How to Properly Lunge the Horse

(Lunge Line)

Since this isn't an eBook about starting a horse, I am going to assume for the purpose of this eBook, that the horse you are lunging is trained well enough to be ridden and worked with on the ground. I will only go into the basics here. Nothing to advanced, but just enough to get you started on the right path.

The first piece of equipment I will mention is the lunge line. The safest way to hold the lunge line while attached to the horse is instead of looping the rein around the hand in one complete circle to instead loop it in a way that the hand is not at all inside the circle of the loop. That way, if the horse rushes off, no problem, your hand will not get caught in the loop of the line, your hand won't get crushed, and the horse wont drag you. I teach all students how to hold the line this way once we start working on how to lunge horses together.

Basically, it is one large loop. The lungers hand is placed in the middle, but not through the loop. In this way extra line can be drawn out if need.

Important: If your lunge line has a loop at the very end of the line, never, and I mean, NEVER, put your hand or any other body part in it or through it. I don't know why they put loops at the ends of them, but they are dangerous and a hand or other body part could easily get stuck in it. It isn't worth the risk.

(Lunge Whip)

Lunge whips come in many different sizes. It doesn't matter what size you get, unless you are training for a USDF instructor test, but I will assume for this eBook that no one reading this is training for that, just to make things easier.

The goal is to get a length that is the most comfortable for you to use. Long whips make heavier whips than their shorter counter parts. I prefer a shorter lunge whip myself. The disadvantage of using a shorter whip though is that you must position yourself closer to the horse in order for the whip to reach the horse. Of course, I prefer being closer to my horse when I lunge him. It helps me drive him forward easier and I can always walk a larger circle if I need it to be larger.

Some people use the end of the lunge rope to spur the horse forward on the lunge instead of a lunge whip. I don't recommend this. It is too easy for the rope to catch on a part of your body and very quickly end up putting you in danger. Lunge whips are cheap, come in many colors and sizes, and they are easy to manipulate so there is no reason to not use one.

(Bridals, Cavesons, and Halters)

To lunge a horse you can use a bridal, caveson, bridal and caveson combo, halter, or bridal and halter combo. If your aim to use side reins during your lunging session I suggest including a bridal either alone or as a combo for the horse to wear, because typically the side reins will end up attaching to the bit cheeks of a snaffle bit. Never attach side reins to a curb bit.

The curb was not made for lunging. You may have a curb in the horse's mouth, but you may not attach the lunge line or any other auxiliary device to it. Otherwise, it could permanently damage your horse's mouth.

1. Caveson

I am sure most of you reading this are familiar with what the bridal and halter are. However, cavesons are rarely used in this country so I shall give a brief overview of them now. Cavesons can be made of leather or nylon. I do not suggest you use a nylon one. I tried one once and the upper law strap was not placed in the correct location to be tightened properly around the upper jaw. That caused it to slide into my horses eyes all the time. I had to stop using it.

Leather cavesons always seem to have the upper jaw strap in the right place. However, they are very hard to find in this country in any size but "horse". I recommend these leather ones though. They are built better and last longer.

Cavesons have three D rings along the top nose strap. These three rings can be used in multiple ways. The two edge rings may have the side reins placed on them. Some European trainers also use them to hook reins to in order to teach a horse to steer before they train the horse to accept the bit. Kind of like how they use Western Hackamores in this country. Still, there main purpose, even in Europe, is for lunging. The middle ring is where the lunge line is attached.

Due to the central location of the lunge line being attached on the nose of the caveson, the lunger has more control of the horse. This is because the nose is sensitive. It looks large, but it is made up of a thin cartilage that can easily become damaged and broken. Of course our goal is not to break the horse's nose. The cavesons nose piece rests right above this cartilage portion of the nose when fitted right, but it is still a sensitive area. Any pressure placed on the lunge line is pressure the horse is going to feel, no matter how light.

Another reason the central area of the lunge line on the caveson is so perfect is that it makes it so easy to turn the horses head towards the lunger. That makes it very hard for a horse to take off outside the circle. It also gives the lunger more control and thus more safety.

2. Halter

Halters can also be used to lunge a horse. The lunge line can either be placed on the ring below the chin grove or on the inside ring. Although, attaching the line to the ring below the chin grove makes it easier to turn the horse, because it doesn't have to be unclipped, to get the horse to bend to the inside of the circle in the proper way and to ensure it becomes more difficult for the horse to run out of the circle leaving you alone with no horse, it is best to place it on the inside ring of the halter. When you switch the horse's direction it can easily be unclipped and re-clipped to the new inside of the circle.

