Lunging Explained: Lunging Horses Correctly

The purpose of lunge work

 Lunging horses can be done for various reasons, including preparing young horses for riding, encouraging consistent movement without a rider, improving rhythm, balance, contact, agility and bending, muscle development, providing variety for horse and rider and providing an opportunity to correct problem horses. It also serves to prepare the horse for seat training and can be carried out before riding or after illnesses.

Requirements for correct lunging

In order for lunging to be effective and useful for your horse, certain requirements must be met. These requirements include

• A fenced area: For the first training sessions on the lunge, a fenced area is essential. This allows you to lead your horse safely.
• Basic knowledge of groundwork: Your horse should at least know the basics. In some cases, however, lunging can be useful in addition to groundwork.
• Preparatory free running: It can be helpful to free-walk your horse before lunging, possibly with the assistance of a helper. This allows your horse to learn important commands such as kicking, stopping, and turning before being worked on the lunge. Note, however, that a securely fenced area of appropriate size is required for free-running.
• Appropriate equipment: The equipment used for lunge work must be appropriate and serve the purpose.
• Experience of lunger and horse: The experience of both your horse and the lunger himself plays an important role. The more inexperienced the horse, the more experienced the lunger should be, and vice versa.

The lunging circle

The condition of the ground and the size of the lunging circle are important factors when lunging your horse. You should keep this in mind:

• Ground: The ground on which lunging takes place should be grippy and elastic. It must not be too deep, because a too soft or deep surface can negatively affect the movement of the horse.
• Circle diameter: Usually a lunging circle with a diameter of 14 to 20 meters is used. However, the size of the circle should be adapted to the training level of the horse and the planned task or gait.
• Adjust circle size: A circle that is too large can cause you to have difficulty reaching your horse with the lunge whip, causing you to lose control of your horse. On the other hand, a circle that is too small can cause your horse to be hectic and put too much strain on the musculoskeletal system. A relaxed bend and arch of the neck are also difficult to achieve in a too small circle.

Choosing a suitable surface and adjusting the size of the circle to your horse's needs are therefore essential aspects to ensure that lunging is effective and gentle on your horse.

Equipment for lunging

• The halter: The halter is an important part of your horse's equipment and must be carefully chosen to ensure comfort and safety while lunging. A well-fitting halter is critical, as it must not be too large or too wide to prevent it from tightening around the horse's head.
  There are different types of halters, each with different effects. Wide or padded halters have a softer effect and provide a larger contact area, which distributes the pressure on the horse's head evenly and increases comfort. On the other hand, narrow halters or knotted halters act on a smaller contact area and therefore tend to be more punctual.
  Choosing the right hal ter depends on your horse's individual needs and how it will be used. A well-fitting and comfortable halter is important not only for your horse's well-being, but also for your safety and effective control of your horse. Therefore, the choice should be made carefully.

• The cavesson: The cavesson is particularly well suited for lunging horses, but it is critical that it has a perfect fit and is used properly.
  A key feature of a cavesson is the throatlatch, which keeps the cheekpiece of the bridle away from your horse's eye. This contributes to the horse's comfort and safety by avoiding unnecessary pressure on the eye.
  A typical cavesson usually has three rings on the noseband. These rings allow the lunge to be buckled either inside or on the bridge of the nose, depending on the need and training situation. However, it is extremely important to note that heavy carabiners or attachments are not used on the bridge of the nose.
  Proper fitting of the cavesson is especially important. It should be buckled high enough so that the noseband is not too low on the horse's narrowly tapered nasal bone. This not only ensures the horse's comfort, but also allows for effective communication between you and your horse during training. A well-fitting and correctly fitted cavesson is therefore essential to lunge your horse safely and correctly.

• The lunge: When choosing a suitable lunge, there are several important criteria to consider.
  Firstly, the lunge should have a good grip and feel good in the hand. This will allow you to have a precise and controlled influence on your horse during training.
  The length of the lunge also plays an important role, with the standard length usually being 8 meters. This allows you to use the full lunging circle while keeping a short remaining piece in your hand.
  Furthermore, it is crucial that the lunge does not twist, as this can interfere with communication between you and your horse. In addition, the lunge should not be too heavy to make it easier to handle.
  Sometimes it can be advantageous to have a loop with a buckle instead of a carabiner at the end of the lunge, as this allows for individual adjustment.
  A controversial detail is the swivel at the beginning of the lunge. On the one hand, it allows the lunge to untwist, which can be useful, but on the other hand, there is a risk that the lunge will twist on its own. The choice often depends on personal preferences.
  Overall, choosing a high quality lunge is of great importance to ensure smooth communication between you and your horse.

