Lunging - 'to tire them out'

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MizElz

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A few years ago, i kept my horse with a good friend of mine who show jumps at a high level. I kept her there for the summer so she could be turned away, as I had no turnout at home. After 6 weeks of being out at grass, I decided to go for a gentle hack, and my friend (much more experienced than me!) was HORRIFIED that i didnt want to lunge her to 'tire her out' before getting on; he, with 30-odd years of horse riding behind him, was genuinely scared that a little 15.2 mare could be too fresh to simply get on and ride. I noticed he did this with a lot of his horses (i also noticed that the 'lunging' was not so much constructive, but more a case of 'clip on the lunge rein, put horse into canter and make it go in circles until its tired enough to walk by itself.') He had even done this with my horse when she was with him, minus me, for schooling.

Now i have a horse who is TERRIFIED of the lunge, who has slipped and fallen twice with me in a panic when i just asked for walk, and who, although she desperately needs lunging to help her balance herself, will simply never be calm enough for it to be done safely.

I love my friend dearly, but this practice seemed to me to be so ignorant, especially compared to the way he conducts himself in other areas of horsemanship. Now, if the horse is lunged PROPERLY, i think there is definitely a place for lunging prior to riding - all i know, however, is that my horse has been mentally scarred for the rest of her life by this process being carried out wrongly.
 
I did do this with a youngster who was slightly cold back to warm him up otherswise he would bronk !! but would put side reins on etc and work him properly in walk trot and a little canter at the end !!

have you tried long reining ???x
 
Ploughed fields are best.
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i would LOVE to long rein her....but we discovered several years ago that when she is panicked, she stops dead and then runs backwards....not good if you stood behind her! she did it once just after i got her, was riding down a bridlepath, mum following about 20 yards behind on a bike, when Elz spotted some police tape in the hedge. i put my leg on, but after a couple of snorts and a half-rear, she shot backwards, nearly tangling up with mum's bike. it wasnt nice!!!!! mum is also the queen of the long reins, she used to do it with our youngsters (and other peoples) all the time, but even she has drawn the line at Ellie!
 
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i would LOVE to long rein her....but we discovered several years ago that when she is panicked, she stops dead and then runs backwards....not good if you stood behind her! she did it once just after i got her, was riding down a bridlepath, mum following about 20 yards behind on a bike, when Elz spotted some police tape in the hedge. i put my leg on, but after a couple of snorts and a half-rear, she shot backwards, nearly tangling up with mum's bike. it wasnt nice!!!!! mum is also the queen of the long reins, she used to do it with our youngsters (and other peoples) all the time, but even she has drawn the line at Ellie!

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thats a shame maybe you could get someone out to see her as sounds like she just panicks and you may be able to get her over this
 
It does annoy me at events when people get their grooms to lunge the horses for hours on end with their heads tied down, bandaged up to the nines! They are about to go and do a really physically challengeing event and they are being tired out before they start!! I do think that lungeing for ten mins before you get on can be a good thing with horses that are cold backed or really nervous! We have a pony in to school at the mo, that unless he's lunged for a few mins before you get on to settle him then he'll bolt, so it's safer really!
 
Only one i lunge before riding is Gypsy, thats for about 5-10 minutes only, its only cause shes young and green. The rest i jump straight on and warm up myself.

I know my friend lunges for about 20 mins before riding as her horse would bolt otherwise
 
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It does annoy me at events when people get their grooms to lunge the horses for hours on end with their heads tied down, bandaged up to the nines! They are about to go and do a really physically challengeing event and they are being tired out before they start!! I do think that lungeing for ten mins before you get on can be a good thing with horses that are cold backed or really nervous! We have a pony in to school at the mo, that unless he's lunged for a few mins before you get on to settle him then he'll bolt, so it's safer really!

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They arent always tiring them out - most of the time the professionals have 5+ horses at an event therefore dont have time to do all the necessary warm up i.e walking trotting etc before they can school properly. These horses are very fit and it certainly doesnt take anything out of them that they need to compete. And the bandages are for protection!
I lunge Spider at an event b4 her test for 10mins as she goes much nicer when I do this. But I put the side reins on and lunge properly, I dont just let them canter off and rnd for ages.
 
i used to ride an ex race horse and if you didnt ride her for a week or more we would lunge her for about 10 mins before getting on her back else she would be a bucking bronco!! LOL
 
My horses worked out a better warm up session than lunging a couple of days ago.

Firstly, three of you barge through an electric fence (entangling me in it, and trample me for good measure.......wired to the mains too) then, you all hightail it across the garden leaving lovely divots everywhere, after that you hit the half mile track. Four circuits later at high speed (with three other horses in the centre of track field doing slightly smaller laps), you are finally cornered and chivvied into the barn. All of this in 30C temps, every horse here was just dripping with sweat, I had to hose all 6 of them down.

I did not like my horses very much that day (meat wagons and shot guns figured in my comments) but boy, can my little arab shift!
 
Sounds a bit like Antifaz's fave warm up routine;
1.Wriggle out of headcollar/ untie lead rope
2.Gallop off bucking and farting loudly
3.Ignore all attempts to tempt with scoop of oats
4.Gallop some more, over all sorts of unsuitable, rocky terrain
5.Ignore foul language of groom or mum
6.Chat up a few of the girls or laugh at some of the boys who haven't escaped. Lots of squealing necessary.
7.Wander back to stables in own good time and allow to be caught.
8.Get tacked up and ridden
 
I was always told that you should never lunge your horse to tire them out as it ultimately ends up with a really fit horse and a moderately fit rider. Not a good combination. However in cases of cold backs then a little lunging before riding is acceptable.

altia
 
i dont race mine round but i do have to lunge him a fair bit before i get on him if he has a day off otherwise he spins and gets me off within the first 5 mins!
 
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