Both Horses Won't Lunge?

Mochi

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Hi there! I'm looking for some tips regarding lunging. A month ago we purchased two horses from separate owners, a 16 year old New Forest gelding, and a 16 year old warmblood mare. Both are experienced horses, our gelding came from a riding school and a few years ago he was out competing in show jumping. My mare is a successful show jumping/xc competitor. So this is not down to inexperience or greeness! Ill get right into it and start with the pony.

We were messing around with them one evening last weekend and we popped the gelding on the lunge to see how it would go. For my sister (who's pony he is) he worked well on both leads, however when I tried he refused to work on the right lead. The next day he refused to work on the right for my sister, in fact even seeming really confused about what she was asking him. We recalled having never seen him lunged on the right with the previous owners and so speculated that he's never been taught on that lead although that seemed a bit outrageous. However now for the last two days he has refused to lunge on either lead at all. He seems confused, he follows my sister around, and he wont go in the correct direction for more then two or three steps without turning in again.

My mare is starting to do the same thing. The first day she, like him, lunged on the left but then would only follow me around closely on the right. So the second day I started on the right and she lunged well, but then wouldn't switch to the left. Yesterday she would not lunge at all. I know she knows how to do both leads, this seems to be more stubbornness then anything else but she's not protesting or acting out, she just isn't listening.

How do we get both horses to lunge on both leads? We don't have an arena or a round pen so we've been working them in the field. We don't have a trailer at the moment so no way of getting to a local arena. Thank you for reading and any help would be much appreciated!
 

JillA

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You need someone to show you - it's all about body position, yours and theirs. Bear in mind that the back end is the bit you need to concentrate on , the front end is under control on the lunge rein. Isn't there someone who can show you and teach you the position you need to be in (behind the girth basically)
Could you make a round pen out of electric fencing and tall poly posts to give them some boundaries?
 

HeyMich

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It sounds like you are giving them both confusing signals, and if you keep on doing what you are doing then it's only going to get worse. Little subtle things like only taking steps forwards and not back can have a huge effect on how they go.

I'd copy what JillA says above, and get a more experienced person to show you how.
 

Mochi

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Hi JillA and HeyMitch! Thanks for your responses. While we are new to lunging, I do believe we have had the correct positioning when we started. Now we cannot even get to that position because they just turn around and face us. Could it be that we weren't correct one time and now they're confused the other times even though we're correct now?

We've tried getting a second person to lead him in a circle while the other is in position in the center, but as soon as that second person leaves he stops and turns in. I've tried pushing her out physically, I've tried trotting her immediately to see if that would click (it didn't), all she does is completely turn around to be next to me. I do have a friend who could help us so I'll contact her and make sure!

Also good suggestion about the round pen, I hadn't really thought about that. I'll see if I can put something together.
 

Mochi

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Come to think of it the last couple of days where I've been trying to move her out I may have compromised my position...Ill try again today for a few minutes and really focus on staying behind the girth.
 

MissTyc

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I used to make a lot of money helping people lunge their horses. It's amazing how sensitive horses are, and how important it is for some horses to have 100% correct signals from the handler . I have one gelding who will go round on the lunge for anyone. He doesn't care. My mare, however, if you lower your gaze she slows down, if you turn your shoulder fractionally she will change the size of circle. If you step towards her shoulder even a fraction she slows and stops. If you step towards her hind end she speeds up. She is SUPER to lunge - you can run through all your gaits and lateral work. So much fun. But when a less experienced handler holds the line, she mostly stands and stares at them and waits for a signal she understands.
 

Pinkvboots

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It sounds like they have just learnt how to get out of doing it, most people are weaker on one side so my guess is they pick up on you not being as efficient on that rein and have learnt to evade it, might be worth getting an experienced person to give you a hand, I helped someone a few weeks back the horse just would not move for them, I had the horse trotting round immediately when he realised I wasn't going to put up with it, horses are clever at reading peoples body language you have to do things and mean it, lunging is a bit of a skill much like riding it can take a while to master it but it's all done on the same principle.
 

Cortez

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You need to get someone who knows what they're doing to show you how to do it. If you were doing it correctly, the horses would be lunging, non? Horses (especially older ones) can figure out in a microsecond exactly what you know and will happily feign complete ignorance until you learn how to do it properly and can make them do it.
 

SamBean

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I had someone show me on mine this week as using a pessoa for the first time and wanted it to be positive experience for us both, he was lunged in the field so no boundaries, with me lunging on my own last night. He turned in once but I quickly realised I had moved forward from level with his hip to his shoulder which invited him to stop and move in. As soon as I realised and corrected myself he was fine and I'm so pleased with the way he is figuring things out and building up together. I didn't realise how much our position affects them so glad I took the offer of advise and help first.
 

Mochi

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Just came back from out of the field. Completely ignored me, I kept trying to stay behind her girth but she just turned towards me so all I was doing was walking backward. Frankly she looked bored with the whole thing. I think Cortez is right that she's figured out she can ignore me in this area. I won't try again until I've talked with my friend, hopefully she can come over and help us sort this out. I don't want to encourage this behaviour. I guess I'll focus more on riding this week then! :p

Im glad its working out for you SamBean! Its amazing how in tune to those sorts of things horses are, I knew lunging was a skill but I didn't realise in what way. Time for some personal reflection and concentration!

Thank you very much for the responses, hopefully I'll have some positive updates soon.
 

