Lunging - do you do it, what is the point?

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the watcher

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A thought that occurred to me today.

What exactly does lunging teach a horse? I know it can be used to get them fit, and often is used to settle down a lively horse before riding, but does it actually teach them anything?

Yours truly
Long reining fan who doesn't get whizzing in circles
 
My horse is lacking muscle and it helps build him up. Ridden he finds it hard to work correctly as he lacks muscle and therefore doesn't build the correct muscle and therefore lacks muscle etc etc. It's a vicious cycle.

I lunge to help get him moving along nicely with a swinging back and find he works much more correctly on the lunge than under saddle which helps his ridden work. He is five though so still learning.

For youngsters of course it helps get them used to a saddle, used to a contact on their mouth, teaches them the voice commands and is hugely useful
 
I've only had gerry for just over a week and he's really lacking in topline. Planning on lunging him a couple of times a week to help him build muscle.

If you saw the size of him and the length of his paces you'd understand why I'm not longreining him, I'd never be able to keep up!!
 
I don't do it as a rule, and if I was good enough, I too would be long-reining!
I have a mare who has been very ill and currently I'm walking her out in hand and also doing a little bit of lunging - just a bridle and lunge line - no saddle. I feel that as she is from racing it is helping her to regulate her paces and also respond to voice commands. However I don't just go round in circles. I tend to vary the size of the circles and also use the long sides and walk/run alongside her. As she's always gone in a straight line racing, I can use big circles without the weight of a rider on her to teach her to balance without any interference from me....
 
jesstickle said:
My horse is lacking muscle and it helps build him up. Ridden he finds it hard to work correctly as he lacks muscle and therefore doesn't build the correct muscle and therefore lacks muscle etc etc. It's a vicious cycle.

I lunge to help get him moving along nicely with a swinging back and find he works much more correctly on the lunge than under saddle which helps his ridden work. He is five though so still learning.

For youngsters of course it helps get them used to a saddle, used to a contact on their mouth, teaches them the voice commands and is hugely useful
Click to expand...

couldnt have put it better myself :)
 
Out of interest how do you ensure that your horse is working in some kind of correct outline? (I'm really hoping side reins don't feature in the answers)

At least 50% of the horses I see lunged appear to be racing around with their heads in the air and a really hollow back
 
I'm in the undecided camp where lunging is concerned. My boy is a nightmare to lunge, he turns in and mini rears at me when I ask him to go forwards. He kicks out at the lung whip if I so much as wave it at him. I don't particularly enjoy lunging and although I can see the potential benfits I'm never completely sure that asking a horse to work in a circle can be really any good for them physically. I'm sure it puts extra strain on their legs etc. (I should point out that my horse has his teeth done regularly (5-6 mnths) and also has regular Mctimmony treatments, he just has a bad attitude to work.)
 
the watcher said:
Out of interest how do you ensure that your horse is working in some kind of correct outline? (I'm really hoping side reins don't feature in the answers)

At least 50% of the horses I see lunged appear to be racing around with their heads in the air and a really hollow back
Click to expand...

not if its done properly. i LOVE the pessoa. for me, its the best way at starting youngsters. straight away they learn to seek the bit down and they learn they have a bottom end for a reason. and in such a way, it builds up all the correct muscles without over doing it. they then work correctly and are eventually strong enough to do this with a rider on top. :)
 
the watcher said:
Out of interest how do you ensure that your horse is working in some kind of correct outline? (I'm really hoping side reins don't feature in the answers)

At least 50% of the horses I see lunged appear to be racing around with their heads in the air and a really hollow back
Click to expand...


By getting after him :) And then telling him good boy when he lowers his head and stretches through his back. He got it really quickly and does it automatically now

Why no side reins? There are worse things in the world than correctly fitted side reins surely?
 
I should qualify my comments by coming clean and saying that I also had a Pessoa (well, Ebay copy) and did like it very much - until some bugger on a previous yard stole it which is when I took to long reining as I could see the importance of controlling the hindquarters as well as the front.
 
I lunged my wee Tb once a week in draw reins, to help build topline. It put him into a long and low outline to work the back muscles and really helped him step through from behind.

