Changing direction on the lunge...

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khalino

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Hihi,

It's a really simple title and sounds a bit silly, but; I lunge in a cavesson or rope headcollar usually, and I've seen people be able to ask a horse to change direction just by stepping in front of the shoulder or holding out the lunge whip and its something I'd really like to teach my boy, so I don't have to keep asking him to approach me every time I need to change the rein.

Any tips, ideas?
 
Just be careful if you want to teach this as it can teach some horses to "turn in" when being lunged which means you would have to try undoing that bit of training. They may just start changing reins and turning in on you to try and get out of being lunged.

I would rather stop the horse, lead it accross the "circle" and point them in the other direction that way.

But obviously its your horse OP.
 
Mine doesn't approach me. I ask him to halt and then I approach him and reposition both of us to set off on the other rein. That doesn't really answer your question on how to to it though does it?!
 
Are they using two lunge lines I've longreining on a circle. I would not ever change direction in the manner you describe when using one rein myself. I would use Kat's method.

On two reins it's completely different and the horse turns to the outside to change rein. To do this you shorten your outside rein while slipping the inside rein and turn the horse, first making sure there is room for it to do the manoever.
 
Erm, I've lunged like this. It was how I was taught to lunge. I think it was more of a body language thing. I always asked them to stop then stepped in front of the shoulder and put the whip out in the other direction and whistled just as you described. Sometimes it required you to reposition them on the circle and then step back again before asking them to walk on again before they got the hang of it.

There is the danger of them trying to spin inwards as previously suggested in which case you have to be quick to "block" it by repeating what you would to ask them to change in the first place. If that makes sense.

I don't do it any more as I lunge in a bridle not a cavesson. And it's a bit of hassle but my horse doesn't try to spin because he doesn't know how.
 
I was shown how to do this in a long lining lesson, but I didn't like it and neither did the horse. No idea what the benefit of doing it that way is. I've filed the technique into the 'Tried it, but no thanks' file.

I much prefer stopping the horse out on the end of the line and approaching it myself to change the rein or end the session.
 
That's how I do it. I was taught how to rope him first and use body language to tell him to go the other way. It's easy once you know how but I couldn't explain in words lol.

Id reccomend watching some videos by Jason webb if you can
 
Using the horses own language when you work with them goes to re-enforcing your place at the top of the pecking order. I do little bits with my horse every day and occasionally do roping sessions on their own. It's a valuable tool for bolshy horses and a top tactic for tricky loaders
 
Sounds a bit odd to do that on a lunge line won't the horse end up a bit tangled? I do that when free lunging but never on the lunge line.
 
There's a couple of methods and exercises you can use. The one which I think you are describing is where the horse does a kind of turn on the haunches and then goes in the opposite direction with the handler staying in the same spot

The other is where the handler walks backwards a little and invites the horse to come in towards the centre of the circle and then sends the horse away in the opposite direction so the horse makes a kind of s shape through the centre of the circle.

They both have pretty important prerequisites. The first method you would need to be able to send the quarters slightly to the outside so that the shoulders stay on the circle to ensure the horse doesn't get tangled in the rope, then your body language has to be spot on, you are inviting the horses shoulders and guiding them to an open space going back the other way on the circle and blocking the quarters from disengaging.

In the other method you must be able to adjust your position and be able to send the shoulders away from a distance, otherwise you might get run over.

I don't very much like the first exercise and don't use it myself but the second exercise I find very useful as you can change the rein in any pace and incorporate serpentines, and many changes of rein within walk, trot and canter whenever you like making lunging more interesting and IMO useful
 
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