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  Discussion on Suggestions for lunging????
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 - 8:51 am:

I am trying to teach my mare how to lunge. The problem is, I can't keep her in a circle. She wants to walk in towards me. Any suggestions on how to keep her in a circle??

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 - 11:14 am:

There are several suggestions I have that will work but I'm curious as to how much experience you have with lunging. If you're new to lunging yourself, it would be a good idea to learn with a horse that's familiar with lunging before you try to teach your mare. THat said here are some things to try (keeping in mind your mare's age, personality and your abilities).

1. point the whip at her shoulder to keep her out.
2. flick the whip in her direction (don't hit her with it).
3. use the end of the lunge line to 'shoo' her out.
4. don't retreat from her, rather make yourself square and encourage her to go forward.

Teresa

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 - 1:17 pm:

You can also have a second person lead her and keep her on the circle initially.

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 - 2:28 pm:

In response to your lunging question. My yearling did the same thing when I was teaching him. I found the best way to keep him straight is to "pitch a wave" with the line towards his face every time he tries to turn towards you. Not to hard. after a couple of times he got the message.

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 - 9:42 pm:

You don't say whether you are using a lounge whip.
Frame the horse between the hand holding the line and the other hand pointing the whip at the horses back end. If you keep her moving forward she shouldn't be able to walk towards you, use a snap of the whip behind her if necessary.
Also, when you stop her, she should still face the
same direction and not turn in towards you. If she doesn't, ask her to walk on a while then try the whoa again. Once she gets it, a lot of praise will help her know she did the right thing.
Additionally by not turning towards you, long lining is really simplified if you want to use that as a part of your training later.(If she turns towards you, the lines get messed up).

Posted on Thursday, Oct 26, 2000 - 10:47 pm:

I do use a lounge whip, and have tried to keep her back with the butt of my whip when she dose try to come in. But still no results. I have a friend that went to school in Germany for Equine racing and dressage and she was even having a hard time keeping her in a circle. The only thing we haven't tried is having another horse follow on the outside to help guide her. I guess we will wait and see........
Tracy

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 14, 2002 - 9:04 pm:

I am having the exact same problem with my 9 year old walking horse. He lunges fine turning to the left, but turning to the right, walks in all the time. I have tried all but the "wave". I have just decided to try walking right next to him, to the right on the outside of the circle, until he can do it with a longer line. After about 4 minutes of just walking the outside of the circle, I did try to lunge him in larger circles, but he only made it 3/4 of the way around. He needs more right turning I think. I will let you know how it goes.

Posted on Thursday, Aug 15, 2002 - 9:47 am:

Possible solutions . . .

1. Use a long, lightweight bamboo pole and attach a clip to one end. Clip this to the halter or longe caveson and literally push the horse out with it as you walk in your large longe circle.

2. Or use the same long lightweight pole without the clip and point it directly at his shoulder, moving assertively toward your horse and giving a touch or light poke in the shoulder if he cuts in. The bamboo pole will look and feel more substantial than a longe whip, but without the wiggly lash on the end.

3. If he's rideable, have someone ride while you longe. Your rider should remain passive and allow you to control the horse's actions unless he moves in too close.

Be sure your own longe circles are large and energetic. If you put the horse on a 15-meter cirlce, and you're walking in a 10-meter circle yourself, you'll only need 5 meters of longe line -- and you'll have better control than if you simply pivot in place and try to deal with 15 meters of longe line.

Also, if you simply pivot in the center, you can't use your body cues effectively or position yourself to drive the horse forward and outward.

And keep him moving forward at a good working gait -- the more forward momentum, the less inclined the horse will be to describe a too-small circle. A solid energetic trot or intermediate gait is best.

And lastly, you should spend lots of time handling, leading, and turning from the off side. Many "left-handed" horses are confused and insecure when the handler tries to work from the less-familiar side. (They're not born that way, we make them that way!)

I have an OTTB (off the track Thorouhbred) who simply would not lead from the right at first -- he became nervous and rushed ahead or would actually try to duck behind me to get himself on the "correct" side of me. Longeing to the right was impossible for several weeks -- he'd cut in very close, then rush wildly away if I pointed the whip at him or stepped toward him to push him out. It took several months but he now longes ALMOST as well to the right as to the left, and under saddle he bends to the right ALMOST as well as to the left. Sidereins also helped keep him together while longeing.

Posted on Saturday, Aug 17, 2002 - 3:52 pm:

I love the idea of the bamboo pole! And I just happen to have some out in the yard. I can't wait to try it.

Thanks
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