Help with Lunging Technique

[Baileigh]

My lunging technique leaves a lot to be desired!

I work in general without a cavasson, although I do have one that I can work with. I have a roller, ropes, and whip as well.

I'm not a complete novice to lunging, and can lunge quite well with a reasonably experienced horse who understands the concept is to go round in circles. But I fail miserably when the horse doesn't realise the point of the endeavor, like my horse Baileigh.

Baileigh - as you may have seen in other posts - is a BIG horse, he's a heavyweight cob, and the true meaning of heavy - he looks a bit like the side of a house, and is fully aware of his own strength and abilities. He's very green when it comes to lunging, and our few attempts so far could be screened on ''You've Been Framed''

However, I intend to get him back into work this year, and lunging is much required. I don't always have access to help, which is a problem, as lunging him without help ends up with him standing in the middle and me running circles around him. When I have got help, he moves perfectly, but he doesn't carry it over to lunging alone. If the person stops, he stops, and no matter what we've tried so far, he's paying attention to the person leading him rather than the person lunging him.

We do have a few good minutes, when he seems to catch onto what I want and trots in a circle, bending, and without fighting with me, and we *almost* look like we know what we're doing, then he'll stop and walk towards me, and so far I've not figured out how to stop him doing that - in most cases it ends up with me running away from him, desperately trying to get back into a position to lunge him from while winding up the rope.

So... help and advice much appreciated. He is a good sport, and I reckon once I'm a bit more confident and maybe have a few tricks up my sleeve, we'll get on quite well - and quickly! Thanks

[Pink's lady]

Where abouts are you? in scotland somewhere? There's bound to be help somewhere nearby.

Start off with a very small circle, and just in walk. Make sure you stay behind him and keep him going forward. Short of poking him in the shoulder with the stick when he comes in, keeping him going forward is the only way to keep him out. As soon as he looks like he's about to turn in, send him on strongly, almost into a trot, remembering to keep behind him. Side reins will help keep him straight.

Remember lunging is a boring as sin for a horseso keep it short. do a few walk/halt transitions, a couple of trot trnasitions, never making the horse go round for more than 2 laps, and finish it.

[baxter]

i've had the same problem with my youngster, i had a lunge lesson with my instructor to stop my boy falling in and turning in... position of yourself is important as is the lunge whip and how you use it, i recommend, THE ART OF LUNGING book, it's an old old book, but the techniques are the same as now.
If i were you i'd book a half hour lunging lesson with a trainer... we've not looked back since, although he's been on and off poorly, but a trainer will rectify the problems immediately.
x

[Jessey]

With youngsters (or green horses) you have to be very aware of your body position and language.
The aim is to create a triangle between you and the horse, you being the point, your whip and rope and horse being the sides. To start with try to just be a couple of feet away, so you can 'lead' with your rope hand and physically drive with your whip hand (sometimes gently touching the whip on the rump helps get the idea to move forwards accross). Remember when your rope is short you will have to walk a large circle so your horse is still on a big circle. Then as you progress you can slowly start lengthening the rope out (and making your circle smaller) until you are at full length.

Your body in comparison with the horse has roughly 3 positions, in front of the shoulder = stop, in line with the rib cage = steady, in line with/behind the rump = the driving forward position. You can play around with these, get your horse stood still and move your body in comparison to his, he should stop/turn in, stand quietly or move forward but this will help you find out how much pressure you need to effect what your horse does. Also standing big (arms held up/out, taking big active steps and facing the horse) will make them move off quicker and minimising (arms by your side, head lowered, moving slowly) will help stop him.

Also for a horse that turns in the touching the shoulder with the whip is a good idea, I also use the word 'out' firmly then when you get to far away to be able to touch anymore a firm 'out' and pointing the whip at the shoulder should prevent it.

Good luck

J x

[Kira657]

How about simply getting someone to lead him around on the circle until he get the hang of it a bit more? Either way I'm sure with patience and time it will all come together

[cvb]

Horses, sadly, don't come loaded with "lunging software" ;)

which means we need to teach them. Start with leading, but rather than having the leading line in the hand nearest the horse, have it in the other hand, and have a whip (dressage, dealers, lunge) in the other. Use the hand the line is in to "lead" the horse forward, backing it up with the whip if necessary.