• The lunge whip: First of all, the lunge whip should not be too heavy so that you can easily carry it one-handed for long periods of time.
  The length of the lunge whip, including the lash, is also important. It should be long enough to reach your horse, this is especially dependent on the diameter of the lunging circle you are training your horse on. A suitable length will ensure proper communication between you and your horse.
  The connection between the whip and the striking part must be sturdy and durable to ensure that the whip does not fall apart or get damaged during training.
  If the lungeing whip consists of two plug elements, these parts should hold together sturdily to prevent unwanted falling apart.
  A good option are so-called telescopic whips, which can be adjusted in length. These offer flexibility and convenience for the lunger, as they can be adjusted to suit different situations and horses.
  Choosing the right lunge whip is crucial to ensure effective control over the horse during lunging, while guaranteeing comfort and safety for all involved.

The lunge guide

You, as the lunge leader, play a crucial role in lunging and must keep in mind some important things in order to conduct effective and correct training sessions.

First of all, choosing the right equipment is of great importance. You should wear sturdy work shoes that give you a secure grip, especially when leading your horse on the lungeing circuit. Grip gloves are also essential to have a firm grip of the lunge or lunge whip. 

The rest of your clothing should be appropriate and not present a risk of accident. Ideal is riding clothes, where the outer clothing should be closed to avoid injuries. In addition, it is important to tie up very long hair.

Principles of lunge work

• Lunge work, like any training session, is divided into three phases: the solution phase, the work phase and the calming phase.
• It is important to perform judicious hand changes during lunging to ensure uniformity and balance of training.
• There should always be a clear objective in lunge work in order to make effective progress.
• The lunge itself must always be picked up properly and never drag on the ground to guarantee a safe guidance of your horse.
• The whip should not be on the floor to avoid possible disturbances or distractions.
• You, as the lunge leader, have the important task of keeping a close eye on your horse throughout the training in order to detect any signs of discomfort or irregularities in time to react appropriately.

Mistakes during lunge work

• The lunge is picked up in tangled loops.
• The lunge is wrapped tightly around the hand.
• The lunge drags on the ground.
• The whip is on the floor.
• The whip is in the wrong hand.
• Lunging without gloves.
• The lunge leader is distracted.
• The lunge leader immediately lets his horse gallop off.
• The lunge work has no clear structure

Giving aids during lunge work

• The position: It is of utmost importance to consciously choose your position and be aware of the effects of your current position. Your position can be either driving or restraining to the horse.
  In the basic position, you are slightly behind your horse's shoulder. This position has a driving effect when you move towards the hindquarters. It has a restraining effect when you move towards the head.
  Ideally, you should turn in small steps on as small a circle as possible with your horse, staying in the center of the circle if possible. On your left hand, rotate around your left foot, while on your right hand, rotate around your right foot.
  Constantly walking along with your horse or going backwards while lunging is undesirable. The focus should be on fluid forward movement and clear communication between you and your horse.
  While lunging, your horse will be on the circle line and framed.
  On the one hand by the lunge, which can also be restraining.
  On the right hand the lunge runs from the horse's head to your right hand, the whip you carry in your left hand.

• ‍Voice aids: Your voice is an important aid in communicating with your horse. It can be used in many ways and has a significant impact on your horse's behavior. This is not only through the choice of words, but also through tone of voice and emphasis.
  Words can be used like commands, especially during transitions and parades.
  In addition, your voice has an independent effect that goes beyond the words you use. It can be prompting, reassuring, praising, or calling attention.
  However, it is important to keep the volume of your voice within reasonable limits. Excessive talking can distract and deaden your horse. Therefore, communication with your horse should be thoughtful and purposeful.

• Handling the lungeing whip: There are a few important things to remember about the lungeing whip:
  The lungeing whip is an important part of your equipment, because without it, lunging is like riding without driving aids - quite limited in communication.
  Never forget, the whip is not a tool to punish your horse. It is used to send clear signals that your horse can easily understand.
  Using the whip requires practice to use it with purpose and subtlety.
  The whip is the visual support, so to speak, for the driving aids and can target specific points on the horse, such as the hocks, ischial tuberosities, shoulder or ribs.
  Timing is critical here. Using the whip at the right moment, with the right dosage and in the right place is what makes it useful.

