Do you lunge with gadgets

[Mince Pie]

I wouldn't use either. I also get the horse working properly before adding a rider - no point adding a weight to a weak back.

First paragraph was in response to another post, I have never used bandages. I agree with your point but the question was "do you lunge with gadgets" and I did, but Cobby was 10 at the time. When he was 5 I lunged him a headcollar and just got the basics done - staying out on the circle, voice commands etc - when he was older we did the same as npage123 and he was warmed up and cooled down without the draw reins.

 

[Mooseontheloose]

There are so many variables. Are you lungeing just to exercise the horse, loosen it up, raise it's heart rate etc or are you lungeing to work and improve the horse? Different horses require different aids. Some could be 'worked' just off a lunge line, others need help or reminding of the way to go. None of them need strapping down and I would argue that correctly done, far from jarring joints lungeing properly prolongs a horse's active life by building core muscles which aid balance and lessen strain on front legs and joints.
All work, over done and without thought or expertise, can endanger a horse.
When lungeing for improvement you can watch the horse's muscle structure and see exactly what is happening. How a horse is on the lunge is often how he will go when ridden, and vice versa.
It's a shame that so many people find lungeing boring and I feel if that is the case it's better not done, as you need as much involvement with the horse to lunge correctly as you do when riding it.
And there is always the time when lungeing may be the only option so it's best to learn how to do it really wel.

 

[Tnavas]

No gadgets for me - cause more problems than they help.

Always a lunge cavesson, roller or saddle and side reins - correctly fitted for the level of work.

Unlike most I love lunging - nothing lovlier than watching your horse moving well, listening to you and following your commands promptly.

 

[Casey76]

It depends, sometimes I'll just lunge off the bridle, sometimes I'll use a surcingle and use elastic bungees as vienna reins. I prefer a vienna rein to fixed side reins and using elastic bungees mimics contact with a rider better than a fixed leather or nylon rein (imho)

 

[happyclappy]

I have never used anything other than either a headcollar or lunge cavesson with the lunge line and schooling whip to encourage/guide.

 

[EQUIDAE]

No gadgets for me - cause more problems than they help.

Always a lunge cavesson, roller or saddle and side reins - correctly fitted for the level of work.

Side reins are gadgets though...

 

[case895]

Cavesson and pessoa.

 

[Limbo1]

Only lung the pony - my horse too old and stiff. I just use bridle and line and whip. Practice transitions etc. Then if he is good let off the line for a gallop about. When he has had enough he trots bag to me and say - done now!

My old horse was a nightmare to lung. I always had to lung in full tack and side reins or passoa Otherewise he would gallop about at the end of the line towing me with him! Also would throw himself on the ground! At 17.2 it was a hairy experience. Safer all round to have him fight against himself not me. Once he worked that out he used to accept it and do some nice work. Always had 2-3 mins of silliness.

 

[Tnavas]

Side reins are gadgets though...

No they are not! - they are a classical part of lunging equipment - their function is to give a rein contact for the horse to work to. The teach the horse to accept a contact - passively - they do not force, restrain, put poll pressure on or force an outline unless fitted incorrectly.

Pessoas jump and bounce on your horses mouth, as do bungees, Vienna reins etc. They do not mimic in any way the way you will ride your horse later. Side reins correctly fitted, with a lunge line on the centre ring mimic the contact of the outside rein.

Are we not always taught Inside leg to outside rein?!! Your lunge line, gives half halts by gently moving the horses head a little to the inside and your whip creates the impulsion you would create with your inside leg - there is nothing more pure!

 

[only_me]

I don't normally lunge but considering doing it with horse in evenings after uni couple of times a week.
I think it's too much strain & I would prefer to long rein but I'm not good enough with the lines. Might try the equi ami as it has good reviews!

 

[Branna]

I use an equi ami. I find it really good, there is nothing for the horse to lean on and the design means you don't have the problem of the front and rear being fixed in the same way as a pessoa.

For me this contact resembles what you want for ridden work far more than side reins.

