Lunging Question?!?!? Need help im new to this!?

Question

My thoroughbred mare, always trys to run into canter when im riding so people have said to try lunging her, she is nto schooled so i really need help schooling her,im gettin help from her previous owner, but i want to get her perfect, she is a very keen jumper and with a push i think she will be great.

My questions are:

1. When im lunging her, will she try and run off away from me?

2. If so what do i do, shes so big and strong?

3. What are good ways to bond with her so she trusts me. other than grooming?

4. When leading her back to the field, she trys to cut in front of me and sometimes nearly walks into me, how can i stop this?

5. Will lunging help? Problem is when were riding she has so much energy she wants to go!

Thanks for your help, give me as much links, pictures and answers as possible! Im determined to get her schooled.

Answer 1

Spencer is absolutely right but when it comes to lungeing - you cant just do this if you are new to it without supervision for a while.  Its actually a dangerous thing to do in the wrong hands.  Heck, I even know someone very experienced who nearly died lungeing - when the horse came in to her and they both became tangled in the lunge line.   You can do a lot of damage lungeing if you dont know what you are doing and you can get hurt.  So you need to take some lungeing lessons pronto.

The join up approach is a good one so yes to that - but again, you will need some instruction in this.

The leading her back to the field manners has to be reinforced as you would a child.  Do not let her do this.  Stop her and chastise her each time she does something wrong.  Even if takes you an hour to get to the field - you have to reinforce good behaviour in her.

Lessons lessons lessons - for you as well as the horse!

Answer 2

1. Depends on the horse. try it and if she does fix it.

2. Get a training halter. It is twisted behind the ears and has knots on the nose. If she tries to run off loosen on the lunge line and just jerk her it. I know it sounds kind of mean but its not .

3. Uhm well thats upp to you. Just go out in the pasteurs and I guess talk to her? I would just say dont give her treats until she is schooled and has a good consistent behavior.  and if you do dont give to much cause then she could get greedy and expect a treat every time you see her and then she could get pushy.

4. If she walks ahead on you do the same as when lunging. Loosen  up and jerk her head back. Just make sure that she knows you are the one in control and that she listens to you.

5. Well I think all lunging will do is tire her out a little. It is not a cure all but may work. My horse was the same way and it took A LOT of patience to straighten her out. But now it is routine for me to lunge her for a while before i get on and she is also an amazing jumper.

hope it helped =]

Answer 3

I strongly recommend getting a trainer to teach you. Lunging is not something that is easily learned even when you have a trained horse. I think a lot can go wrong if you don't know what you're doing and either you or your horse can be seriously hurt.

I had to train my off the track thoroughbred mare how to lunge and it was a project! If it wasn't for my trainer my mare would still be dragging me down the ring, balking and rearing like a maniac leaving me in tears thinking I was incompetent despite my years of experience. She lunges like a pro now, listening well to voice commands that transfer to undersaddle work.

I think lunging would definately help your mare listen better undersaddle, but it must be taught correctly to have the desired result on your horse and hands on with a knowledgable trainer is the best way to attain it. You can't take short cuts with lunging because any weakness will show up 5x's worse undersaddle.

1. Whips aren't always necessary. I've never had to use one with my mare and she still respects my voice commands.

2. Don't use equipment you don't have experience with and/or don't know how to use.

3. Purchase a soft plain cotton lunge line, no chain. The longer the better so you can work on various exercises through the size of your lunging circle. A plain cotton lunge line is the best. It's as soft as a pillow and it won't give you rope burns even if it slips, and if it gets caught through the horse's legs it won't cause a rope burn. My trainer won't lunge her babies in anything else.

Good luck and stay safe!

Answer 4

1. & 2. Make sure to get a longer lead so you will have more leverage and get a rope halter with knots tied in it to get her attention. I call them "thinking bumps". When she goes to run off, lean back and pull her eyes back on you. Stay ahead of her so you have the advantage. Really watch for signs she's going to start taking off and bump her to you before that happens. You can always outrun a horse when they've got two eyes on you but if they have two feet to you, good luck outrunning that.

3.The issue isn't really "trust" you should be worrying more about "respect". Once she respects you, the trust will closely follow. Herd animals need an order or leader. Once you're the leader, she'll follow you (trust you).

