Lunging vs Round pen

[Eleanor765]

I am a degree student studying training and behaviour and I am researching whether you prefer to lunge or use a round pen? what are your opinions? Are there any negative effects you have found with your horse by training the horse using either methods of training? Why do you prefer one rather than the other? Do you use either? Thanks in advance All feedback is gratefully appreciated!

 

[anuvb]

Hmm you might need to be a bit more specific.

For instance if I am looking to use lunging as a schooling tool then if the facility was available I would lunge in a round pen, but would prefer to loose school in an arena so I can set jumps up... in fact to be honest I wouldn't use a round pen just to chase the horse around unless there was a specific reason to do so. And also it depends on the size of the round pen too... some can be huge and some are pretty tight.

 

[Steorra]

I'd rather use an arena than a round pen, because I don't like the horse to be constantly turning. In an arena it's easier to use a mixture of straight lines and circles, there's generally more space, and if I want to set up poles or jumps then there are more options for configuring exercises. I lunge and free-school so it isn't either/ or.

 

[Dry Rot]

Lunging is on a lunge line and using a round pen is loose? We also use lines in a round pen. And long rein outside the pen. So where does that put us? Sorry, but I don't really understand the question. If a pony happens to be loose in the round pen for some reason and it trots, I tend to make use of the occasion and tell it to 'trot on". When it (naturally) slows to a walk, it will then be told "Walk". Why does life have to be black and white? I'll use anything that works! It is surely a matter of habituating the animal to associate words (or body language or sounds) with actions.

 

[kc100]

Yes I think you might need to clarify what you are talking about when it comes to the round pen - do you mean loose schooling in the round pen? Because many people lunge in a round pen?

Personally I'm not a fan of either - constantly turning in circles is not good for the horse so I try not to lunge unless that particular horse desperately needs it (i.e. is too fresh for someone to be safe getting into the saddle straight away). Equally with a round pen I'd prefer not to lunge in one as there is no option for the horse to take a break from the circle, nor would I want to loose school chasing the horse around in a circle.

My preference is to work a horse in hand if groundwork is required, and then for any exercises lunging could offer I would prefer to actually get into the saddle and work the horse that way.

 

[Eleanor765]

Sorry if i have not made sense, I am researching whether people have any reasons/ past experiences why they would or would not use a round pen as an aspect of training their horse. For example is the horse more responsive in a round pen compared to being free schooled or lunged etc .Similarly is lunging a technique you use and if so what age would you start to lunge your horse?

 

[Simon Battram]

Would not use a round pen for anything.

As a side note when my wife (equine journalist) was interviewing a guy in the States (Sam Powell I think was his name..) his opinion was quite interesting. The whole point of join up is that you send the horse away, out of each others space and then invite him back in (in simple terms). In his opinion, most round pens are way too small so when the horse is being 'sent away' then panic as they can not get far enough away to be 'out of your space' so it never really works. He uses a field as his round pen so the horse is truly sent away.

I certainly use lunging as it is an integral aspect of training the horse. It is used in the breaking in part, so the horse would be roughly 3.5 years old and then can be used for multiple reasons throughout the training.