Horse Care For Beginners » longeing

Lunging a Horse ~ How To Go About It.

Russell — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 06:20:45 +0000

What are the benefits of horse lunging?

Lunging your horse is one method of teaching him that you’re the pack leader and to understand and respect your instructions to him through your body language, with the assistance of a lunge whip, and well as your verbal commands.
Even in the later stages of your horse training and riding, lunging is a very affective method of using up excess energy prior to your mounted ride should you horse be ‘full of spirit’! But be sure you don’t overdo it prior to your ride. Ten minutes covering a short ‘walk’, a short ‘trot’, and possibly a short ‘canter’. Possibly five minutes in both directions.
When you are just too busy to get the ride you want, a period horse lunging is a great way to to provide exercise for your horse, which ideally he should be getting every day.

Should I lunge my horse with, or without a saddle?

This is purely your choice. If the lunging is for exercise only, I ‘d suggest you go with no saddle, just a halter. If you’re going to ride after the lunging I’d suggest you tack your horse up with the saddle and a snaffle bridle. But be sure the stirrup irons are secured up at the top of the leathers to prevent them from bouncing about.

Getting started

When you commence your lunging session, start by working slow, smooth and easy. Think of your horse as being young with a short attention span and still developing his knees. So keep your sessions short ~ no more than 10 minutes. But this isn’t to say an older horse won’t benefit from lunging, too, he will.

Communicating with your horse and setting up the pecking order.

First, your horse must know what is being asked of him and ultimately, both of you need to be on the same page while “communicating” with each other. So start the lunging to open the lines of communication and create correct movement with your horse. While it may sound odd to have your horse working in a circle it actually teaches him something. It sets up the pecking order between you and your horse by controlling your horse’s space. It also acts to condition your horse no matter what his age.

Pecking order communication starts with your horse reading your body language and vice versa. Over time, and with lots of patience, your horse learns to wait for your signals rather than run in tight little circles. Once commands are learned on the ground, it makes them easier for your horse to understand while you’re mounted.

Start with the right lunging equipment.

You’ll need to start with the right equipment. This should include a properly fitted halter, lightweight lunge whip, a lunge line that you can work with in comfort and boots for leg protection in case your horse happens to have an over reach. The lunge whip by the way, is an aid only and not your primary training tool.

Where to lunge your horse.

Try to lunge in a round pen or an enclosed area of some sort with rounded corners, and flat ground. Remember the goal is to keep control of your horse at all times, so don’t try this in an area without fencing. When you start your lesson, always start with one direction and stick to it. If you choose to work on the left side, then always hold your lead in the left hand with excess line in your right (and the whip as well, if you choose to use one) and keep all body positions the same. You start to the left, pointing to the left, leading the horse’s nose to the left and move your feet, swing your rope end (or lift the whip) towards the horses hip to ask for forward movement. Should your horse keep facing you then guide him forward by swinging your rope/whip toward his shoulder.

So now your horse is moving in a circle to the left. Move with him, staying in the middle of the round pen with sufficient line played out. Keep the whip low, or your rope end low and walk quietly. The thing you want to teach your horse is, that if YOUR feet are moving, his feet need to be moving. Keep your body behind his withers to ensure forward movement. If you get in front of the withers, your horse will probably stop. If he does, calmly keep moving and touch the whip or rope end to his hind legs to keep him moving until YOU stop your feet.

The major reason this approach will work, and work well, is that this is totally natural behavior for a horse. If you lunge in this manner, your horse will understand your body language almost immediately. So initially use body language, then you can add voice to the body language.

Adding the verbal command.

Once your horse has your body language learned you can add your voice commands to match your body language. You’ve already laid the foundation for him to understand what you are asking with your body. By combining a verbal command with your body language, it’s relatively easy for him to make the association between body and voice. You’re doing all the pre-preparatory work so that when you do saddle your horse, he can make the transition from ground body language and voice commands to the same language in the saddle. Your body language and position are crucial when communicating with your horse. Once you are in the saddle, if your body language matches what you gave your horse on the ground, you will build confidence in your horse that you are a trustworthy leader and he’ll listen to you.

Teaching your horse to stop.

