Why do You lunge?

for me its simple, my boy is quite lazy and can have a little buck when pushed on, I am recovering from back injury so prefer to avoid these if possible. I find that I can push him on when I'm lunging (doesn't matter if he bucks) and then I can use my lunging voice when I ride and he tends to take me more seriously, therefore no bucking under saddle. If that makes any sense at all, I know what I mean.
 
occasionally just for extra work, but mostly I only lunge if I want to work on something which is easier to communicate from the ground - and easier for the horse to offer without me getting my weight / body in his way from his back!

I used to only lunge if I wanted to ski round the arena for half an hour, so it's improving :p
 
Plenty of reasons - to give him something a bit different, so I can see how he's moving/looking/working, to work on our voice commands, to do lots of transitions to build up his muscles/back end without a rider on him, if I can't ride due to my own back problems. I will also lunge him if he's fresh (e.g. if he hasn't been ridden for a good few days, of when he goes onto good grass) as then he has a mean twisty buck which I could do without falling off from ;)

I lunge different times in different 'gear' depending on what I want to get from the session: anything from just a headcollar, to cavesson with bridle and roller, side reins or full tack.

He's gone from hating being lunged and just tanking off as soon as he was asked to move out to being actually very well behaved and easy to lunge. It's also improved his ridden halts as his voice commands are stronger :)
 
To exercise him when I don't have time, to build up muscle, to give him something different to do, to work on his transitions and my voice commands... And because he makes me giggle when he gallops round the circle like a loon bucking and squealing, falls over and jumps back up again completely gobsmacked at what just happened :D
 
I ask this because my horse had Never been lunged, and over the past couple of week's we have been working on this and she is going great, but when asked why i want her to lunge i could only say 'exercise & so she understands my voice commands better':o

Im struggling a bit as she is one Fat momma so i have been doing ten mins each rein every other day in walk and trot, but now i think she's ready to progress to canter i have no idea how to put this into practice

She only walks and trots ridden in the school and she is very green but she does canter on a hack

Any suggestions?
 
because i have school all week and he has to be exercised or no one will sit on him and so few people will anyway he needs some form of exercise. Pessoa helps him to work correctly and teach him how to stretch and hold himself helpful for an exracer and strengthens his bend.
 
For a bit of variety, so I can see how he's moving and how he looks in general, to get the bucks out :p

I also lunge in the field because I have limited access to the school, and with daylight drawing in I don't have much time to get to it (it's a couple of minutes down the road) It's on a slight slope, so it's good for working different muscles to ordinary schooling, and good practice for when we have to compete on grass.

Occasionally I will put some sort of gadget on to encourage the horse to work long and low, which I incorporate into schooling anyway, but sometimes (one in particular) need a bit more encouragement to stretch.

J&C
 
If roads were iced and menage ok lunge to keep ticking over. But would rather go out for 15mins and sit on horse even if just for a walk dont do circles. I have been having some lessons at a dressage riding school and now we are cantering I am bored at going round and round in circles. I feel like I am in the circus now. I havent been back as it got so boring. I think you can tell I am not a fan. Too much pressure on their joints etc.

Mine did find lunge quite exciting and did some nice big bucks which were quite interesting!(& he wasnt a bucker).

But I can understand if someone is being taught to put them on a lunge or a young horse(sort of)!Dark in winter if working etc
 
jG, I also found that lunging helped teach my boy to balance better, so you might find it helpful for that. I would recommend loads of transitions (including halts) to get the back end under and the horse attentive and thinking forwards. When the trot is well established you can try changing the rhythm and degree of collection/ extension. You need a bit of balance in place before canter will work very well.

And loads of praise when they do well or try hard.

Hope that helps.
 
I lunge as a bit of variety for my horse, also to assess how my horse is going from ground level so I can understand how shes working and how I can improve things, help develop muscle, helps with obidience and voice commands.

I also tend to lunge using the whole arena rather than just on a small circle, so shes got more room to move.
 
I wish I could lunge , I could do with working the boy a bit without riding him ( saddle issues ) but I'm totally useless , i get in a pickle with the line , get dizzy and generally panic if there are bucks or constant cantering without being asked , so i've given up trying. My instructor did lunge him beautifully , so i know he's just taking the p**s with me , Ho Hum :rolleyes:
 
Several reasons, all of which have been mentioned above.

* Ground work, she's a green 7 year old (although not so green now), having her respecting and responding to my voice aids lunging has meant I've been able to transfer that to ridden associating them with leg, seat and rein aids and gradually reduce the voice aids ridden as she begins to understand.

* Bend, she couldn't bend at all when I first got her, she turns on a pin point now

* Moving correctly, she didn't use her back end at all at first, she does it beautifully now with correct muscle build and top line.

* Balance, she was like a giraffe with her ears stuffed up your nose, not anymore.

* Variety

* To take any edge off if needed

* When she's in season she's a right witch for 2 or 3 days and it's just not worth riding her. But I don't want her to associate the behaviour with getting out of work, so she's lunged

I don't do it because I've not got enough time to ride. For me, I find it takes me just as long to tack up with bridle, roller, boots to lunge than it does to ride, its just a saddle instead of the roller.
 
B really only gets lunged in winter, for a change in routine, to exercise without having to tack up/remove all her rugs (just the top one) and to keep her practised as if I'm injured and can't ride, someone will lunge her for me.

S because he is such a paranoid angry boy to ride, on the lunge he is starting to relax and can even be lazy so it's nice to give him a day 'off' work but still exercise him. If he has a day fully off he's twice as angry and stressy the next time I ride him. Also allows him to learn to balance himself now that his hips have been re adjusted. He's starting to transfer his chilled lunge attitude to the next ridden session. Also has allowed him to slow down and jump carefully planning for himself rather than attack and launch as he tends to do ridden!

lunging (without gadgets) fits into my routine quicker, I can do it in work clothes and then get home to spend more time with my non horsey OH at least 2 nights a week! Means I can exercise both of them every day, 1 ridden before work, 1 ridden or lunged after work.
 
Devil's advocate here: Many people 'these days' seem to have such adversion to the things we used to do quite normally 'in the olden days'; lunging being one such thing. Long ago even regular horses and ponies were confined to their stable/stall a lot more and less concern was given to lengthy periods of daily turnout (Not that I think that's okay, I hasten to add - that IS an improvement!) But lunging was an accepted part of the backing process, and many people continued to lunge regularly throughout their horses' lives to keep their animals exercised. Particularly in winter. I genuinely do not remember thousands of damaged horses back then. In fact, horses and ponies back then seemed a lot more sound than they are these days. Not that I'm suggesting lunging has anything at all to do with that (nor lengthy periods of stabling, of course), but I do think people overthink a bit too much these days. Especially pleasure riders many of whom tend to keep their horses as if it were a top-athlete.
 
ha, i have to do a report on this very topic for college! Could give you a ton of the 'correct reasons' to do it ;)

personally i whack it on her, watch her charge round and hold on tight enough so that she doesn't get away!
keeps her slim and when she has calmed down enough she lunges well...
 
I think i will keep at it then

Im going to look at a pessoa

Anyone care to share the pro's and cons? im sure ive read on here not everyone is a fan...?
 
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