Lungeing advice - Trot to Walk

Flibble

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Hi you Guys are always full of big ideas so can you give me advice friends mare is welsh cross.

I lunged her yesterday (my mate is on holiday and someone else is caring for horses ) I said I would work her while she's away. She storms around like a tank.

So lunged her and the minute you ask her to move she shoots off in trot and speeds up I think she must be quite unbalanced she is worse when you ride her. I didnt use a lunge whip I put it down quick as she thought it was evil.

I would like to get her to at least walk a whole circle but she trots like mad and no end of quiet calm requests for walk work so I am flumoxed I am not an expert but my own horses have always been push button on the lunge.

She understands the circle and doesnt try to leave it I ended up standing very quietly not looking at her and just sort of letting her go around and passing the line behind my back and every time she trotted a bit slower telling her she was a good girl. In her favour I never had to step of my mark just couldnt find a brake.

This is her photo not me on board :

DSCF1466-1.jpg
 

xRobyn

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Phil does this. He hates walking on the lunge. Whenever he starts trotting when i don't ask him (or won't come back down to walk) I make the circle tiny. it's tricky for them to balance on a 5m circle in trot so he generally falls back and then I slowly give him more rein.
 

Abbeygale

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My arab boy has a tendancy to do this if you give him half a chance! When I start off lunging I will walk with him more like leading than lunging, until he has settled that he is going to walk. I will just keep walking round and round till he does settle, then slowly let him out onto a circle. If he trots off before I ask him I bring him back to my side and keep walking him Dull as dish water, but completely necessary unfortunately! However, on the plus side - they do get better - if looney arab can manage to do it nicely, anyone can! :)
 

NW1

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I would do a bit of ground work…..

To start practice walking standing and transitions into & out of trot with your voice – make him respect your voice – calmly though – you cant get annoyed if they don’t do it!

Go in the ménage and start walking a 20 m circle with the horse on the cavesson & lunge line – in effect you are simply leading them around the circle. As the horse relaxes give the horse a little bit more line so you very gradually walk a smaller circle and they walk away from you. If they trot – start again! After a while the horse should walk in a decent circle around you – yes you may have to walk round for a while!

There is no quick fix for speedy horse, they need to be relaxed!
 

NW1

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My arab boy has a tendancy to do this if you give him half a chance! When I start off lunging I will walk with him more like leading than lunging, until he has settled that he is going to walk. I will just keep walking round and round till he does settle, then slowly let him out onto a circle. If he trots off before I ask him I bring him back to my side and keep walking him Dull as dish water, but completely necessary unfortunately! However, on the plus side - they do get better - if looney arab can manage to do it nicely, anyone can! :)

Te he - you wrote this while i was writing mine..... Great minds think alike!! :)
 

Mooch

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I've changed to lunging with 2 reins and it has made a huge difference.

I can do a whole mix of in hand, lunging and long reining with 2 reins, that I just can't do with 1 rein. I find my 2 are far more relaxed, listen more and work so much better with 2 reins.
 

Flibble

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Whate menage she just has a field but thanks you have all restated the ideas I had in mind last night she needs calm explanation and to be honest if we are only indicating a requirement to walk I dont mind how long I spend I am quite enjoying it!
 

Kenzo

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I think taking her back a stage will help, rather than starting out (you in the middle/horse on the circle) I'd walk round with her on the circle, (you on the inside obviously) and go through the transitions that way, (halt to walk, walk to halt) raising your spare hand towards her face when asking her to stand or slow down (this hand gesture will come in handy then when fully lunging her) so she learns that when your looking at her front end (head/shoulders) and raising your hand means slowing down into a either a halt or a walk from a trot etc. While you do this (when asking for her to slow down) also gently tug a few times on the lune line, just once or twice so she learns also this is a sign to slow down.

Gradually increase the distance between you and the horse, so she's doing a nice calm walk and until she does this, she can't go out onto the full lunge circle.

It may be in the past that she's associated lunge with with being forced out or fightened a bit out onto a circle and moving away from the person....and the only way 'away' is by going foward in trot or canter and to rush away from what ever it is she could be fearful of.

Also make time to work around her while on the lunge rein, when I say this, make her stand, walk to her side, give her reassuring stroke along her back, near her bottom, get her used to you being in that area with the lunge line in your other hand, do some gentle stretches, pick her feet up, without her thinking she has to scatter away from you just because she's on the lunge line, without her thinking that lunge time means there is a lunge whip lurking about, do this for a few weeks, you'll solve the problem.:)
 

Flibble

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Kenzo loads of what you said makes sense I started trying some of these things yesterday. When I arranged lungeing her with my friend she never told me she had never lunged her since she bought her about 3 years ago. She does have a tendency to make assumptions.

Anyhow my time with Drifter has obviously paid dividends because I had a lot od rescue sessions when he was an idiot on the lunge and that was in an indoor school.

I got the one dry slot today found a flatter bit of field and did some more work with her much much better. Not perfect but managed quiet a few correct transitions and as I had hoped the more I worked her the greater the improvement in understanding. I took the lunge whip with me carrying it very quietly and did loads of walk halt transitions on the way back to the lunge area.

Before I started work I did lots of fuss introduced her to the lunge whip and then let her watch me put it on the ground. She was much better we have sssss for walk, click click for trot and then down to walk again is waaaaaaaaalk slowly reel her in being very calm and repeating the waaaaaaalk and as soon as there is any slowing of her trot lots of good girl to let her know she's doing right.

I have ridden her in the past but I want to understand why she charges around in trot and how to steady and balance so that when I am on board I can get on with her better.

She needs more work as well as she condition scores as 8 (Fat).
 
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