Now you need to learn how to teach your horse to stop. As simple as it sounds, all you have to do is stop all forms of communication. Stop walking, lower your head, and softly say “Whoa!” If you want a nice stop, quiet and relaxed, you have to give your horse the right language to do that. If your horse doesn’t stop, just keep on walking and try it again. He’ll get the idea so long as you have the patience. Bottom line is if you want a nice quiet and obedient horse, you have to be all those things yourself.

Positioning your horse.

Remember to keep your horse ‘on the fence’, not into the middle of the circle with you while you’re lunging him.. Should he drifts in, point your the whip or swing the rope at his shoulder to move him back out. Just keep doing that until he does a few nice clean rounds staying in a circle. Then you can stop him and praise and pet him. Once this positioning is almost automatic, you can then change direction and work on the other side. So if you started on the left, switch to the right and work on that side. What you will be doing on the right side is exactly what you were doing on the left side.

Your horse may have a ‘good side’ and a ‘bad side’.

And here’s some good news, in many instances once your horse has learned what you want on one side, you probably find that it won’t take as long to train on the other side. Having said that, it’s important to note that many horses do have a good lead/side and a bad lead/side and it may seem your horse is have trouble with “getting it right” on that bad side. You will be able to tell if this is the case with your horse once you have had the chance to work with both sides. If this happens, don’t be discouraged about it. You’ll find it will just require a bit more patience on both your parts to work through this.

Moving on into change of gait.

Having mastered the start, walk, and stop, add in the trot and then move on to the canter/lope. To trot, raise the whip a couple of feet higher. Raise your shoulders and trot ~ yes, you trot too. If your horse doesn’t trot, cluck to him. If that does not work, crack the whip. Once in the trot maintain your body and whip position. Your horse should keep trotting until you drop your arm/whip position and slow your trot to a walk.

Moving to the canter.

For the canter, raise the whip a bit higher than for the trot and cluck to your horse. And yes, you will be running as well. The nice thing about this process, aside from the fact you will be in great shape when the two of you are done, is that your horse will have learned to listen to you and respond to body and voice commands.

It’s always a very special feeling to see the end results of patient and loving training.

And one parting point. It’s been established that the most subtle and precise cues that can be given to a horse is by the astute use of the rider’s seat and legs, something you you will probably have to be taught by a well qualified instructor.

Recommended reading: The New Rider’s Horse Encyclopedia by Elwyn Hartley

So, You Want To Buy Your First Horse ~ What You Need To Know

Russell — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:24:27 +0000

You can probably feel it in your blood. Why? Because the warmer weather is coming. Spring is in the air. As you wander around out of doors you notice that, at last, the grass is starting to grow and the paddocks are recovering their lush, green look. At this time you can vividly imagine yourself meandering down a country lane or cantering across the green paddocks on your very first own horse.

All this feels so good to you, but you haven’t yet got your own horse! So you decide that now is the time to take positive action.

So just what do you need to know?

Here are 6 important and practical tips to help you find just the right horse.

1. Where should you look for your perfect horse?

One of your best starting places are the contacts you have with people who already own a horse. Look for notice boards that you’ll find in your local horse supply outlets, saddle and pony clubs, and riding schools.
Then look for those horses that are advertised in both local and national magazines. One of these, if you’re in its coverage area, is Horse and Hound.
Bear in mind that for advertised horses you’ll need to be quick off the mark. You may well find that the best horses may be quickly sold in just the first few days. You’ll also need to be prepared to travel as many available horses could be quite some distance from your home. Be prepared for some disappointment along the way and realise that it may take some considerable time to find just the right horse for you.
2. What questions should you ask yourself before you go looking for your horse?

Before you even go to look at your first horse give honest answers to these three questions:

*       What is my budget?
*       What do I want to do with my horse?
          Do I want hunt and jump, dressage, or simply trail ride?
*       What is the level of my riding ability?

Make sure you’re totally honest and keep the answers to these questions firmly in mind. It’s easy to go astray by falling in love with a totally unsuitable horse. In such a case you may find that you end up with a horse you cannot control or if, for example, you want to jump, a horse that has a total aversion to jumping. Keep a clear head and let it rule your heart! And remember, keeping a horse can be an expensive business – there is no point in overstretching yourself in buying a horse as you’re going to need to buy saddle, and other expensive tack.
3. When you go to inspect a prospective horse, what should you look for?

