Lunging help!!

Busybusybusy

Busybusybusy

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www.racehorsetoridinghorse.blogspot.co.uk
Can anyone help - my horse is very naughty to lunge.
He an ex racing TB and has had surgery for kissing spine, I am meant to be lunging him, but he's either uneducated or just plain naughty on the lunge. I am currently trying to lunge him in a chambon and have just started to do pole work and he's normally fine to start off with (sometimes) but frequently turns in and looks at you, If I chase him from behind and keep myself further towards his quarters he hoons about then stops abruptly, turns in and looks at me - it is very annoying as I waste so much time trying to get him going round in circles - he knows my voice aids & I think a lot of it cheekiness but boy does it pi** me off!!!

I do walk him every day in hand & sometimes use the chambon for this also to get him using his back rather than walking along like a dope on a rope!!
 
He sounds like one of my horses, he was uneducated and finds lunging totally pointless, he has got better and would improve if he lunged more but his rehab from injury has not allowed it, I would try using two reins he will not be able to turn in so easily and often once they have been corrected a few times they will give up trying, it will also allow you to keep him on a better rhythm and get his quarters working more actively.
 
It sounds like he could be quite sensitive to your body language. It is really hard to say without seeing you and him in action but to me it sounds like you need to tone down the requests for forwards and increase your messages to keep his shoulders out.

If you are further towards his quarters then that is asking him to go faster and is leaving his front end to escape in whatever direction he wants it to. There are a couple of things I would be doing; make sure your belly button is starting off pointing towards the girth line, if you need him to speed up then turn slightly towards the quarters, if you need him to slow down then point further towards his shoulder, if he starts to turn in then point your whip at his shoulder and the ask for forwards again.

You could also try lunging with two reins or working on a shorter lunge rein but with you walking or running a circle too to avoid a too small a circle
 
saddlesore said:
Can you long line instead?
Click to expand...

Ok, so after yesterday's slightly disastrous lunging session I long reined him today and this was the result;

http://youtu.be/Loyq2CJK_RY

He was a very good boy and I had more control with better steering, he also did not swing his quarters out even without the second line around his back end, so I am going to keep long reining him for the moment...
 
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