The Sliding Side Rein/Lauffer Rein
The sliding side rein gives a bit more freedom to the horse than the standard side rein. It attaches from a lower ring on the surcingle, through the bit ring, and back up to an upper ring on the surcingle. This allows the horse to stretch down and lower his head while still maintaining contact with the bit, and are therefore useful on horses that are tight in the back, carry their head too high, or are learning to stretch forward and down for the bit contact.
Like the side rein, the lauffer rein is adjusted so that the horse has contact with it when his head is at or just in front of the vertical. Green horses should have the lauffer rein attached to a lower and middle surcingle rein, while more advanced horses can have the reins raised to a middle and high ring on the surcingle.
The sliding side rein was designed to be attached to the outside rings of the surcingle, not between the legs. Running the reins between the legs can encourage a horse to get behind the bit and overflex.
Read more about this topic: Side Reins
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