You should avoid these mistakes when using the lunge whip:

• Avoid constantly driving your horse with the whip.
• Cracking whips. Nobody likes that, including your horse.
• Finger away from the horse's head with the whip.
• The whip should never be placed on the floor.
• Handling the lunge: You have two options for picking up the lunge: in loops of the same size or in loops that get about 10 cm smaller each time. Hold the safety loop loosely in your hand.

Place the loops evenly in the lunge hand with the hand in which you are holding the whip. They should lie neatly on top of each other and be easy to let out of the hand.
Depending on whether you are lunging on the left or right hand, hold the lunge in the left or right hand accordingly.
The lunge determines the radius of the circle and should be slightly sagging or slightly leaning, depending on the training goal. Keep the lunge hand upright so that the back of the hand, the forearm and the lunge form a straight line.To influence the horse, use similar principles as in riding, i.e. accepting and yielding aids. If the horse is to be driven outward, use the whip, not the lunge, and avoid constant pulling on the lunge.

Contents of the lunge work

The work with the lunge, offers you a variety of possibilities and is strongly dependent on the individual goals and the training level of your horse. Possible contents of the lunge work can be:

• Stand still
• Step work
• Trabarbeit
• Canter work
• Stop transitions
• Transitions between the different gaits
• Change of Hands
• Reducing and enlarging circles
• Shifting the circle line
• Variations in speed within a gait
• The installation of rod work

So lunge work can be used in many ways to meet your horse's needs and training goals.

Start lunge work

When preparing your horse for lunge work, make sure the lunge is already buckled on the side you want to start on. The lunge should be picked up correctly.
While leading the horse to the lunge circle, hold the whip in your hand facing away from the horse. The whip should be pointing away from the horse, and the lash can either be held or wrapped around the whip.
Begin lunging on a small circle line and gradually increase the size of the circle line until the horse is moving on the desired line.
Be sure to keep enough distance from your horse's hindquarters when driving him to lunge. 

Reducing and enlarging the circle during lunge work

Enlarge the circle: To increase the size of the circle, you need to slowly lengthen the lunge line, gradually letting it out of your slightly open hand. However, there should still be a slight connection to your horse so that your horse can take the lunge out of your hand by himself. It is important to note that entire loops should never be dropped from the hand to keep the connection even.

Shorten the lunge: To shorten the circle, you must shorten the lunge by reaching into the lunge with the hand holding the whip in front of the other hand and slowly pulling it back, shortening the lunge. The loops are placed evenly in the lunge hand with the hand holding the whip, so that the loops are neatly on top of each other.

Hand changes during lunge work

Here are the basic rules for changing hands while lunging:

• The lunge must be properly picked up at all times before, during and after the hand change.
• The lunge must be prepared for the new hand before the change.
• The whip is changed either behind your back or over his head, never towards your horse.
• The type of hand change should be appropriate to your horse's level of training to avoid confusion.
• If the lunge line is attached to the side of the cavesson or halter, always strap it on to make sure it is properly secured.

Different ways of changing hands: 

The Forehand Turn

• Parry through on the third hoof beat of the circle.
• Approach the horse step by step, following the lunge line as already described.
• Step to the outside of your horse.
• Have the lunge whip pointed in the direction of the hindquarters.
• Perform a forehand turn.
• Then start lunging again.

Change Through the Circle

• Pick up the lunge.
• Lead the horse to the center of the circle.
• Then lunge it back out onto the circle line.

Parrying Through on the Circle Linge

• Pick up the lunge correctly and walk towards your horse
• Lead your horse to the center of the circle.
• Start lunging from there on the new hand.

‍The Sweeping  Revolution

• Shorten the lunge line so that your horse steps slightly into the center of the circle.
• Use a combination of relocation as well as the use of lungeing, body language and lunge whip to lead your horse in a sweeping volte on the new hand.

