A few tips and tricks of what not to do that I always use while lunging while training any horse especially young horses…
1. Don’t Rush through lunging – Take time to know what your horse is thinking and how they are feeling… you can fix and ruin a lot during a lunging session.
2. Don’t set a time limit make sure you have lots of time when training your horse…
3. Make sure not tip toe around let your horse know where you are and what your about.
4. Don’t skip rest sessions, where you allow your horse time to show the 5 signs of relaxing and thinking that way you know they are taking in what you are teaching them…
If lunging in an open arena, a risk is the horse getting strong and pulling away from the handler (risk to horse and handler). To reduce the risk of injury, wear gloves while lunging and stay in a protective stance (your legs slightly staggered) to ensure you don’t get pulled over/ loss your balance.
Whip positioning is very important in making sure you give the correct cues and you aren’t confusing your horse, also learning how to be coordinated while handling the rope and the whip simultaneously is very important for safety of both you and the horse and a rider if you are lunging a rider
Good advice, stay in a triangle with the horse’s position so she doesn’t get worried about you being in front, and doesn’t kick out if you’re behind. Make sure you fold the lunge instead of wrapping it around your hands, so you don’t get pulled or tangled.
Knowing where you are applying pressure to the horse through your body position is the number one most important thing for lunging to be clear and safe for you and your horse. stepping ahead of the horse puts pressure on their front which can cause them to stop, spin ect but we also dont want to be standing any further behind them than their shoulder/ ribs as they may read the pressure and run away from it, and lose connection with us.
Using the correctly fitted lunging tack for your horse is essential for their comfort and safety. Correct use of lunge rain and whip is important for lunge’s. Ensuring the lunger is wearing the appropriate clothing and gear is essential to minimise risk of injury. The lunging body position has a great influence on the horses willingness to go forward calmly.
The correct body position is important, always remember to stay in the triangle as getting too far in front or behind is not safe, been too far behind could result in a kick from the horse.
Great tips. Like others have said, to minimise risk, I would be folding the lungerope (not looping). I would also be beneficial to have included footage of a full visual of you with a horse – even better would be an arial view or diagram of the triangle shape you are making. Some drone footage from above would greatly enhance this video.
Great advice I would fold the lunge rope rather than lope and ensure I am standing in line with the horses shoulder and hip. Having correct body position is so important to ensure safety of both horse and handler.
Body position is important to how the horse responds whilst being lunged. If you get to far behind you may be at risk of a horse kicking out.
All good, helpful tips. I usually fold the lunge rein rather than loop it, like a do with a lead rope. Loops become dangerous.
Fold Lunge rope rather than loop, but if you must loop the rope ensure they are large loops.
A few tips and tricks of what not to do that I always use while lunging while training any horse especially young horses…
1. Don’t Rush through lunging – Take time to know what your horse is thinking and how they are feeling… you can fix and ruin a lot during a lunging session.
2. Don’t set a time limit make sure you have lots of time when training your horse…
3. Make sure not tip toe around let your horse know where you are and what your about.
4. Don’t skip rest sessions, where you allow your horse time to show the 5 signs of relaxing and thinking that way you know they are taking in what you are teaching them…
If lunging in an open arena, a risk is the horse getting strong and pulling away from the handler (risk to horse and handler). To reduce the risk of injury, wear gloves while lunging and stay in a protective stance (your legs slightly staggered) to ensure you don’t get pulled over/ loss your balance.
Whip positioning is very important in making sure you give the correct cues and you aren’t confusing your horse, also learning how to be coordinated while handling the rope and the whip simultaneously is very important for safety of both you and the horse and a rider if you are lunging a rider
Good advice, stay in a triangle with the horse’s position so she doesn’t get worried about you being in front, and doesn’t kick out if you’re behind. Make sure you fold the lunge instead of wrapping it around your hands, so you don’t get pulled or tangled.
Knowing where you are applying pressure to the horse through your body position is the number one most important thing for lunging to be clear and safe for you and your horse. stepping ahead of the horse puts pressure on their front which can cause them to stop, spin ect but we also dont want to be standing any further behind them than their shoulder/ ribs as they may read the pressure and run away from it, and lose connection with us.
Using the correctly fitted lunging tack for your horse is essential for their comfort and safety. Correct use of lunge rain and whip is important for lunge’s. Ensuring the lunger is wearing the appropriate clothing and gear is essential to minimise risk of injury. The lunging body position has a great influence on the horses willingness to go forward calmly.
being in the wrong position can lead to being kicked or horse could rear on you
This is a really good refresher video. It has reminded me to always wear gloves, they’re easily forgotten.
The correct body position is important, always remember to stay in the triangle as getting too far in front or behind is not safe, been too far behind could result in a kick from the horse.
Great tips. Like others have said, to minimise risk, I would be folding the lungerope (not looping). I would also be beneficial to have included footage of a full visual of you with a horse – even better would be an arial view or diagram of the triangle shape you are making. Some drone footage from above would greatly enhance this video.
These are good ideas which would definitely improve the video.
Great advice I would fold the lunge rope rather than lope and ensure I am standing in line with the horses shoulder and hip. Having correct body position is so important to ensure safety of both horse and handler.
Good response Kara, excellent safety awareness regarding not looping the lunge rope, but rather folding it across the hand.