Lunging poll

J

JoJo_

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I was just wondering how many times people lunge and how much is considered too much?

I usually lunge once or twice a week depending on if i'm too knackered from work to ride instead. At the moment I cant ride as I fell off and fractured a vertebrae so for the past 3-4weeks I have been lunging 2-3 times a week as my friend rides her 3 times a week for me.

If you want to explain your opinions feel free
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And just to add I am mainly interesting in mature horses. Mine is 8.
 
I alway lunge my man after a day off to get him stretching his muscles and relaxing... depending on work I lunge once or twice a week. I don't have an opinion on how much lunging is too much, as it totally depends on the horse... I knew an event horse was lunged 3 times a week in a pessoa to help keep his topline as he lost it quickly, even when ridden. I know an eventer who doesn't lunge her horse as the horse absolutely hates it and goes better ridden.
 
I don't think it is how many times a week that is the problem it is for how long.
We lunge the horses we are backing everyday before doing anything with them. But for only 5-10 mins.
I do think if you lunged a horse for 20-30mins every day then it would get very bored and it wouldn't be good for their joints.
 
The main reason I ask is one of my friends said I shouldnt lunge Tia more than once, at most twice a week cuz it will knacker her legs. She knows I cant ride at the mo which is why i've been doing it 3 times. I usually lunge for 20-30mins sometimes in just a cavesson and lungeline so she gets a bit of exercise and sometimes with bridle, roller and equiami to get her working long and low.
 
I lunge mine when im too lazy to ride. Sometimes its 3 times a week other its once a week. I have a few horses and it depends on how they work on the lunge, if i can get alot of strech/work from them they can lunge, if not i have to ride.

I have found everyone has funny ideas on lunging. My vet (specialist in lameness + accupuncture) told me to lung one of mine everyday for a month to help with his problems and strength him without my weight. when my back person visited him he went mad, said lunging would never get him back into work. who do you believe????

My old (very stupid) PC teecher said you couldn't lunge a horse in canter, it would ruin their hocks, then went on to put a rider on the horses back, cantered it and said that was ok as the rider would balence the horse so it could cope????????

i lunge mine as often as i want. my mare has only just started being ridden after our wrong saddle insident. she has been lunged everyday for 4 weeks, her back is less tender, her stride got bigger, she has stopped bitting me and has muscled up. i think it speaks for itself.
But i do get bored easily so about 20 mins is the longest i can get my goldfish brain to concentrate for
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I have a very stressful job as well as running my livery yard (26 horses) that I like you if I am too tired to ride properly will tend to lunge, and I do vary it if I lunge more than once a week I use just a bridle and lunge line, then maybe side reins and if I lunge 3 times I use the Pessoa, having 3 horses to keep fit they like the variation, also if they have had a day off I try to loose school them the next day. If I can manage it I do try to ride all three most days, but work dictates how much energy and time I have.
 
I was reading something online last week. Cannot remember where or what, but think it was someone in America describing a young horse they had for sale. Anyway, amongst the blurb they mentioned the work it was presently doing. 1 hour on the lunge daily, plus whatever else under saddle. I didn't really get far, past the 1 hour lunging a day. And this was a three year old horse
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I also had saddle problems earlier this year and spent 3 weeks waiting for a new saddle so I lunged quite a bit then and loose schooled in the lunge pen as I couldnt ride at all. Also gave my horse quite a few days off as she had a sore back. My saddle fitters advised Tia needed to work long and low a lot so encouraged me to lunge while I didnt have a saddle too. The equiami also helped a lot. I also think lunging my horse helped build our relationship and bond. She's very good and responds to voice aids with not very much encouragement from a whip.

Plus she has enjoyed kicking up her heels when just in a lunge cavesson and having a bolt around. Plenty of energy to spare when only being ridden 3 times a week
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One gets lunged 3 times a week, schooled twice a week and hacked once or twice a week, this really suits him, but if I did this with my other one he would be horrible. The other one gets lunged once a week schooled 3-5 times a week and hacked twice a week.

I don't lunge for longer than 20mins, IMO you could lunge everyday for 10 mins and not have a problem, but you couldn't lung everyday for a full 30 mins.
 
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