tips for lungeing excercises

Showmum

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Hi got our gelding new forest x on Saturday and he has not been ridden much in the past 2 years. He's 18 and we haven't yet got him a saddle so daughter has been lungeing him.

Any tips on exercises/schooling she should be doing to slowing build up his exercise?

He's also gone from scrubland grass to lush grass (only turned out during the day) which he is scoffing like there is no tomorrow so am conscious we need to keep the work up for him.
 

Amye

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Have you tried long lining? Around the school/yard? You could try introducing some polework into your lungeing sessions to make things a bit more interesting. Could do raised poles to make him pick his feet up.

You could try loose schooling/jumping him if he is up for it, though he might be too unfit for that at the moment.

You could also take him out for a walk! (If he is good out and about) instead of riding we sometimes walk my horse out with the dogs. People look at us odd but it's exercise for us all and we enjoy it :) If you've got any big hills nearby walking/trotting (if you're feeling fit enough!) is great for building up fitness. When i got my horse he was very unfit, hadn't done much for around year (could've been longer) and he'd done next to no schooling. So we used to walk him up big hills, then started trotting him up them, to build his muscle and fitness

I'm sure others can come up with more interesting ideas too :)
 

Shay

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Is this the one with EMS? Do be careful with grass intake!

It is well worth getting an instructor in to show you how to lunge effectively. Its more than just letting them run around you in a circle. Long lining or lunging with two lines is really effective - but you do need a good technique to do that. And if your 12 yr old is built like mine was - their hands just are not big enough yet to cope with the plethora of lines! If you can get some good basic lunge and long line exercises in now it will give you another string to your bow come winter and school work etc - when you get to exercise the pony instead! I keep my horsey fix by working on the ground with my daughter's ponies - sadly I broke my back in a fall some time ago and can't ride now.

The BHS do a book on horse agility - that might also be worth a look. Obstacle courses for horses with the human on the ground!
 
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