Traditional lunge methods often have you facing the horse. Don't - you'll fall over :p Have a slight turn towards the horse, but face roughly in the direction you are moving. Walk forward in a large circle.

As you walk, start to feed the line out and use your body language and the whip to ask him to move away. As he walks at a greater distance, gradually reduce the size of the circle YOU are walking so he stays on roughly the same line.

Now horses have a "bubble" of personal space - its roughly oval shaped if you could draw it on the line. You need to "push" that bubble by walking in to it ;) If you walk ahead of the "bulge", you push it back.. Play with it a bit to find out where your horse responds...

Make sure you are always working forward - not backwards - he has to get away from you, not the other way around ! And for now, just go as far away as you have control, so that he learns the idea... then do a little more, a little further away, as he learns and stays out.

[Baileigh]

Pink's Lady:

We're in Central Scotland - there is help nearby, but it's more getting time together, I have some friends who are more than willing to help, and we seem to miss being able to time things together.

I'll try again on Small Circles - admittedly when we first started on those, he was much younger and used to bulldoze me (awful to watch) - but he's better mannered now, and likely he would accept that. It's the keeping him moving part that is often the issue. When he decides to stop, he stops. (Although luckily, long reining him - it's not so much of an issue)

Baxter:

With any luck, my friend's mum will be coming round to help, I'm hoping to book her for a lesson which I plan to be just about sorting him out. He's very much a p*ss taker, and a new firm hand is often good (as long as they don't dissolve into tears of laughter at his comical faces and feet stomping action).

Jessey:

Thanks for that - you pointed out something that I hadn't quite understood before - the walking with them on a short rope in a circle. It seems a bit blatant now I think about it, but I'll definitely try that (with our brand new lidl rope!). I'll give that a bash, and get back to you, he gets his feet trimmed tomorrow, so he'll just get ridden tomorrow, then Sunday I'll *hopefully* be riding my mare and schooling him on the ground :-)

Kira657:

I tried getting other people to lead him round for me while I lunged to give him the idea - the problem was he always ended up following/copying them, and never seemed to get the point of I was in charge. So while they walked him, it was fine, when they stopped. He stopped. I also don't always have people able to come out and help, which has been a problem.

Cyb:

Thanks, will put what you said to use. Unfortunately, the bubble of personal space doesn't seem to bother Baileigh. My mare Rowen is very aware - and in turn makes others aware of her persona space, she'll shake her head when you get too close or at least tilt her head. And of course when working on the lunge, if you approach, she moves off. Perfect. Baileigh on the other hand associates people with food, and when you approach he's like great, I'm getting something. So rarely he reacts when you go into his personal space, his main reaction is to search our pockets for what we have. It's kinda like trying to lunge a slobbering dog. I will however keep in mind moving forwards, it's easy to inadverdantly start moving backwards to correct something - like him coming in.

[Em 1]

My horse tends to fall in when lunging so I use a technique Claire Lilley suggests to stop him. You lay out four poles in a square, then you stand in the square and work the horse round the outside of the square. If you then move with them using the whip as others have suggested they are much less likely to fall in.

[Esther.D]

A helper at his head initially can be a tremendour help as well, treat him like a baby until he has got the idea, and as others have said keep the sessions short :) He sounds like a character!:D

Oh and have you tried longreining - I find that sometimes works wonders on those who are easily bored and don't lunge very well (I have Shetlands so am used to short attention spans of the easily bored!)

[rabbit]

When my horse comes in towards me, I say OUT and point the whip at her shoulder.

If this doesn't work, I run towards her and let my body language do the talking :D Generally she takes off and decides that invading my space is a bad idea.

[Megans mum]

My big lad absolutely hates lunging he just takes off when he has had enough usually dragging the lung lines all through the mud' I just think it is hard work for him as he is heavy and just long line instead' you can lunge on two lines too which my mare is very good at' I had a job with the pony when she was very young but she has got the hang of it now and goes well' personally I cant see the sense of a lot of lunging cause it is really boreing for the horse just going round in circles'