 

[madlady]

I have only lunged mine as youngsters so that they knew what it was - it's not a part of my normal routine. Long reining is part of the normal routine though.

Dandea was lunged with a chambon to encourage her to lower her head (without fixing it in place) and stretch over her back. After 3 sessions she got it and then I could ask her for the same when ridden so that's the total extent of my gadget use.

 

[Tnavas]

I use an equi ami. I find it really good, there is nothing for the horse to lean on and the design means you don't have the problem of the front and rear being fixed in the same way as a pessoa.

For me this contact resembles what you want for ridden work far more than side reins.

How can a piece of rope that goes around the quarters, through rings on the horses sides, through the bit ring to the girth mimic what you want when you ride? The mouth is jerked with every stride the horse takes.

When you ride you keep the outside rein contact quietly there, you don't fiddle and see saw which is exactly what the equiami does with every step the horse takes.

 

[pansymouse]

Just a Wels cavesson; I would use a whip but my horse is whip shy so I can't. I use patience not gadgets to get results.

 

[Branna]

It is a continuous loop, not attached anywhere so I don't agree that there is a see saw action - there certainly isn't when mine work with it.
For me side reins are too fixed by comparison. But I'm swayed by the fact mine works happily and correctly in an equi ami and has always hated side reins!
Horses for courses as they say.

 

[Tnavas]

It is a continuous loop, not attached anywhere so I don't agree that there is a see saw action - there certainly isn't when mine work with it.
For me side reins are too fixed by comparison. But I'm swayed by the fact mine works happily and correctly in an equi ami and has always hated side reins!
Horses for courses as they say.

Its fixed to the girth - and by going behind the quarters the rope is see sawed back and forth with the effect being on the horses mouth.

With side reins you can teach a horse to work with a still and quiet mouth - my last TB off the track was lunged in side reins - wherever you put your hand he would seek his bit and the contact - the outside rein was still unless asking for a half halt. You could completely drop the inside rein and he would stay on the bit with a correct bend.

 

[Embo]

I use an equi-ami for general lunging. Side reins (fairly loose) over poles/cavaletti and if over jumps, just a cavesson/headcollar.

Not wanting to get into the eqi-ami debate, but just to describe the equipment a little better. It's not a continuous loop like a pessoa. The front and back ropes are attached by way of a small loop which is attached to the roller. This prevents the horse jabbing itself in the mouth with every step - yes, the action can cause it to pull back slightly, but that's what the extra loop is for. If used correctly, it should have a similar effect as side reins, but not fixed to the bit. Equally, if the horse raises it's head too high or pulls about, it won't pull on the back end. The lengths of rope (front and back) can be altered independently of each other, too.

As always and with everything, it can be a harsh piece of equipment if used incorrectly. I like it, and will continue to use it as part of my lunging routine (about three or four times per month).

 

[Wagtail]

I have changed in my preferences over the years. I now tend to only use two reins for lunging as I find you have far more control over how they work that way. My current mare however reacted badly to the long reins (hates anything around her back legs so I backed her in a rope halter and lunge her from that too. I plan to move on to using two reins with the outside rein coming over her back very soon. I use this method if jumping a horse on long reins so that the reins don't interfere with their hind legs.

 

[Tnavas]

Thank You Embo for clarifying the fitting of the EquiAmi

 

[dibbin]

Usually just a bridle, sometimes just a headcollar, sometimes full tack if I'm just letting him blow off some steam before I get on.

 

[EQUIDAE]

No they are not! - they are a classical part of lunging equipment - their function is to give a rein contact for the horse to work to....... There is nothing more pure

True classical groundwork would call for two lunge lines. Side reins do not mimic the hand or contact at all - unless you ride with your hands by your knee and a fixed hand?

 

[laura_nash]

The only gadget I ever use these days is a "daisy rein" arrangement if I'm lunging on grass (cob has a tendency to try and snatch a mouthful when warming up / cooling down and its just easier than arguing with him about it). I also use two reins quite often.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I like to just use a normal bridle and two lines. I don't use a whip.
I'm not 100% sure on the correct use or fitting of most lunge aids and I feel I get a better tune out of them with two lines.