3. Bridal

A horse can also be lunged using the bridal all by itself. In fact, there are numerous attachments specifically for the bridal that can be purchased separately for use in lunging. However I will not get into all of those in this eBook. Instead I will inform you of the different ways the lunge line can be placed onto the bridal safely.

I will begin by mentioning where not to place the lunge line. It should never be clipped to the inside bit cheek. Now, it can be placed on the inside bit cheek if it also connects to the nose band as well. However, this is not possible these days, because all lunge lines are now made with the attaching end as a metal snap. You used to be able to get them as a leather buckle, which would allow you to easily place it through the bit cheek and noseband together, but since they are no longer made this way, this is no longer an option.

If the snap is attached solely to the inside cheek piece of the bit, there is a danger of the bit being pulled through the horse's mouth causing extreme pain and damage to the horse. This may very well cause the horse to refuse being bitted in the future.

There are several other ways the lunge line can be attached to the bridal. One such way is by running it through the inside cheek piece of the bit, over the pole (the top of the horses head), down to the outside cheek piece and snapped in place. Another way, is to run the line through the inside cheek piece over the nose and again to the outside cheek piece of the bit and attaching it there. One final way, is to run it through the inside cheek piece, under the chin groove, through the outside cheek piece, and then connecting it back onto the lunge line. If you use this method, make sure the loop it creates is not so long that the horse could stick is mouth through it.

(Side Reins)

There are many other training aids that can be used during lunging than side reins, but there are so many this eBook would be way too long. Thus, side reins are the only auxiliary training device I will mention here.

Side reins are two "reins" meant only for lunging. They are placed either on the saddle or the surcingal (a piece of equipment used only for lunging that can be used alone or placed over the saddle). One rein is placed on each side of the saddle or surcingal and each one is then attached on the same side, to either the cheek piece of the bit or the side rings of the caveson. They are not intended to be attached to the halter.

The purpose of the side reins is to teach the horse how to stretch forward to the bit and take a proper connection with it. They are not used to hold the horses head in place by being too tight. Nor, must they ever be too loose or else the horse may never learn how to stretch over its top line and find the bit.

When the side reins are attached to the bit it is best not to walk the horse for to long in them. This is because when the horse walks his head and neck move up and down. If the side reins are on, it becomes harder for the horse to move his head in neck in its most natural way. This could cause the walk to become incorrect and defeat the purpose of adding the side reins. It is best to let the horse warm up in walk without side reins and once he is ready for trot and canter work, to then stop the horse, and add them.

Note: Keep in mind that if a horse is not used to side reins that you must start by having them looser than normal. Otherwise the horse may feel restricted, panic, and become tangled in them. I have seen this happen so start with them a little looser and gradually shorten them during the following week or month, depending on the horse's reaction to the process.

As you can see, there is a lot of different equipment that can be, or in some cases must be, used for lunging a horse. Don't be put off though; you don't have to use most of it. It's up to you. You may run across some people who tell you that you must use such and such or you're not doing it right, but believe me, it is possible to lunge your horse correctly without all the things people try to sell you. Look at it this way. Does owning a BMW make you a better driver? No, it doesn't and neither does owning a bunch of equipment, beyond the basics. You either know how to drive or you don't, if you catch my drift.

There are certain situations where certain equipment can aid you in your quest of producing a stronger more supple horse, but that is for another eBook. The truth is, that for most of the work you do on the basics, you need very little. The most important piece in reality is you.

Now, whether you use a halter, caveson, or bridal you can lunge your horse in an appropriate way. You can even lunge correctly without a surcingle, saddle, and side reins. It's all in how you do it. If you find at some later stage you want to add side reins or another piece of equipment, that is fine too, as long as you know why your adding it and exactly how it works. I will start by explaining how to lunge without side reins first. After that I will touch a bit on their use in lunging as well, but they and the surcingle are the only extra equipment I will include in this eBook. By the end you will have all the information you need to have the basics of lunging properly down and of course if you have any questions or would like a live demonstration or a lesson on lunging (for the anyone in the Ocala area only) you may contact me directly at aboveparrequestrian@gmail.com.

The ideal lunge circle is 20 meters and also, ideally you are not supposed to move from the center of the circle. Saying that, I will also say, not one trainer I have ever met does that. Every one of them had a 10 meter or less circle and walked with the horse to help get the horse to move in a more forward and correct way. The lunger moves with the horse also to create a bigger circle while maintaining more control of the horse, especially young green horses. In that way, if the horse acts up and tries to take off then it can be more easily controlled and reprimanded. Yet, the horse is not so close that the lunger is in "kicking zone" of the horse, which is important.

