tilt their heads to the inside.
Run the longe line through the inside bit ring, under the chin, and attach it to the outside bit ring.4. The fourth, and simplest, method is to attach the longe line to the bit’s inside ring. We’ve found horses to understand this best, but be careful if your horse has a particularly sensitive mouth, especially if you have side-reins attached.