Make Sure that the Lunge is Correctly Picked up During All Hand Changes:

• The lunge should always be picked up for either left or right hand lunging.
• The loops should be able to slide out from the lunge hand towards the whip hand to ensure that no knots are created.
• Before changing hands, the lunge must be prepared for the new hand by changing it to the other hand and placing it in the new lunge hand.
• If the lunge was only partially released from the hand before the hand change, the loops should be transferred one at a time, loop by loop, to the new lunge hand to ensure that they can slide out of the hand properly

Transitions

The transitions between the different gaits are of great importance in lunging. They help to improve the horse's attention, looseness, tact, balance and permeability. In addition, transitions to higher gaits increase hindquarters activity and the horse's impulsion. Transitions from halt to trot or walk to canter are particularly valuable, as long as the horse remains relaxed. To change from a lower to a higher gait, you have several options:

• Clear voice commands
• Stimulating vocal signals
• A slight shift of one's own position towards the horse's hindquarters.
• Changing your own body language
• Lifting the whip
• Purposeful use of the whip

On the other hand, if a change from a higher to a lower gait is desired, the following aids can be used:

• Clear voice commands
• Slight shift of own location in the direction of the horse's head
• Lowering the whip
• Soothing vocal instructions

These aids allow you to precisely control your horse's gaits and smoothly execute the desired transitions.

Lunging horses: Summarized

Lunging plays an important role in the training and health maintenance of horses. It is not only used to develop muscles and improve rhythm, balance and mobility, but also to prepare young horses for riding and for rehabilitation after illness. Correctly conducted lunging training should be tailored to the horse's individual needs and level of training.

Important factors for effective lunging are a fenced-in area, suitable equipment such as a cavesson for fine control and a suitable lunging circle with a safe, non-slip surface. The duration of the lunging session should be around 20-30 minutes, depending on the training goal, to avoid overloading and fatigue, especially with young or untrained horses. In addition, the use of the right aids, such as a well-fitting lunge line and a lunging whip, is essential for clear communication and support of the horse.

The lunger himself has a crucial role and should have the necessary knowledge and experience to correctly implement the training phases - solution phase, work phase and calming phase. Mistakes such as unclear aids, unsuitable equipment and a lack of control over the horse should be avoided in order to get the maximum benefit from lunging training and create a solid basis for muscle development.

By now you should have learned quite a bit about proper lunging. Here you will learn how to build up a sensible lunge training with your horse:

Lunging: The most important questions and answers

How long should a horse be lunged to build muscle?

‍For muscle development, it is important to limit the lunging session to around 20-30 minutes. This duration is sufficient to train the horse effectively without overloading it. Especially with young or untrained horses, you should start with shorter units and increase these slowly.

Why shouldn't you lunge with a halter?

‍Asimple halter gives little to no control over the horse's position and bend and can also cause pressure points. When lunging, clear and fine aids are important to keep the horse correctly balanced. For this reason, specially developed lunging aids such as the cavesson are more suitable.

How long can you lunge a horse?

‍Asa rule, a lunging session should not exceed 30 minutes. Longer lunging sessions can lead to fatigue and incorrect strain. The time should be adjusted accordingly and the horse should be given sufficient breaks, especially during intensive sessions with lots of cantering or transitions.

Why do you lunge with a cavesson?

‍The cavesson offers a fine and precise effect on the horse's mouth and head without putting any strain on the mouth itself. It enables better control over position and bending, which is essential for effective training and muscle development. It also minimizes the risk of injuries in the mouth area.

Why shouldn't you lunge with a snaffle?

‍Lungingwith a snaffle can put a lot of strain on the horse's sensitive mouth, especially if the horse pulls on the lunge line or falls heavily into the bit. The lunge line also makes it more difficult to have a targeted effect on the horse's mouth, which can lead to unclear signals and stress.

Can you lunge with a knotted halter?

‍A knotted halter is generally suitable for lunging, but offers less precise control than a cavesson. It can be used for horses that respond to gentle signals and are already used to lunging. However, you should always make sure that the knotted halter fits correctly to avoid pressure points or injuries.

How often should a young horse be lunged?

‍A young horse should be lunged a maximum of 2-3 times a week to avoid overloading the joints and muscles. The sessions should be kept short, initially around 10-15 minutes, to gradually get the horse used to the work.

Is it possible to lunge with a halter?

‍In principle, lunging with a halter is possible, but less advisable. It offers little control and can lead to pressure points. For more precise control and effective training, a cavesson or a specially adapted lunging halter is recommended.

When do you start lunging a young horse?

‍Lunging can be started with a young horse from around 2.5 to 3 years of age, provided it is physically and mentally ready for it. The introduction should be gentle and in short units so as not to overtax the young horse and to teach it to lunge calmly.