GOOD LUNGING IS AN EXCELLENT AND VERY IMPORTANT TOOL FOR YOU AND YOUR HORSE.

It is like movement therapy, providing for soft flowing movements that are developed from understanding of how to correctly move on a circle. Good lunging brings relaxation, enhanced balance with clear rhythm, as a consequence it improves muscle tone and prepares the horse for the weight bearing work under the rider.

BUT GOOD LUNGING MAY NOT BE AS EASY AS YOU THINK....

Lunging is very hard work for the horse, which is usually greatly undervalued.

✥ undervalued in its degree of difficulty for the horse
✥ undervalued for the negative effects of bad lungeing
✥ undervalued for the positive effects of good lungeing

If you were to look a little closer you’d also see that it’s not that easy for the owner/trainer, if it was then why are so many horses ‘ laced up’ in the most adventurous ways? Why do you see horses storming off on the lunge, buck or even rear? Why do most horses move incorrectly on the lunge, for example in flexion to the outside, falling in or out of their shoulders, with hollow backs and or without active hind quarters?

It could be said, and forgiven, that the majority of horse owners/trainers never really learnt how to lunge correctly, mostly due to not understanding exactly what the challenges are for the horse when moving on a circle and, because there are so few instructions for correct balanced lunging. It is like movement therapy, providing for soft flowing movements that are developed from understanding of how to correctly move on a circle. Good lunging brings relaxation, enhanced balance with clear rhythm, as a consequence it improves muscle tone and prepares the horse for the weight bearing work under the rider.

THE TROUBLE WITH THE CIRCLE IS....

To be able to lunge well you have to look closely at what happens when you ask the horse to move on a circle. Firstly, nature has not intended for the horse to ‘run’ on a circle. Normally horses move in straight lines, sometimes shying to the side, turning on the spot, but you won’t find a horse in the paddock runing in a circle! Therefore, the horse first has to be trained to work on a circle in varying paces.

Many trainers speak out against lunging. Their argument is that the circle is damaging for ligaments, tendons and joints of the horse. It’s easy to agree with them when you see so many horses ‘running’ slanted on the circle looking to the outside, when they have not learnt to engage their hind quarters and free their shoulders it will cause stress and damage.

When a horse moves on the circle, under the rider or on the lunge, in a slanted posture (leaning in), the following happens:

✥ The horses body turns around the inner fore leg. This leads to very damaging rotational forces in the leg/joints.

✥ With the continuos flexion to the outside, the inner shoulder of the horse will not have the normal freedom and range of movement. The shortened arc of movement of the fore leg leads to a ‘stabbing into the ground’ of the front leg, meaning the horse can not achieve a soft, free and rhythmical movement with suspension. Instead it causes rushing, irregular, unbalanced, unsuspended, hard and damaging steps with the front legs - i.e. the horse runs on the fore hand.

✥ Because the horse leans on the inner front leg and turns around it in an attempt to maintain its balance, the hind quarters tend to swing out of the line of the circle. When the hind legs on the circle step outside the line of the horses body, the horse cannot engage its hindquarters.

✥ When the hindquarters don’t engage, the back of the horse can not be lifted through the muscles of the croup. The back doesn’t swing upwards consequently there is no load taken off the fore hand of the horse. Which further leads to the muscles, that are primarily designed for movement, having to maintain continuous tension leading to inflammation and continued soreness.

From the simple and often seen fact that a horse leans into a curve or circle, it causes a whole chain reaction of damaging effects.

GOOD LUNGING IS NOT DAMAGING....

But, to avoid any possible detrimental effects the horse should first learn:

1. to bend according to the circle, instead of falling into the circle,
2. to engage with its hindquarters,
3. and to lift the inner shoulder thus transferring weight.

Good lunging work is movement therapy therefore, if your horse has learned the above, the following develops:

✥ the back develops and strengthens through rounding and arching from relaxed muscles
✥ balance, relaxation and clear rhythm with out restraint
✥ the 'letting loose' of the neck out of the withers, further lifting of the back
✥ activates the hind quarters
✥ tracks up
✥ the centre of gravity moves under the horse, allowing them to take more weight with the hind quarters

"LUNGING CAN RESOLVE MUSCULAR TENSIONS; IT IS ESTIMATED THAT AROUND 80% OF ALL LAMENESS IN HORSES IS CAUSED BY MUSCULAR TENSION. SOFT FLOWING MOVEMENTS ARE LIKE SHOCK ABSORBERS FOR THE JOINTS AND EXACTLY THOSE MOVEMENTS CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH CORRECT LUNGING WORK. ESPECIALLY WITH VERY TENSE HORSES THIS TYPE OF LUNGEING IS AN EXCELLENT METHOD OF LOOSENING THEM UP."