Keep the circle smaller and walking with the horse also asserts the lungers dominance and leadership of the horse to him. If you can make the horses feet move and are always walking slightly towards him so he has to move slightly away, then you are in the leadership position. If they horse does not move away from you, then he is disregarding your role as leader and you can easily tap him with the whip to remind him that trick won't cut it. In fact, that trick should never cut it. You must always move the horse away from you with body language and voice.

Moving the horse away from the lunger has another benefit. You can in fact, teach the horse to carry his weight on the outside of his body. The outside of the horse's body on the lunge is the side that is facing away from you. The inside of his body is the side facing you. Just as the outside of the horse, when not doing lateral work, is towards the outside of the arena and the inside of his body is on the side facing the center of the arena. To start teaching the horse that he must carry his body weight more towards the outside of his body you can use the technique above to show him where to place his weight. If your horse is weighting his outside, whether you use side reins or not, he will stretch his neck down, round, and step under himself more. Yes, it is that simple. It is the basis of every single movement you will ever ask of your horse no matter what discipline you both do together. Why? Because it makes the horse balanced and no matter what sport you ride, even just pleasure riding, your horse HAS to be balanced to do his job.

"Ok", you ask, "but what do I use besides body language to get my horse onto him to weight his outside body?" Great question! The body language should come first. The only way we can get a push button horse is to start with light aids and move up the ladder to harsher ones tell the horse complies. "Didn't you just say you teach holistically though? That you don't do things that are hard for a particular horse?" Yes I did. This isn't hard for the horse though. If it is, your horse may have other physical issues. Or, he could be so used to walking all over people that he blows you off. Or maybe he doesn't understand you yet, as in, maybe he just doesn't know what you are now asking of him because you've never asked it of him before.

Remember, we have to learn his language and he has to learn ours. We meet 50/50 in the middle. Give your horse the benefit of a doubt if you're just starting this. His reactions to it may get worse before they get better in fact. Your horse may have a personality that demands he test you. Some horses instinctually have to do that. Like bossy people. There is a bossy person in every crowd and they hate it when people finally get their numbers. Or like a child that is spoiled. They scream louder and if it produces no results, they get better. Same goes for a horse.

Now for body language, for starters, open your shoulders up, be proud, open your chest up, puff it out. Walk into the horse at a slight angle towards his back end, but not into his kick zone. Many books tell us how to be submissive with our horses, especially when catching them, not for this. For this, do the opposite. Walk up with purpose. If that doesn't work, use your whip. Take the end of it and tap him on the hip. Become more forceful tell you get any reaction at all, even if it's the wrong one. Why? Because he is trying to figure it out. I would rather have the wrong answer than no answer, because at least then the horse is listening to me. If it is the wrong answer, rinse and repeat the whole thing tell you get the right one.

If the horse kicks out, bucks, rears, or does anything else dangerous, reprimand him. Make him go as fast as he can around that lunge circle. When he wants to stop make him keep going. Make him change directions over and over. Show him you can make him move his body anyway you want. Once he becomes looser and softer, starts chewing and dropping his head, and here is a biggy, blowing out, then he is ready to submit and you may start again. Let him learn it is his choice to behave or to at least try. Remember though, if you cannot correct the bad action he did within 3 seconds, don't bother correcting it or the horse won't make the connection. He will think you are punishing something else so the 3 second rule is very important in punishment and in letting him know what he did was right.

I teach all my horses to stop and turn by moving the whip in front of him, by crossing my whip arm over my lunge line arm. Clinton Anderson does it by moving his whip or rope into the horse's hind end. I disagree with that. Here is why. My Arabian mare Meg used to run through anything. Metal gates, wooden fences, it didn't matter. I began putting the whip in front of her when I wanted her to stop or change directions to teach her not to run through anything and it worked. Now to stop her I just say ho and she stops and if she is bad I do a lot of changes in direction by putting the ship in front of her several times and she starts behaving again.

Another reason I don't like the way Clinton does it is that we have to get the hind end moving to lift the back, create softness, gain control, and use muscle in his hind. If we teach the horse to stop by placing the ship towards his hind end we are teaching him to deactivate the hind every time we need him to move forward or over. That will translate to problems in the saddle as well. If it is something you currently do and it works for you go ahead and keep doing it, but I don't recommend it personally for my students when I teach.