4. You don't have her respect. She's walking over the top of you. When she disrespects you like that, get in her face and get her out of your personal space. I like using a short crop to teach this. When they walk all over you first shake the crop at there face in a rhythmic (1,2,3,4) motion. If they don't back up, tap them on the face with it (1,2,3,4) if they still don't back up tap HARDER (1,2,3,4). Keep upping the anty if they're not backing up and as soon as they do, stop and rub their face with the crop. Keep doing that as much as you have to until they REMAIN out of your space. This is a safety issue for you, she needs out of your space! Pretty soon you can wiggle the rope first, then shake the crop, tap, etc. If you wiggle the lead first then pretty soon you can have her backing all over the place just by wiggling your rope. Try it out, you'll see, it's pretty neat. When she gets good at it, back her everywhere you go. Back her back to the pasture!

5. It's okay if a horse has energy. It's not okay if you don't have control over the horse when you're riding it. If she starts going faster than you want, one-rein stop her down to a stop then release. Keep doing that WHENEVER SHE GOES FASTER THAN YOU WANT. She's getting away with it right now, and that's why you're going faster than you want. Keep on top of her and earn her RESPECT. Be firm, but neccessary!

If you don't know how to lunge really, I would recommend buying Clinton Anderson's DVD "Lungeing for Respect 1". This will really teach you the basics and get a GOOD handle on your horse. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Answer 5

1. If shes never been taught how to lunge then probably not, chances are she'll stand there and not have a clue what to do. To teach her to lunge you need to stand in the middle with her on the line parallel to her shoulder and if you need a whip then keep it behind her bum. But it doesnt sound like you'll need one if you just flick the end of the line or use voice commands. Get someone to lead her round the outside then when you want her to trot give her the command and the person will have to run with her, if you want her to stop get the person the stand her still. Continue like that then slowly make it so the person is just walking along side her then so that she doesnt need a person to follow at all. Be patient and take it slow :) and never actually hit her with the whip or end of the line!!!

2. Just try your best to hold her, try very very very hard not to let her pull away, this shouldnt happen anyway if you have another person to lead her.

3. Try join up, i've done it a few times with my mare and it really creates respect between you. http://www.montyroberts.com/index.html

4. Join up might help this, you can turn her in a circle  as soon as she tries to do that then continue walking. Make sure she knows YOU are the leader and YOU make the descisions.

5. Yes lunging should help get rid of excess energry. You can try free schooling too once shes sorted with voice commands etc, it gives them more freedom and i think it allows them to run off more energy. Check what you're feeding her, make sure its low energy, and avoid keeping her in the stable, turn her out as much as possible.

Good luck! :)

x*x

Answer 6

When you are lunging her with you afraid that she will run off with you, I would put a cavasson on her. I lunged my big lad one day without one, and I had major rope burn!! lol The cavasson allows you control of where the nose is going and therefore the rest of the horse.

When your horse cuts infront of you, go back to basics. Ask her to take a couple of steps back before you carry on walking. Make sure that you are consistent with this, I do this with mine when I first walk them if they become bargy. Not only does it acheive the desired result, but it does enforce the fact that you are the boss without screaming/shouting and stamping of feet.

Lunging will definately help with getting a bit of the fire out of her, but what also are you feeding her? Bring the feed down to basics as a lot of horses are fed too much grain for the amount of work they do. Most horses cannot learn because their heads are all over the place with the amount of food being fed. Hope this works.

Answer 7

well first i would suggest natural horsemanship. you can build a great bond with you horse and be partners. and maybe if you cant do that another way to bond with her is just to go out to her and bring an apple or carrot and just give it to her and pet her and then leave or just walk her around but not work her. so that she dosnt always think that your just going to come and work her every time she sees you.

Answer 8

when you lunge your horse it might be gooo d to have a whip, and a good way to bond with your horses is to go out to the stables and pet him for a while every other day

Answer 9

i have found a quick guide for you on how to lunge your horse but if it has never done this before then make sure you have some one with you and that you are in an enclosed area, not the middle of a field, make sure you wear hat and gloves just in case.

as for him/her walking in front of you that is something that you need to deal with, obviously he doesn't respect your space or your toes!! try to walk at his shoulder so you can push him away from you if he gets too close, as for walking infront of you keep checking him back , as though you were half halting when you ride, if this doesn't work try taking him to the field with a bridle on instead of a head collar ( obviously take it off before you let go of him) this will give you a bit more control.

you just need to spend lots of time with him so that he gets to trust you and gets to know what you allow and don't allow, if he is new to you he is prob just testing you out to see how much he can get away with. Be consistent with your commands, and strict but kind, he will soon find out what is except able.  

have fun

Answer 10

us a lung line and when she tires to be the boss show her that you are the boss and not her you have to be strict with her its good that she wants to go go go but she cant always do that