Getting horse to relax on the lunge

[Carrots&Mints]

Any tips on how to get my young horse to relax on the lunge, perfect in walk but it trot goes round like a giraffe, not doing much canter as isn't balanced yet. Want him going perfect before we advance

 

[Attie]

I find lungeing outside on a hill/ sloping ground is the best way to get a youngster to concentrate a bit more, be aware of their own body and establish balance. It sounds counter intuitive but works if you take it steady!

 

[Carrots&Mints]

Have no way of lunging on sloped ground or hill at the moment as fields are drenched also not using any gadgets just a plain bridle (noseband removed) and lunge line, no whip.

 

[Attie]

How old is your youngster? How much work has he/ she done so far?

 

[dollymix]

Long rein instead! Much better for them and teaches them so much more!

 

[wench]

Put a few poles out and lunge him over those, raise the ends up and he should have to look where he's putting his feet!

 

[Achinghips]

Lunge in bridle off bit with no other gadgets. You need down and round I'm presuming, hence the giraffe description? Teach him to put head down at walk with pairing word "relax" when you begin to see it happening. Don't worry about spending an entire few lunging sessions in walk. When you can verbally cue the head down at walk, same at trot will be easier. Every few strides at trot, keep transitioning down to walk and "relax" to remind him of the previous learned response. Gradually increase the time spent at trot, while teaching the same at this gait. Verbally reward every time you see the behaviour you are aiming for initially and then quickly change to every three to four times you see the behaviour you want. Forget about getting a workout and speed during this learning phase.

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

I'd long rein him. It sounds as though he's not balanced enough to be trotting on a circle yet. With long reining you can start to encourage that balance, using both reins and working round a larger area of the school to begin with. After a few sessions you could start doing smaller circles and tighter turns. The thing with long reining is that you aren't working at speed to start with so you can build up your horse's muscles, balance and confidence gradually but with more long lasting results. Hope this helps.

 

[Tnavas]

Go back several stages and develop obedience in transitions. Going correctly on the lunge is about working the horse from whip (leg) to line (hand). Working with head down will come.

Walk, if head down ask for trot, if head shoots up ask for walk, wait till head is down again then ask for trot. Repeat until horse begins to work correctly.

Make sure that you use a proper cavesson as the line from the centre of the nose gives you a great degree of control

Forget about canter until the horse is completely calm and working correctly in trot.

Teaching a horse to lunge needs to follow the same type of process you use when you ride. repeat, repeat, repeat.

I see someone has suggested lunging off a bridle, this is the worst thing to do with any horse unless you are really advanced in lunging, lunging off the bit can cause a lot of resistance which will then be reflected in the ridden work.