How often to lunge?

[Alice25]

After lunging Alfie for the first time yesterday, and finding it successful, it's something I'd like to do more often. But as Alfie is only young (5, nearly 6) I don't want to overdo it. Can anyone tell me how often I should be lunging him?? Thank you :)

[Leksi]

Lungework is something that is hard to over-do, since you can walk a lot, which won't wear him out. However, you don't want to make him sour and bored, and always want to end on a good note. Anywhere from 10-30 minutes 1-6 times a week is fine. If he gets moody, go back to something he knows and is good at, and end it there.

You can also drive him from the ground which teaches giving to the bit, etc. And lunge him over poles, crossrails, etc. once he becomes more advanced on the line. This will challenge him and make it interesting, so he won't get bored.

[Alflover]

oh and remember that whatever you do on the lunge is equivalent to double if you were riding. eg. 1/2hr on the lunge is like an 1hr ridden. Atleast i think it is anyway :) So obviously dont overdo it. Maybe 1/2hr twice a week? More or less depending on fitness.

[Tharg]

Do long reining on him, just as good as lunging without the stress on joints from doing circles.

[Sam and Blake]

i wouldnt do it for more than 15/20 minutes its too hard work because they are constantly on a circle so do 10 minutes on one rein then 10 minutes on the other.

[Eli_Jay]

long reining is apparently more effective than lunging because you have more control and mobility (i.e. you can work in a circle or straight)
I lunge cheque before i ride him - even if its just for a couple of minutes. it wakes him up, gives him a chance to stretch with the saddle on without the added weight of me on his back, and lets me work out what sort of mood he's in. If he's in a sleepy, dozy mood, lunging will wake him a up a little, if he's full fo beans I'll lunge him for half an hour or so and get the tickle out of him so he's settled when i hop on.
Alflover, I suspect that half on hour on the lunge is equivalent to fifteen minutes riding because there is no added weight of the rider. circling can be strenuous, but generally they are circled while being ridden. if cheques particularly spooky or stirred up when i ride him, I will generally work him in a 20m circle and do series of figure eights and serpentines rather than go large.

[cowgurlz4eva89]

6 really isn't that young, and you can lunge him as much as you need to. though personally, i'd rather get on and work with them. i don't beleive in lunging

[Caz&Irena]

If you have a menage to yourself then you can vary what you do on the lunge to keep him interested. I lunge my horse before I ride her and what I do is walk her around the outside of the menage a couple of times (also useful to let her see what is going on outside and nip any spooks in the bud!). Then I circle her in each corner, then circle on each side. I go down the centre line, straight and change the rein. I go across the menage in a loop. I do all this in walk and then trot. If she gets a bit fast then I just do a circle wherever I am and carry on around. I started to do this because she seemed so bored going around in a circle all the time and switched off (and she is not a slow horse ridden). Now she is so forward going on the lunge. I'm practising some NH movements with her too so every now and then I will ask her to come into me from the circle and stop where she will get a treat and a cuddle! I do this because my horse can be quite hot when ridden and it takes the edge off her if I'm hacking out. I would suggest that you keep the sessions quite short to begin with and build them up gradually.

[eventerbabe]

keep sessions short, 15 minutes is plenty :) i don't lunge very often, about once every 2 months!!! but once or twice a week should be fine. as others have mentioned, have a go at long reining too :)

[Leksi]

And as a safety measure.. circles should be 40 feet in diameter (20 feet radius) at least to prevent too much stress on the circling horse. And always do both directions.

And the time is not a big deal, 15-20 minutes is hardly a warm-up. Unless they are trotting and cantering the whole time (which they shouldn't be), you can lunge for 30 minutes and be fine. As long as you let the horse walk plenty, lunging is not bad to be done for 30 minutes. Long-reining (or driving from the ground) is very good as well, and breaks up the monatony of circling.

I do lunge work, like Eli Jay said, to benefit the horse before riding, and also incorporate it into my training. I do not ask a horse to do something with me on him that I haven't asked him to do from the ground. Lunge work is vital to dressage training, and I have seen horses begin to engage their hindquarters and give to the bit within 15 minutes of lunge work, for the first time. It's like a light bulb goes off, "Man, this is MUCH easier!" :p

I love it, the communication you have from the ground, as well as being able to SEE what the horse is doing and not have to feel it. It warms them up, relaxes them, and gets them ready to work.

[Eli_Jay]

well said leksi! :D

[Eli_Jay]

i don't beleive in lunging
Could you please elaborate?

[Tharg]

6 really isn't that young

I think its still young, granted not an absolute baby but still young non the less.