 

[Tnavas]

True classical groundwork would call for two lunge lines. Side reins do not mimic the hand or contact at all - unless you ride with your hands by your knee and a fixed hand?

The position of the side reins changes with the level of training.

I ride with a still outside hand - don't you?

Classical training STARTS. With lunging, Spanish Riding School

 

[Wagtail]

I ride with a still outside hand - don't you?

I don't. My hand gives and takes to maintain a steady contact. So it will sometimes move up or down, forward or back to maintain a consistent contact. So if the horse evades by coming behind the contact or yanks forward, the hand maintains a steady feel down the rein. If the hand is fixed like a side rein then the rein will vary in its tautness and may even have no contact at all depending on what the horse is doing. Only when a horse is going perfectly and carrying itself will my hands be still. Therefore this is only achieved once the horse has learnt this.

 

[Batgirl]

Depending on the horse and what I am looking to achieve I will lunge with gadgets - and without. But I always bang on that it is essential to understand what the kit is for, how it influences the horse's way of going and how to fit it. The use of any gadget -lunging or otherwise - without the user understanding it is a pet hate!

This basically, if I am aiming for a leg stretch, nada.

If I am wanting stretching over the back I use a soft rope over wither and up between legs on a loose setting.

If I am ....
You get the picture

 

[Tnavas]

I don't. My hand gives and takes to maintain a steady contact. So it will sometimes move up or down, forward or back to maintain a consistent contact. So if the horse evades by coming behind the contact or yanks forward, the hand maintains a steady feel down the rein. If the hand is fixed like a side rein then the rein will vary in its tautness and may even have no contact at all depending on what the horse is doing. Only when a horse is going perfectly and carrying itself will my hands be still. Therefore this is only achieved once the horse has learnt this.

You ride with a still hand, it maintains a contact with the horses mouth no matter where the head goes.

 

[Wagtail]

You ride with a still hand, it maintains a contact with the horses mouth no matter where the head goes.

Yes, I agree. However, that is where I dislike side reins because they are 'fixed' and do not mimic good hands in any way. They actually mimic very bad hands. I used to always use them when reschooling ex race-horses and when breaking in, but I don't any more because of the way they are too fixed.

 

[Merrymoles]

There are always lots of ways to skin a cat and what works for one, often doesn't work for another. Generally we are gadget-less, because it is working for us.

So, I generally lunge with one rein attached through my horse's bit to the other ring. I was taught to take the lunge line through the bit ring, over the poll and down and out through the other bit ring but my horse hates this and will fight any kind of contact so we do it the other way. The main focus of my lungeing is to keep him attentive and moving forwards, without getting over-excited which is his default setting.

When I first started lungeing, he was awful and tended to want to gallop or at least canter very fast, falling over occasionally. At that point I lunged with two reins and I used side reins on to a roller which gave me a bit more control. However, I was also taught a million years ago to cross the (elasticated) side reins over the withers which gives closer to a hand position than attaching straight from the roller and this worked well with my horse.

Now we use lungeing as a bit of exercise when I haven't got time to ride (he takes a while to settle when ridden) but it is also fun and he seems to enjoy it. We use all of the arena, ranging from walking round the track a couple of metres away from me to cantering massive circles at the very limit of the lunge line. We do random poles or jumps when someone has left them out or, as last week, get a bit more constructive with the poles to help him to use himself better. Sometimes I sing, sometimes I discuss the weather with him, occasionally I swear.

Whether it would be right for another horse is debatable but he is now much more responsive to my voice, hardly ever spins or bogs off which he used to, and is much more balanced and generally biddable.

 

[Orca]

She's unbroken, so we're lunging for exercise and teaching of voice aids at the moment. Head collar or cavesson and lunge line only. I can now use a lunge whip too! She is whip shy, so it's taken the month and a half since she arrived to reassure her that she won't be hurt by it.

I'm looking forward to moving on to long lining but I doubt we'll be involving gadgets any time soon. Her energy and movement are naturally bouncy and contained while being forward enough. There's no need to interfere.