Lunging fresh horse

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norman2025

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Hi just after some advice .
We have just took on a loan pony for my daughter 3 days a week and is our first loan .
During summer he goes out in the field most days but has no winter turnout .
Now hes not in the field now a lot of people in the yard are saying lunge him before riding as he can be a bit of a handful.
Other people are saying to me dont lunge him as we will just get him 2 fit and my daughter will be unable to handle him .
A lot of people with opinions
Really unsure what to do anything advice please?
Thanks xx
 
"A lot of people with opinions" just about sums it up! When your a bit further down the line, you will be able to sift through it [and tell the ruder ones where they can go] but it can be confusing at first.

For me it depends on how you lunge. Its its a soft, calm connection, with correct bend and lots of transitions, yes, its helpful. Lunging also helps you check in with how they're moving, and feeling on a particular day, and can be a gentle all over warmup without a rider's weight. For about 10mins before each ride I lunge my borrowed Clydie x not because he's a handful, he's really quiet, but because he is one, big, older unit of chap [17hh and at least 850kg] and he has a sticky stifle near hind, so on the lunge I can see how he's stepping under with that leg, or not. I keep the circle super big.

If, on the other hand, pony is buck farting around like a kite, then no. I'm not a believer in lunging to 'let off steam'; I've had horses slip over, and damage their back muscles in the past from letting them 'hoon' around, and not knowing how to stop them. [Confession time] I've had a horse pull the lunge rope out of my hands and take off. That was fun. Not.

So, now I use basic horseman ship / groundwork techniques to bring them in, stop them, take a moment, start out again at walk.

Of course it depends on what your loan pony knows about being lunged ... some just think hooning round is what they're to do, because that's what they've been taught by previous owners.

However I don't live in a 'stabling' 24/7 culture, I'm in Australia ... where its only generally racehorses in full work, and very $$$ performance horses who are stabled. Most here live out, or are brought in for the night only. So these are very different living conditions. So will leave to the locals to deal with warming up horses/ponies that are stabled.
 
lunging a pony for 5 minutes to ensure your child’s safety isn’t going to make much difference to his fitness levels, especially 3 days a week!

honestly i wouldn’t worry too much about anyone else’s opinion, depending on how confident and happy your daughter is to just get on that’s what i’d do…smile & nod, then crack on with what you were doing!

by all means if he’s a bit fresh get him listening on the lunge first, but as above definitely depends on how well he lunges as letting him hoon about won’t be safe or very productive.
 
If a horse/pony is too fresh for the rider, I'm a great believer in giving a few minutes on the lunge. As another poster said, not to hoon round like an idiot, but to get warmed up and concentrating. You have time to focus him, the tack will settle and girth be able to be tightened up. A cold pony can be tricky.

I like to lunge until they have snorted/sneezed and released their lungs. I believe this is about letting go and relaxing. I do canter on the lunge with an educated horse that is fit enough, just as canter seems to let the lungs go quicker than walk or trot. As soon as they have released, we are good to go.

I do lots of transitions and change of direction. I also lunge large as well as in a circle as I believe it is less harmful to legs.
 
Personally I'm not a fan of lunging, period. Especially with horses who are not fit and/or supple enough to be able to bend themselves around the circle - IMO in this situation lunging can do more harm than good and they can actually harm themselves. I'm sick of seeing fat little pony's at shows being whipped around a tight circle & lunged to death before they're taken to the collecting ring, it happens too often. If a pony has learnt to t!t around on a lunge in a previous home then lunging certainly isn't going to be the best thing to do, period.

Lunging a fit supple horse is another matter and can indeed be beneficial, as long as it does not replace being worked correctly under saddle in the school; or indeed it can be a very useful diagnostic tool under a vet's supervision.

If the current yard cannot permit turnout - at this time of the year - then sorry but I'm going to be honest and say that I think you need to find another yard where this pony can go out for at least some of the time daily. If he is already, by your admission, "a bit of a handful" then hate to say it but this isn't going to improve over the winter period when there is less chance of turnout. For the safety of your child, this pony needs to be on a yard where he can be turned out to let off steam. Either that, or you will need to get an experienced child or small adult to ride it occasionally.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Personally I'm not a fan of lunging, period. Especially with horses who are not fit and/or supple enough to be able to bend themselves around the circle - IMO in this situation lunging can do more harm than good and they can actually harm themselves. I'm sick of seeing fat little pony's at shows being whipped around a tight circle & lunged to death before they're taken to the collecting ring, it happens too often. If a pony has learnt to t!t around on a lunge in a previous home then lunging certainly isn't going to be the best thing to do, period.

Lunging a fit supple horse is another matter and can indeed be beneficial, as long as it does not replace being worked correctly under saddle in the school; or indeed it can be a very useful diagnostic tool under a vet's supervision.

If the current yard cannot permit turnout - at this time of the year - then sorry but I'm going to be honest and say that I think you need to find another yard where this pony can go out for at least some of the time daily. If he is already, by your admission, "a bit of a handful" then hate to say it but this isn't going to improve over the winter period when there is less chance of turnout. For the safety of your child, this pony needs to be on a yard where he can be turned out to let off steam. Either that, or you will need to get an experienced child or small adult to ride it occasionally.
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Ditto this, my first suggestion would be a change of yards.....! He will only get worse over winter and it's frankly a welfare issue if he is not getting any sort of movement outside the stable. I've been in this situation and for my horses welfare we moved as soon as we could (took over a year to find something but we did eventually)
 
Help him emotionally regulate, which is way better than spinning them around on the lunge. If you have an ADHD (classic hyperactive) child and you let them run around for 5 minutes how long does it take for the adrenaline to wear off and them to concentrate?

Great content on FB from people like Diana Waters, Mills Consilient Horsemanship and others. Diana runs the very good Slow Walk Work group on there (free).

And yes, seriously think about being somewhere where you can manage him more naturally.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Sad that he’s getting no turnout already! It’s bone dry, still decent weather and seems very very early to be saying that. Not sure how any livery yard can justify no turnout all winter every winter from now :(
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Bone dry😢. Mine is still out in the day but the fields are wet now and he comes in with liquid mud past his knees. At least they are still using the fields, I have a feeling if we get the threatened storm this weekend they will be on sand paddock turnout.
Ah well, at least the hay was good this year.
 
I assumed/read wrongly and thought it was a part loan, so figured no say in where it was kept.
OP are you allowed to move it? I dislike but its seems norm to heavily restrict turn out in mid winter but this is starting your first winter as horse owners on the wrong foot
 
Gloi said:
Bone dry😢. Mine is still out in the day but the fields are wet now and he comes in with liquid mud past his knees. At least they are still using the fields, I have a feeling if we get the threatened storm this weekend they will be on sand paddock turnout.
Ah well, at least the hay was good this year.
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When I wrote that I did realise not everyone has had the driest summer on record!
Even so, it’s too early to be keeping in
 
Is there any way you can take him out of the stable for a period of exercise twice a day? Even if it's hand grazing, but better if there's a bit more movement. It's still about helping him emotionally regulate rather than him needing to "get the bucks out" or anything similar. Being in a stable 23 hours a day is not good for a horse's mind or body, not at all.
 
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