Many instructors, while lunging, will click or kiss to their horses to change speed in a gait or into a different gait. I only use those aids if I am asking for more umf. I use my voice instead. I say, walk, trot, canter. I say them in different speeds and tones depending on how lengthened or shortened I want the gait to be. Plus, once I am in the saddle, I can use the words with my aids to help my horse easily learn the aids and eventually I'll no longer need my voice in the saddle.

This also works for leg yielding in the saddle. On the ground when I want my horse to move over I say, "over". Even if I just want my horses back end to move over. Horses are smarter than we often give them credit for, because every horse I have trained has learned to leg yield in the saddle by using the word "over" while I give the new leg aid for it. I can actually feel them relax and the whole movement becomes easier once I say it to them when they are having trouble with it. Thus, it is worth adding the word "over" to your lunging when you want to ask the horse to move over on the lunge as you walk into him.

Note: You always want a connection to the horse's mouth while lunging him. You want to feel some pressure, up to 15 pounds is normal. The heavier weight is more usual for younger or green horses and the lighter weight is more usual for more experienced well trained horses. The lighter weight feeling takes time. Until the horse has enough muscle built he will need help through the lunge line, because the line helps him balance himself. Don't discourage this process. I will also mention that you may start to notice, while riding, that you feel a similar weight in your reins.

Now, let's move on to how the horse should look on the lunge as you lunge him when you are not using the side reins. Remember, that we are not starting a green horse and that I am assuming your horse already knows the basics of moving around the circle. However, I will be taking in consideration that he may not yet be used to being worked on the lunge in this new way.

Once the horse knows that he must move away from you and is doing so more or less regularly we will begin to see the difference in how the horse moves on the end of the lunge line. When a horse is just moving around a circle with no real purpose in mind he will most likely be keeping his head up and his nose pocked out. His neck may even look like a "u". That is how the horse looks when he is not using his hind end and/or keeping his weight to the outside of his body.

As the horse starts weight his outside body and using his hind end more and more you will notice how his head starts to lower and in fact look as if it is stretching forwards and down. He may even start to lower the head so much as to almost touch the ground with the tip of his nose.

The horses back will begin to look more popped up and his haunches will also start looking more tucked under. Due to those changes, you will notice the horse's legs are moving in a more relaxed rhythm as they the hind legs stretch further under his body. Finally, you'll see the hind legs begin to move quicker than his front legs in all gaits the gaits.

This is the time to add the side reins during the lunge sessions. This is not something you must do, but if you planed on using them at some point, this would be when to start. As I stated earlier, at first keep them attached as loosely as possible on the lowest rings of the surcingal or the lowest part of his saddle, but not between his legs, and the horse will let you know when he is ready to accept a gradual tightening. Don't ever use them to hold the head into position though. If they are used in that way, then, you will end up undoing the previous work on the lunge and the horse will develop stiff moving gaits.

Why use side reins? Side reins help teach the horse to accept a stable contact with the bit. It's a great first step in getting a better connection through the reins when you ride. The side reins are stable and any pulling the horse does with them on will only cause the horse to punish himself so he will learn to respect them and accept them. Nor will he associate you with any negative self-punishment through the side reins. Instead he will learn cause and effect in his own way.

Side reins also add to the training in a more advanced way. Then encourage the horse to shift his weight even more rearward onto his hinge end. You will notice his back rounding even more as the hind end sinks further down and under his body.

Always remember to keep the horse moving forward with the side reins on and to continue to push him towards his outside body. In that way he will learn to connect with the bit rather than evade it. If he begins to go behind the bit, his nostrils behind his eyes, either loosen the reins, or push him more forward. Limit the time you allow the horse to walk with them on since it is harder to maintain a forward walk than it is to in any other gait. Plus, he will not be able to move his head up and down as he needs to during the walking gait.

The horse should be allowed to be slightly in front of the vertical, his nostrils in front of his eyes, or totally vertical. His nose should not be so poked out that it is almost in the air though. If the horse has always been ridden on a short tight rein it will take him longer to gain confidence in the side reins so give him time. If he has never been ridden with a contact, the same rule applies.

You should now feel confident in lunging the horse in the proper way. There are many more advanced techniques in lunging that can further benefit the horse, but these tips will help get you started and for some of you may be all you ever need. To book a lesson to learn more (Ocala area residents only) feel free to email me at aboveparrequestrian@gmail.com or visit my website at http://aboveparrequestrian.tripod.com for more info and future eBooks.

This was originally made in eBook form, but has yet to be uploaded as such. That is why the eBook word is used so much in it. I hope everyone enjoys it :)