Loose schooling

[ponies-R-gr8!!!]

Sorry this is a really dumb question and dont worry i am not going to attempt it until i know what i am doing:cool:
How do you get a horse to listen to what you are saying, and make him go where you want him to go without a lunge line?
I think that obviously they would have been trained on the lunge first to follow voice commands etc. Am i right?

[Zingy]

Depends how big the area is as to how easy it is. In something up to about 20x40m it is possible to work them loose by yourself without much training. Bigger than that and you really need 2 people (or 1 very fit one to run up and down the school!) Just block the corners off otherwise they tend to get a bit stuck in them, then use a lunge whip and voice aids to get them moving.

To turn, get slightly ahead of them and 'block' off that direction (you don't get right in front of them, just stay in the middle but move slightly ahead and flick the lunge whip a little way in front) - mostly they'll turn fairly easily from that.

Slowing down and stopping can be more difficult with a forward going horse, but basically, use voice aids and body language, so things like walk slowly or stop, drop your eye contact, round your shoulders etc so that you stop driving them forward.

It takes a little while before you really get them going well, but can be great fun and they'll start to react more to just voice aids - at first you really need the other aids (body language and whip) to show more clearly what you're after, unless they're already just trained to voice. When you start off, just try to keep the pace nice and steady and you won't go too far wrong - it's when you get too much speed up for the space you're in that things start to get very hairy. I used to loose school 2 of mine together. Their transitions were accurate enough that I could get them to change pace at any letter and the pair of them would do synchronised turns to change direction! Kept trying to video them, but I couldn't work the video camera and them at the same time :rolleyes:

[Skyhuntress]

Hm, I find that most horses listen pretty well loose if you get them responding to you on the lunge first.

Some are better then others. Storm runs a perfect circle around me and stops when he's tired.

Limerick I need to constantly chase him with a lunge whip to get him moving.

Interestingly enough, I find that they are the same loose as they are on the lunge. If they are slow and require more to get them moving on the lunge, you'll have a harder time getting them to move while loose

Kep in mind that you always want to try to stay just right behind their eye, so they can always see you

And if worse comes to worse, have a friend help you! nothing wrong with that

[ponies-R-gr8!!!]

Thanks for the advice, that was really helpful:)
I will get it sussed and be able to do it perfect...one day:rolleyes: :p

[Brandy Snap]

I did this with B on monday!

I've never attempted it before but figured what the hay!

Popped him on the lunge first, and worked him for about 5- 10 mins on both sides in walk and trot (and halt! - he's not very good at that one!) Then took the lunge line off and stood in the middle of the school and just said "walk on" and he did! Had to point the lunge whip at his shoulder at first to keep him out (he's an old man and I dont like him to do small circles!) but once he realised I wanted him on the track he was fine, went up into trot with a little encoragment from the whip! and trotted round beautifully, then came back to walk on voice command straight away and when I asked him to halt, I stopped and asked for halt and he did it much quicker than he does on the lunge! Even tried a canter with him loose! Wheee!!!

You should give it a bash, but I'd recomend lunging first to get the horse in the right frame of mind and then just have a little play!

[ponies-R-gr8!!!]

wicked, sounds like you did great!:) I will have to try it with Pheobe when i go and next visit:D

[Dummer&Drummer]

i recommend you give it a go even without knowing what you are doing - play and watch your'll instinctively pick things up

me and drummer started and the first few times he'd play or fart buck and gallop and nothing else, then once he trotted, after a few strides i whipped him out of the school and treated him and so on and he got the idea that gallop was not the way forward lol

now he will stand walk trott canter trott walk stand, change the rein, turning outwards (not inwards yet) come in to me, go away and jump single jumps in trott or canter (depending on what i ask) and doubles

we been doing this loose schooling for a couple of months now....look up my old threads has a lot of great info in it (not from me lol) x