JillA

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If I get one who has learned to turn in I watch for the hesitation that precedes it and sprint to their rear end before they have completed the turn. And again, and drive them forward strongly, but timing is all. Do you know how to long line? Because you can do that on a circle until they have learned but really you need someone whose timing and body language are good to get them going properly and to show you how.
Or wave my lunge whip at their shoulder before they have completed the turn, to push the shoulder out. It is a question of ready the signals and being there before them - it really isn't as easy as some people make it look lol
 

Counterpoint

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As said, Lunging properly is actually hard, and a skill that isn't taught as much as it should be. Horses are v good at reading you and just opening your hand can change them completely. Part of the skill is reading and reacting quickly, just like catching them before they break a pace or half halting just right. It does come with practice, but I agree that you should get someone experienced to help you help them...
 

oldie48

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Just to interject: lunging is not in the least easy to do correctly, and is a much neglected skill: I wish people (and horses) were taught the skills from the beginning as it is a much neglected and extremely useful tool.
Lunging and long reining are really quite difficult skills and I am always surprised when posters on here suggest either to quite inexperienced owners as a way of sorting problems. You also need to be quite confident. I'd get an experienced person to help you and teach you the skills. good luck!
 

Lammy

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At college we had to do a whole module on lunging! One thing I will say is never step backwards the horse needs to move away from you not the other way around.
 

splashgirl45

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agree with everyone else you need someone experienced to show you and the horses what to do, it is not easy but once you get the idea of what to do when you should be fine
 

only_me

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The PC has a test entirely on lunging, and also forms part of the A test!
I was lucky to be taught how to properly lunge, once you get the hang of it it gets easier but it’s not something you want to get wrong.

I think you need to get someone out even just to observe what you are doing - it could be as simple as you are standing to far towards the girth rather than at the shoulder!
 

Pippity

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Just to interject: lunging is not in the least easy to do correctly, and is a much neglected skill: I wish people (and horses) were taught the skills from the beginning as it is a much neglected and extremely useful tool.

Yep, when I got my cob she could 'lunge' to the extent of bombing around on a circle with the odd bronc or tank to the far corner of the school thrown in. I could 'lunge' to the extent of controlling the speed of a well-trained and willing horse.

We've both had lessons since then, and are now at the point where she'll actually work on the lunge. (Even better - she's no longer terrified of the lunge whip, and whips in general.)

It's something I didn't realise I was terrible at until a) it all went wrong, and b) I had somebody to teach me.
 

KautoStar1

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Just to interject: lunging is not in the least easy to do correctly, and is a much neglected skill: I wish people (and horses) were taught the skills from the beginning as it is a much neglected and extremely useful tool.

same with long reining.
 

KautoStar1

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Long reining is an even more advanced skill, and it is vanishingly rare to find a trainer that really can use this very fine art properly. I've only ever seen it done well in Spain & Portugal, or Vienna.

I've had some lessons from Simon Battram and it is indeed a skill. I try to incorporate it into regular work and only hope I'm doing it justice. The amount of people who ask why i bother, when the horse is 16, is interesting. People think its just part of the backing process.
 

Cortez

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I've had some lessons from Simon Battram and it is indeed a skill. I try to incorporate it into regular work and only hope I'm doing it justice. The amount of people who ask why i bother, when the horse is 16, is interesting. People think its just part of the backing process.
I'd never long rein a green horse unless it was going to be a driving horse; the long lines are for advanced horses. I'm just about to put my oldest horse into the reins for some haute ecole training, he's 15 and only really ready to go above the ground now.
 

KautoStar1

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I'd never long rein a green horse unless it was going to be a driving horse; the long lines are for advanced horses. I'm just about to put my oldest horse into the reins for some haute ecole training, he's 15 and only really ready to go above the ground now.

I've found it particularly useful for rehab work, over poles and walking straight lines when box resting.
 

tristar

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i always long rein after lunging youngsters,before backing, so i know they can understand stop from gently letting them walk into the bit and catching them, turn on either rein and go from halt to walk to trot back to walk and halt so when i get on they just go from the leg from the start.

to each his or her own way i suppose
 

Myloubylou

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I have the opposite problem, my new mare only seems to want to trot, doesn’t respond to downward transition voice commands. Never occurred to me that might not be lunging correctly as my other mare is so trained to the voice can’t use the words & now even abbreviations on a hack else she changes. I’d love a lunge lesson but do instructors do this?
 

Red-1

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I have the opposite problem, my new mare only seems to want to trot, doesn’t respond to downward transition voice commands. Never occurred to me that might not be lunging correctly as my other mare is so trained to the voice can’t use the words & now even abbreviations on a hack else she changes. I’d love a lunge lesson but do instructors do this?

Yes, when I was still teaching I would do lessons on whatever people needed. Lessons on catching, leading, loading, lungeing, long reining, picking feet out, mounting... they were the common ones.

Of course, I did also to dressage and jumping, but I loved those where people wanted to learn better horsemanship and body language from the floor.
 

Myloubylou

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She’s really easy to handle, responds to voice cues to go and woah when led but seems unsure on the lunge. Maybe my body language is too dominant?
 

JillA

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She’s really easy to handle, responds to voice cues to go and woah when led but seems unsure on the lunge. Maybe my body language is too dominant?

Dominant or not, body language is always significant to horses. If you are behind the girth/roller line you are sending forward, to slow down you need to be level or slightly in front of that line. And reduce the circle gets them to slow down as they can't manage smaller circles at the faster paces. That is when you can add the voice cue and reward so they learn about the voice
 
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