Lunging Age

I wouldn’t do anything of the sort until they’re at least rising 4. Personally, wouldn’t want to be doing much with a 2yo to begin with, beyond the occasional play around in hand and making sure they’re okay with the important husbandry skills.
 
I have lunged a 3 year old, when it is to serve a purpose in education. I would use it for purpose and no more. I would use it judiciously, and not to simply wear them out.

I would not lunge a 3 year old for exercise.

I would only lunge a 2 year old if there was an active issue. I used it once with one who would not lead, and he needed to learn to go forward when asked. We did just a very few sessions, mainly at walk (walk was all we asked for, but occasionally he needed driving forward and may have done a circuit at trot a time or two). Once the issue was sorted, the lunging stopped.
 
Red-1 said:
I have lunged a 3 year old, when it is to serve a purpose in education. I would use it for purpose and no more. I would use it judiciously, and not to simply wear them out.

I would not lunge a 3 year old for exercise.

I would only lunge a 2 year old if there was an active issue. I used it once with one who would not lead, and he needed to learn to go forward when asked. We did just a very few sessions, mainly at walk (walk was all we asked for, but occasionally he needed driving forward and may have done a circuit at trot a time or two). Once the issue was sorted, the lunging stopped.[/QUOTE
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This is really helpful thank you! - my rising 3 cob can be very stubborn to lead, when he wants to go somewhere he will go, but if he doesn’t fancy it it takes quite a bit of doing to get him to move forwards. Hence why i thought light lunging may help with the issue. He doesn’t even really need to trot but Its just a fact of teaching him to walk forwards. I was planning on waiting until the end of winter so he is only a couple months away from being 3 hence i asked about rising 3. He is currently turned away just being a pony and living his life and then when he turns 3 I planned on bringing him in and doing some light work inhand with him (and again hence my lunging question)
 
ycbm said:
What does rising 3 mean? Was the horse born in the spring, so it's not much more than 2?
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Currently he is barely two yes as born in spring, but please see my reply above. He is turned away currently but bringing him in when he turns 3, and doing light inhand work. (Inhand shows etc)
 
As an aside, I always use rising three as being the time after the 1st January in the year they become 3, but before their chronological birthday.

If yours was a spring baby, he will be plain and simple 2, until the 1st of January. Some people use 1st March for non thoroughbreds, I believe that is actually correct, but not the year before.
 
Depends your definition of lunging. I taught mine to not be at my shoulder on a lungeline, letting him get further and further away whilst just in walk, I also did obstacle courses with him on a lunge line. He has never done more than 15mins on the lunge and he’s 3.5 now. He knows all the cues and moves away when I ask but we never do more than 15mins. I’m not a fan of lunging for long periods to be fair but it is something they need to know to do.

I would rather do ground poles/obstacles/desensitising etc in the lunge. Also teaching them ground manners and being able to send them away to a safer distance when being bolshy or rude without having them totally sod off.

So really it depends on your definition of lunging as if anyone saw me under the old term when I was teaching Faran distance then I’d have been lunging him but by more modern understandings I’d have been doing groundwork.

Teach him to longline, it’s more beneficial and less circles.
 
CobsCan123 said:
This is really helpful thank you! - my rising 3 cob can be very stubborn to lead, when he wants to go somewhere he will go, but if he doesn’t fancy it it takes quite a bit of doing to get him to move forwards. Hence why i thought light lunging may help with the issue. ......
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This is a leading issue and I doubt lunging will help with this. If you want to address this I would look at doing some regular as in as many days of the week you can but short 10 - 20 mins tops leading exercises.
 
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