Lunge line clipped on bit over the head

marydoll said:
Yep, and it was very effective with a bolshy big warmblood who would quite happily tear the lunge line from your hands and be off around the arena flicking you the vikkies with his hooves as he went :D
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How do you manage if he does muck about with two lines? I would love to do this proficiently but always worry the lines are going to get tangled up in legs if something goes wrong
 
deicinmerlyn said:
How do you manage if he does muck about with two lines? I would love to do this proficiently but always worry the lines are going to get tangled up in legs if something goes wrong
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One thing I do is ensure they aren't bothered if the reins do get tangled round their legs. Really desensitise them to the reins hanging on their legs, around them and flapping against them. It doesn't help if they bugger off but can help stop them overreacting if you do have a mishap.
 
My horse's head is so big that I cannot find a lunge cavesson to fit her. Having said that we lunge with the line through both bit rings, rather than over her head. But then she is a very sensible girl and most unlikely to pull away, it would take too much effort!
 
deicinmerlyn said:
How do you manage if he does muck about with two lines? I would love to do this proficiently but always worry the lines are going to get tangled up in legs if something goes wrong
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I became proficient working well behaved horses like this, it didnt take long and i feel it gives me much more control, any faffing about is short lived then they settle down into work knowing they cant get away. The horse in question had been deemed dangerous by 2 instructors, that was 13 years ago, i still have him and he's a sweetie now.
 
Goldenstar said:
Trust me you could not hold a 16.2 Irish draught who lunges sweetly until he takes off in a straight line flat out this horse has been taught exactly how strong he is he is very very naughty the worse of it is he's so funny I just laugh at him.
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I've got one of those too (well mine is TBXWB but the attitude is the same!) He infuriates me!
 
To answer the OP's question, I lunge with the line run through the bit ring, over the poll, and clipped to the ring on the opposite side, just because this is how I was taught to do it. Like most other things in the horse world. I think horsey folk do a lot stuff a certain way simply because that's how they were taught, not because of some carefully thought-out philosophical reason. In the case of the lunge line over the poll, it works well enough on the horses I've used it on, but if I found one that was freaked out by it, I'd look for another method.

Had someone tell me the over the poll method was completely wrong, unclip my lunge line, and then run it under the horse's chin and clip it to the bit that way. My horse was a little bit like, "WTF is this?" but as she is generally a cooperative creature, she went along with the game. I personally didn't like that method at all -- I didn't like the way it pulled on the bit and against the horse's rather sensitive chin and jaw, but hey ho, whatever works for you.

Long-lines, are of course, ideal for training, but they require a bit more skill to use (changing directions without making a mess of the lines is HARD) and if you want to give a novice a lunge lesson on your horse, or quickly send the horse in a few circles to assess whether it's sound or not, the lunge line is better.
 
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Personally I wouldn't lunge with the line attached to a bit, the mouth is so sensitive and they are so far away on the lunge that I don't think I can be kind enough with my hands at that distance and with a heavy lunge line.

I prefer to loose school or to lunge with two reins from a dually or headcollar, that then prevents the twisting.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Would you clip on to the bit with a fussy mouthed 4 year old? Just felt the wrong thing to do to me.
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No, No, No! Perfect way to *******-up a youngster's mouth!! I ONLY lunge off the bit once a horse knows how to lunge but proves very strong and a total tit! And then it's with two lunge lines, the outside one through a ring on the roller.

We're currently just starting a BIG and very opinionated Irish Draught filly who knows her strength - she is lunged on the lunge cavesson. If you use the corners of the school to good effect, she stays on the circle and is slowly learning manners. I certainly wouldn't risk ruining her mouth by lunging her off the bit in ANY configuration (not sure which is worse - over the head or through the bit rings.)
 
Are you using leather cavessons ? mine is ancient, beautifully made and padded, fits anything and never slips or rubs. Yes, it's heavy but I have never had anything object to it.

Lunge line on front ring and long side reins on side rings. Breaking roller with plenty of rings on, breast girth and a crupper (get them used to it first !)

I also have a webbing cheapy cavesson which is utterly useless, slips and the metal work sticks in the face and ends up in the horse's eye. It was filed in B for bin.

I do put the line over the head on an old too fresh horse if I thought it would dump me on a windy winters day, but never on a baby or unbalanced horse.
 
JanetGeorge said:
No, No, No! Perfect way to *******-up a youngster's mouth!! I ONLY lunge off the bit once a horse knows how to lunge but proves very strong and a total tit! And then it's with two lunge lines, the outside one through a ring on the roller.

We're currently just starting a BIG and very opinionated Irish Draught filly who knows her strength - she is lunged on the lunge cavesson. If you use the corners of the school to good effect, she stays on the circle and is slowly learning manners. I certainly wouldn't risk ruining her mouth by lunging her off the bit in ANY configuration (not sure which is worse - over the head or through the bit rings.)
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^^^^ This
This is what i had to do with my big wb initially, use the corners of the school, but i had to close down the big area of the arena with jumps or he'd be off.
When he learned the basics in a lc, he was then worked on 2 lines from the bit, through the roller, its the only way i work from the ground now as it gives much more freedom and i prefer mine not to just work in circles.
 
