Lungeing

B

Bertie10

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Hi
Just wondered how often people lunge, & specific reasons for doing so- i..e. do you use it for general fitness, addressing specific schooling issues or just to assess way of going?
What tack do you choose to use & why?
Cheers
Bx
 
i lunge mine as a general training aid, but I can tailor it to suit specific issues we may be having at the time. I also use it as a warmup. Normally I will use a roller and side reins but if im going to hop on after then it will be a saddle. I will also use a pessoa, just depends on the horse i'm lunging.
 
I've just started lunging my rising 3 year old, only for 10 minutes a couple of time a week. I'm doing it to get him listening. He does mostly walking and stopping with a tiny bit of trot. He's slowly getting the idea.

I just use a bridle without a nose band, a french link snaffle bit, lunge line and whip
 
I lunge my mare maybe once a week usually - although I may do more if I am looking to work her on something specific. For example I did additional lunge sessions when we were working very specifically on her canter transitions.

My 3yo has started lunging - only for a few minutes, just to give her the idea of it, and the 4yo is being lunged 3 - 4 times a week. 4yo had been broken in and was riding away, but then I was ill and in hospital, and so hasn't done anything for 5 weeks :( So we are back to lunging again - which is a bummer.

I just about never lunge the pony, as she is an absolute nightmare, and either does stop or trot at a million miles an hour!

Equipment wise, I like the pessoa or harbridge for my mare, 3yo just saddle & bridle, 4yo has side reins.
 
I lunge in headcoller, thats all usually, however I used to use a chambon on Mack, encourage him to use his back, however I didnt use it much, he's seems to have just naturally got better with age (with his movement) as its something I have always never been keen on.

I do like to see how they move/improve or not improve with just a simple headcollar and line.

Tend to lunge if I can't be bothered to ride (if I'm tired) but want them to have a good work out, as well as their stretch routines and ground work, every so often I like to see how there going (on smaller circles) to see if I can see anything that may be a concern.

Also it makes a change for them, variety is the spice of life etc, so a bit of pole work during some lunging makes it a bit more interesting for them too.

I don't do too much lunging with Mack, as I'd get him too fit or sometimes it can wind him up more, sometimes if safer to just get straight on :D other times he needs to get rid of his excess energy :D

I lunge on average 2-3 times a week, but not for long periods of the same thing, I don't like to bore them to death.
 
I try to do 40% of Indias work on the lunge as her backend needs a huge amount of building up before I can really progress so lungeing in a pessoa and lungeing over poles is really helping without me bobbling around on top!
 
I lunge in a pessoa and also work in long reins twice a week, used to be three as my girl had no muscle at all and so before she could even think of working in the school to carry herself I needed to build up something for her to work with. We have now just started schooling now so long reining is twice a week, schooling twice a week, hacking twice a week and then a day off!
 
Lunging is my get out of jail free card when i cannot be bothered to ride or too scared to, so i try and not do it on specific days, as if it's really windy and no one is in the school i lunge then (hate riding alone in the wind, as it means me on the floor!)

I ride with a homemade version if the thing that Laura B uses, it's just rope around back and through the front legs onto the bit - I really love it actually and so does my Mare who works well in it and seems to like it too.

X
 
I lunge about once or twice a week, normally with side reins, roller and headcollar (would use a cavesson but stoopid TB is scared of the noise the rings make when they jingle :rolleyes: ). I only use the side reins to stop him putting his head down too far either to graze or buck :rolleyes:
 
I lunge in a pessoa once a week, over poles to get mine to use his backend, helps him so much in his overall work, plus it means i can watch him for the ground and adjust my schooling if required, i see things much more clearly then see them under saddle, but im getting there
 
I lunge for about 20 minutes every other day purely for exercise as I can't ride a mini.

No boots, no rollers, no extras. I stand in the middle, he w/t/c around me until I tell him to stop.

On the other days he goes on the exercise track for a couple of circuits, I drive the quad he follows, as do the dogs and a goat:)
 
I only tend to lunge occasionally. I find ridden work is much more beneficial than lungeing but I do lunge more in the winter. One of my horses gets a bit fresh in the winter, and when turnout is limited, it is a good way for him to release any energy and have a buck. When I'm lungeing for this reason, I just use a lungeing cavesson, lunge line and four brushing boots.

I used to lunge my pony regularly when he was younger and learning to accept the contact. I used a plain snaffle bridle, his saddle and side reins to provide a stable contact and to encourage him to soften into the bridle. I attached the lunge line to a lungeing cavesson so that the lunge line didn't interfere with the bit.
 
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