Be sure you see the horse in every day situations. Don’t just rely on the seller’s statements, ask to see for yourself. Watch him be saddled up. Does he stand quietly or does he move and fidget around? A horse may behave well when being ridden, but be inclined to kick and bite when being fitted up with his tack, or having a rug put on or off.

Examine the horse carefully for signs of sweatmarks. He may well have been lunged or given a vigorous ride before you turn up making him appear much quieter than he really is. Also realise that a horse that is used to being exercised more than you have time for may mean that you have a much more excitable horse on your hands than you can handle.

4. You’ve never bought a horse before, so what should you do when you try him out?

If you’ve only ridden at riding school or saddle/pony club before, without having your instructor standing in the middle telling you what to do, you may find yourself at a loss. So, before you go to your horse inspection it’s advisable to decide on a short routine you’ll use to test the horse you’re assessing to decide whether this is the right horse for you or not. It’s also a good idea to take an experienced horse riding friend along with you for the inspection. Your friend can also help you with the following sample routines:

Sample routines:
Walk the horse, halting once or twice to make sure the horse is listening to you.
Walk a 20 metre circle, watching to see if he leans in or out. Change rein and repeat this walk in the reverse direction.
If he bends easier on one rein than the other, this is not a fault as most horses tend to have a stronger rein. More important, is he is attentive to you?

Then trot the horse. Does he go forward eagerly, or is he reluctant?
As in the walking exercise, work a circle on both reins. Does he drop out of a trot as he bends?
Does he try to go forward into a canter?
Whatever the result, you will have to decide if you’d be happy with the horse’s behaviour.
Once again, your experienced friend may help you decide.

If you’re happy with the trot, try the canter on each rein. The horse should make the upward transition smoothly when you ask him to do it. It’s important that he do it on the correct leg. If you didn’t learn this at riding school or saddle/pony club, hopefully your friend can help you with this also.

If you want a horse for jumping, make sure you put him over a fence or some other reasonably high jump.
Is he eager or is he inclined to baulk and need a lot of encouragement?

It’s important to decide before you visit the horse and try him, exactly what you’re looking for, and what you’re prepared to work with. There’s no point falling in love at first sight with a beautiful animal you can’t control – or one which is reluctant to jump when that is your reason for buying!

In buying a horse you’re forming a partnership which you’ll have for quite some time. Your partner must be chosen very carefully to make sure he is compatible with your level of riding and what you want to do. Commonsense should rule here – not your heart!

5. When you go to see a horse, should you see him ridden first?

Without a doubt, YES! Should the vendor say there’s no one available to ride him, think about just going home! It may be that the horse is too difficult for anyone to ride. You should only attempt to ride him if you are a very experienced rider – otherwise be prepared to walk away, or at the very least try and arrange a time when you can come back and see him ridden before you try him.

The current owner should ride a routine along the same lines to the one previouly outlined to let you assess the horse’s way of going, and how he responds to the rider’s instructions. If he makes upwards transitions easily for someone else, but not for you, this may be something that can be overcome with some lessons – but be wary. There is a saying that a horse’s ability sinks to match those of its rider! Just because the horse you’ve fallen in love with makes flying changes on demand for its current owner does not mean that it will make them for you if you can’t ride at the same level of competence.

6. You’ve found the horse you want. Is there anything else I should do before buying him?

Just one thing more. And it’s really essential. You need to arrange to have your potential new horse thoroughly checked by a qualified veterinarian. Try to select a vet who is well experienced in dealing with horses. Yes, it is quite expensive, but a few dollars spent now could save you a lot of heartache and many dollars in the years to come.

Finally, be prepared for it to take quite a few months to find the right horse for you and to fit him out with the right saddle and tack, but be assured the wait will be worthwhile. One thing is almost certain. At the finish that palamino mare you had pictured yourself riding away into the sunset may well turn out to be a percherson thoroughbred cross gelding! But whatever size, colour or sex you end up with, if you’ve taken your time choosing, you’ll have a wonderful partnership for many years to come!