Why Lunging?
With the rise in popularity of natural horsemanship methods where the horse is usually worked loose in a round pen, the tradition of lunging a horse as the basis for its training and preparation for ridden work has perhaps lost popularity in recent years. However, lunging a horse properly has certain attributes which make it gymnastically a far superior method of training to loose work.
Lunging a horse well is the ideal basis of all training because it develops the strength and straightness required for a horse to carry a rider without damaging effects. It is essential that the lunging is carried out in the right way for it to be beneficial. The most important advantage of lunging is that it makes it possible to work the horse on the correct bend.
The most important advantage of lunging is that it makes it possible to work the horse on the correct bend.
A horse’s natural way of balancing and aligning his body through a turn is very different from what is balanced for carrying a rider. Naturally, horses bend their body against the turn – with their head and quarters bent out, and their belly falling inwards – and usually they lean into the turn. This may be an efficient way of balancing for a horse without a rider, but when a horse is under saddle this is very undesirable.
Lunging a horse with two lines allows the development of the bend through the combination of the contact with the head and the hind quarters. When correctly employed, these lines can be used to mold the horse into the correct alignment, which initiates the essential engagement.
Lunging a horse well is an art that takes patience to develop. It is not easy to be able to control the horse’s body and way of moving at a distance.
The light contact in the lunge line, is absolutely essential to good lunging.
Correct patterns, such as a round circle or a straight line that is truly straight, help to straighten the horse and to find his lateral balance. A crooked horse, on the other hand, will always leave the pattern by drifting in or out, which creates an imbalance in the direction in which the horse is drifting.
A straight line that is truly straight
Connecting the inside rein to the halter through the snaffle ring
Connecting the inside rein to the halter through the snaffle ring
Connecting the outside rein to the halter through the snaffle ring
Connecting the outside rein to the halter through the snaffle ring