As JG said - for babies I would avoid clipping onto the bit. If you want to give a correction it needs to be short and sharp, if you're attached to the bit you risk the mouth.

I find pressure halters quite useful, like a dually - you can give a sharp tug to say "no" and it just tightens on the nose then releases again. It's also much easier to hold a large horse who is trying to leg it, in a dually than a cavesson ime (and still not risk the mouth).

The only times I tend to lunge off the bit is either when they really know their job and are behaving, so unlikely to put pressure on the bit, or if I've just been bucked off and horse needs to let off steam/ get some immediate work without waiting for someone to retrieve dually/cavesson from the tack room!

Btw if they do know their job & are behaving, eg for teaching someone on the lunge, it can be useful to tie a knot in the lunge line about 9" from the clip, pass the clip through both bit rings and then clip on to the line just below the knot (so that the clip is between the knot and your hand, iyswim) - then the knot stops the line tightening around the bit rings, and you can change directions without having to unclip the line. Maybe everyone knows this . . but it was new to me a few years ago so passing it on . .
 
I always lunge in a bridle, hook the lunge line through the bit - under the chin so I have some control, I have also in the past when working in a competition yard used the over the head way too in a bridle also.

I would never use a headcoller to lunge my own personal reasons for this though, and am not a fan of the cavesson either, the ones I have used before have had the padded bit slip so the metal is on the poor horse's face digging in... however I tried to sew it up or add extra padding it never worked, hence why i only use a headcoller.

Each to their own though I guess.
 
I think the way I backed my last horse worked great, that was Richard Maxwell's way with two reins passed through the stirrups one on each side of the bit (which have a stirrup leather under the belly stopping them swinging around) and the outside rein sits above the hocks. To change direction the horse turns out of the circle and cannot really beat you in the same way they can on the lunge. In my experience anyway, it is a long time since I did it.



^^^^ this is how I started my young horse too and I thought it worked really well. When he was a baby if he was very naughty in the field (trying to play or box with me) I would chase him away from me (which he really didn't like) as a punishment, and only let him approach once he had found his manners again. So lunging always seemd a bit like the chasing away to me (and apparently to him too) even though he hadn't done anything wrong.
So, we never really got the hang of lunging with one line!
However, they are all individuals, so different things will work with different horses (and people).
 
I lunge with the line over the head and clipped on the bit, or I use two lines. I find that doing it this way works much better than using a cavesson.
 
I normally lunge with bridle then lunge line through the bit, over the head and attached to the bit on the other side. Its gives you more control, the horse respects it more than a cavesson, it doesnt yank on the bit but used correctly supplies the same pressure as pulling on the reins. I think its the safest way to lunge a horse. I will also use two lunge reins with one on either side. I personally dont like cavessons, they always move around no matter how tight you put it and ive had a lot of horses pull against so it ends up being a constant tug of war.
 
I do it over the head with a sensible horse but as my apparently knowing how to lunge loan horse can have a tizzy every now and theb I use a tight fitting headcollar. You can get ones from Derby house that have a nose, head and throatlash buckle for 2 pounds at the mo. Doesn't slide all over then and cavessons are heavy on his little face.
 
Haven't read the whole thread so apologies if already said but I'd try to think about like an engineer that has to deal with differing amounts of loads and pressure and then throw in a bit of psychology!

Horses react to pressure in a similar way to most species - they don't like it and seek for it to stop in some way.

Pressure on the top of the head - pushes the head down (that's how gags work.)

Pressure on both reins slows the feet [where the release of the pressure motivates the horse to stop again as it acts as a reward/instruction to slow feet]

Pressure on horse's side - horse moves away. Pretty simple stuff.

When you lunge with line over the head you get pressure exerted on a) one side of the mouth, inwards b) the other side of the mouth but from above to lift the corner of the mouth c) pressure on top of the head to lower the head.

I think I have a bit of a problem with this as there is a conflict of pressure and also there isn't much of a release of that pressure to reward the horse that it has performed the correct behaviour. As such, the horse is unclear to to what it should do.

This is especially the case the there is a downwards pressure on the top of the head which would encourage the horse to lower it's head away from the lunge line. Not what I want when 'schooling' the horse on the lunge.

For me there simply too much conflicting pressure and little reward to lunge in this way.
 
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Modern lunge cavessons are invariably badly made and don't appear to fit anything, I prefer a Portuguese one I picked up a long time ago that stays put and doesn't need to be done up super tight. If the horse is being an arse or trying to B*gger off then the line goes thru the near bit ring, over the head and clips to the outside bit ring. This can be a very strong pulley effect so needs to be used judiciously (and you can effect a good release if you know how) - not to be used on uneducated mouths, tho. Clipping the line under the chin thru both rings causes the snaffle to poke upwards into the roof of the horse's mouth and makes the horse bring the head up to get away from the pressure on the chin - way too severe. I see no problem lunging straight off the inside bit ring IF the handler knows what they are doing. It is actually the best way to start teaching the horse what the bit means, by applying pressure on one side of the mouth at a time - again, you must know how to release immediately.
 
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