Free schooling

[Podgelover]

Do many of you freeschool (no jumps), and do you find it has a lot of benefit? I have been thinking about trying it, but I don't really lunge him a lot (mainly as I prefer to ride), is this likely to make a big difference because he may not be as used to my voice commands as I would need or have many of you just taken the plunge and had a go?

He's genuinely a good boy, but I've read some horror stories about some horses losing the plot with excitement.

Thanks,

 

[Ehanstock93]

Hi I do quite a lot of free schooling with my boy and I find it really helps him, he is 6 years old but has not long been broken and schooled so I have found the free schooling defiantly helps him find his own balance and paces and it also helps me watch the way he moves, he enjoyed it a lot more than lunging as he can move out and in as he wants but is still listening to me so I'm defiantly for it, iv heard some story's of horses getting a bit too excited as well so I supose it depends on what kind of horse he is but after a few minutes of a canter and a buck my boy just calmed down and listen to me x

 

[Cortez]

Free schooling is a great way of getting horses to move and balance for themselves, also lets them have a buck and a kick. I often send two or more out together (we're working on a Liberty act....not) which is a very economical use of time (tongue in cheek here...), it's also a great way of learning to see your horse's way of going. It's certainly helped my very unsure, unbalanced younger horse to find his feet in canter and with flying changes.

 

[Tern]

Yes.. when it is too hot to ride I just give them a spin around free schooling.. I also use it to see how high they can jump on their own if they don't jump well under saddle.

 

[sheep]

I am bringing my older boy back in to work (well, trying to anyway) so am using a combination of free schooling, long reining and inhand walking. No point in lunging him at his age, he is pretty well behaved loose and I can do a reasonable amount with him to up his fitness before I get someone to sit on him.

 

[GemG]

Do it. You will also learn a lot about how your own body movement and language affects their movement etc, even v subtle. I can now lunge mine with no lunge line which I would have never ever thought possible. In fact he was so naughty on lunge as a youngster I kind of skipped it altogether. Now a saint, 18 years later!

Enjoy, it's lovely to watch your horse move freely too.

 

[AmiRobertson]

I love free schooling saffy ATM I can not ride her after a slip in the field the physio has put a weight limit on until she has built her top line back up so we have been doing in hand schooling then free schooling after. The in hand work encourages her to stretch on her own while loose and both of us really enjoy it. Go for it!

 

[Podgelover]

Amazing responses! Thank you all so much, Can't wait to get home and try now! Hope the rain stops in time!!

 

[B&J]

I took the plunge at the weekend. Oddly enough he was better free schooling than he has ever been lunging. He listened, changed paces on command, halted on command, stood and waited - not one buck or bronc (lunging receives multiple bucks and broncs). We loved it!

 

[blitznbobs]

Depends on your definition of free schooling... Free schooling is great... Chasing horse around arena with lunge whip pointless and possibly counter productive...

 

[AmiRobertson]

Depends on your definition of free schooling... Free schooling is great... Chasing horse around arena with lunge whip pointless and possibly counter productive...

This!!! 100%! I don't even use a whip when I free school anymore. Saffy works off of voice command and body language. We did that through lunging.

 

[GemG]

Lovely pics amirobertson.. Fab! Look at the stretch... And elevation in the trot.

Agree.. Don't need whip either, it's all about my body positioning and voice.

 

[Merrymoles]

I use it when I absolutely don't want to interfere in any way with his movement so really only for pole work and jumping.

My horse was a nightmare to lunge when I bought him and it took a fair time to get him to where he is now which is obedient to voice aids and not trying to change direction whenever something spooks him so I would be concerned that simple free schooling would set him back if I was unable to correct unwanted behaviour quickly enough (our school is massive so would need to run to keep up!).

However, he is a bit of a clumsy oaf and I have free schooled when I want him to concentrate on what he's doing - find it very useful with pole work as I am not tempted to use the lunge line to tweak the pace or direction so he has to think for himself and sort out his own approach. It also means I don't have to hang on to a lunge line when changing pole spacing or jump height as he just tends to "park" himself and wait to see what I am doing.

 

[AmiRobertson]

Lovely pics amirobertson.. Fab! Look at the stretch... And elevation in the trot.

Agree.. Don't need whip either, it's all about my body positioning and voice.

Ahh thank you! The physio worked wonders a couple of weeks ago as where she had hurt herself on the left side at the pelvis she was paddling her back end not lame just dragging herself. She just somehow lost all of her top line and quite a bit of condition in the space of two weeks while we were waiting for treatment! We are now treading carefully with correct work and upping her feed as our nemesis the grass will be here shortly!

 

[Thriller]

All the time. I have three minis to exercise so may as well do them all at once. They get their own exercise too but it's easier to run them all loose for 20mins than spend over an hour doing each one separately. I always free schooled my horses too, helps them learn balance and go a little mad as we can't let them do with us on. I never use a whip.