I dont see the point in lunging a horse which is flying around impersonating a giraffe!! Unless its pants at lunging or only learning.
 
well - I have started lungeing once a week in a pessoa for several reasons:

1) It gives me the chance to assess her paces and way of going without my lump on her back
2) It allows her to work properly without my lump on her back interfering with her mouth, balance etc etc
3) It improves her outline so when I ride her in the school, she is lighter and more responsive and engages from behind because she has been working into a consistent contact.
4) I can canter her on the lunge a lot better then I can canter her under saddle - again without my fat lump unbalancing her even more
5) It allows me to work her 6 days a week without having too much school work.
6) I am rubbish at long lining - can only do straight lines and cant make her go forward enough and end up all tangled up!

If I dont use a pessoa she would never work in an outline because she takes ages to warm up to get to that point and also because she lacks the muscles to carry herself. The breaching strap encourages her to work from behind into the contact and build the correct muscles. Saying that shes not strapped down in it - its fairly loose and she can work long and low.
 
I lunge my mare for many reasons, if I'm in a rush, if I'm too arsey to ride her(pointless getting in a argument), to help build correct muscle or simply for a change. I also long rein, loose jump and lunge jump her. When lunging I use full length of the lunge line and walk up and down the school. I lunge off a caverson and I use a chambon as this encourages her to work long and low. As for side reins they have there uses and if fitted properly should be fine tho I do hate to see horses lunged in side reins that are so short that the horse is forced into an outline.
 
Reasons for Lungeing:

1. For exercise
2. So you can assess your horse's way of going
3. Can be used to increase fitness, suppleness and muscle tone
4. Can be used to help a horse which is learning to jump
5. Can be used as an introduction to long reining
6. Teaches your horse to respond to voice commands

I lunge occasionally, usually just to add variety to my horse's work and to see how he is going. :)
 
I saw something recently that a university had done some research on lunging and found that it soon showed up as damaging joints. I don't know the surface, or the age of the animals in the study. Just to cheer you up!
 
the watcher said:
I suppose, but there is no subtlety in them, even the stretchy ones. You cannot influence the horse with just one rein
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No you're right and I like to long rein too but sometimes it is just too much effort. Also to lot of people it is hard and the reins end up in a muddle. Also I think a lot of horses never get lunged with two reins and so it can freak them out! When they are learning I prefer to lunge with two reins but he has reached a point now where he works himself quite nicely with one. Sometimes I even put side reins on him for the lack of subtlety as he can be a bit of a tart re taking a nice contact (no pain, all checked out, just attitude) and it is good for him to get a reminder using something which he can't wrench the reins away from. If he is going through one of his bolshy patches he will just pull the reins through my hands. Side reins he just pulls against himself and I find them helpful as a reminder to play nicely :) Obviously I keep him moving along and don't let him lean on them. That would be counter productive.
 
Every horse should be taught to lunge for a variety of reasons :)

1) If you need to assess a horse for lameness, you will need to lunge it
2) If you are selling the horse, for a 5 stage vetting you need to lunge it or ride it to assess horse's wind
3) It is a good way of exercising a horse - saves time etc.
4) teaches the horse to go forwards
5) accustoms the horse to being brought back into work after being turned away etc.
6) Improves horse's balance and rhythmn if lunged correctly
7) Improves muscle tone when done correctly
8) Takes the edge off an exuberant horse!
9) advanced work can be prepared on the lunge/long rein eg. collection
10) to train the rider :)
11) if you go to see a young horse you can see how it moves etc. on the lunge :)

It can also teach a horse bad manners though - if your horse learns to come in and attack you on the lunge chances are that they will also do it when you are leading them :o
 
ORANGEHORSE said:
I saw something recently that a university had done some research on lunging and found that it soon showed up as damaging joints. I don't know the surface, or the age of the animals in the study. Just to cheer you up!
Click to expand...

That wouldn't surprise me, especially if the circles are kept small. I wouldn't lunge a young horse or a very big horse, for example.
 
the watcher said:
A thought that occurred to me today.

What exactly does lunging teach a horse? I know it can be used to get them fit, and often is used to settle down a lively horse before riding, but does it actually teach them anything?

Yours truly
Long reining fan who doesn't get whizzing in circles
Click to expand...

Correct lunging shouldn't *be* whizzing in circles. If someone is doing that then they are simply "whizzing in circles" and the horse won't learn anything.

I lunge because I like to see how my horse is going from the ground, and from a distance rather than in hand and at close quarters. I can see how he is moving, if he looks stiff to one side or the other.

There are lots of ways to lunge, it doesn't all have to be whizzing around in circles if you do it properly.
 
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