How long to lunge?

[StellaArtois]

Hi all building up my mare getting her to really use her backside and have been using the pessoa (Dont look those who dont like gadgets)
How long do you use it for and what do you do with it ie five minutes warm up on each side.
Cheers

 

[Birker2020]

You should lunge first without it on for five mins to get the horse warmed up and accustomed to the lunging session. You shouldn't ideally lunge for more than 20 mins, if you are incorporating jumping into the lunge lesson (not with pessoa)maybe 30 mins tops. You should lunge on a good surface and you should really have as long a lunge rein as possible to prevent excess pressure on tendons/joints from turning in a tight circle (particularly if circle is bad). 20 mins lunging is equivalent to 1 hours riding.

A brilliant tip for lunging - always say the horses name first. This way you have his full on attention then when you follow his name with the command, ie Bailey... trot on, you know he is listening to you. If someone says Jenny pass me the pen, or if someone says "pass me the pen Jenny" you may have missed the command by the time you have got to your name. This is such a good tip that I was told I use it everytime I lunge.

 

[UKa]

yes, please warm up without the pessoa first!incredible how many people put their horses in it fully done up right from the stable, it freaks me out!..