| If your goal is to get your horses in shape and keep them fit, then
you are better off doing this by riding instead of lunging. For
the 20 min you spend lunging on the same circle, you could go out
on a short hack with some hills - walk and trot up and down and
find a flat stretch to canter a bit.
Depending on the level of fitness of the horses, if you are trying
to exercise them both in a limited amount of time, you may consider
'ponying' one of the horses (like they do at the race track). If
the horses get along with each other, and don't mind being run into
from behind, it is a possible solution. You can ride one horse one
day and the other the other day - or find someone to go out riding
with you.
Lunging puts a lot of strain on the horse's legs (esp. the ones
on the inside of the circle). Once or twice a week is ok for the
20 minutes, but both you and your horse will get more out of it
if you ride him. You should use as large a circle as you can when
you lunge (ie. 20 meters or more).
With Jasper, it sounds as though he does not have much experience
with lunging. To train him to voice, you can practice while you
ride him. When you ask him to halt, give him the voice command
that you will use on the lunge. The same with the walk, trot, and
canter. Usually on your downward transitions (ie. trot to walk)
you stretch the voice command out, and lower your voice on the second
part of the voice command. On upward transitions, you usually use
shorter, sharper voice commands, or raise your voice on the second
half of the command (as in canTER).
As you use these voice commands (while riding) in conjunction with
rein/leg aids, he should begin to learn them, and you can try giving
the commands without an accompanying aid to see if he will do it
on his own. For example, give the WHOA or HALT command without rein
pressure, and see if he stops (if he does, pat him & praise him
with your voice). Do the same tests with you other commands like
trotting from walk, etc.
You can also lead your horse in hand and practice the halt through
trot commands, eventually seeing if he'll listen to your voice without
the aid of a tug on the lead line.
When you start the work on the lunge line, practice at the walk
first, on a smaller circle than normal. Also use a lunge whip so
that you can keep the horse out on the circle, and encourage him
forward. Note that you never hit the horse with the whip, but you
crack it or wiggle it to get the response you want. Your correct
lunging position is when the lunge line, horse, and whip make the
shape of a triangle, so from where you stand in the center of the
circle, you should be opposite the horse's ribs, and the whip should
be pointed towards his tail.
As the horse is walking around the circle, give him your halt command
in a clear, strong voice. Try it a few times to give him a chance
to respond. If he doesn't, give a tug or two on the lunge line
as you say the command again. If need be, you may have to drop
the whip and walk up to him to halt him. If he responds to the
voice command, praise him with your voice, and let him stand for
a few seconds. Then, give him the walk command. You may need to
'cluck' to him a few times, or wiggle the whip towards his
hindquarters.
As he becomes proficient at the walk/halt, you can add in the trot,
and practice in the same manner - do a lot of up and down transitions.
Leave the canter alone until he is doing well at the walk and trot
in both directions.
Remember that you want the horse to be relaxed when you are lunging
him. You always see these horses that are going nuts on the lunge
line, racing around bucking, etc. While it may be fun to watch,
the horse can easily fall, or injure a muscle or tendon, especially
in slippery footing. Most likely, a horse that has not been worked
for a while, or has been cooped up in a stall for a while, is going
to get silly and give a few bucks on the lunge line, but just make
sure you are in control of the situation.
Good Luck.
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| Yes it is funny to see there is another Jasper around! It must be
a good name if there are two of them. I wonder if your (.1) Jasper
is as much of a joking and loving charactor as mine?
Also it's strange you (.2) mentioned ponying. This is what Jasper
was trained for originally! What you mentioned is a good idea and
I will definately consider it!! But it does get dam cold sometimes
and I'm not sure I would enjoy it much. I also have experienced
1250 lbs. of horse on my leg when York went down on me. I'm pretty
sure I don't want that to happen again, although he is now shod
for winter riding, it may not be as dangerous.
A comment on your training with lead. I have been doing this for
months now with very little progress (some but not much). It must
be like teaching an old dog new tricks. They are set in their ways
and are determined to stick to them.
For example, when I first got him, I had an animal that would walk
the slowest walk from the barn to the trails. He new it was work
time and put very little effort into it. But when we were on our
way home, I could not keep him at a walk. We finally ended that
with persistant training up and down the driveway untill he walked
to the barn. If he broke into his little walk/trot again, we would
go back and do it all over again. He must have got the idea that
if he didn't walk like I asked, we would never go to the barn. It
worked for now I can leave for hours at a time and upon return,
he walks! I beleive that he is old, wise and stubbern to do what
he wants when he wants and will test me every day to see if I will
let him get away with anything that could make his life easier!!!
Another problem I had is standing while I mount. Two months later,
he stands untill he is signaled. Also I could not get him into a
trot to save my life. I would ask nicely, then request then yell
than kick him in the ribs, nothing. I had no whip at the time so
I used a stick. All he had to do was see it and he was a totally
diff. animal and did what ever I wanted. I through it away when
he wasn't looking.
So I'm sure you can see the problems with this guy. You must be
persistant and demanding and you get results.
I will try the ponying idea tonight on York while leading Jasper.
Work on voice commands with York, although he nows them well enough,
maybe Jasper will get the idea.
I will continue to lung the boys though because I want to releive
the energy in them prior to riding, and I want Jasper to know I
have control if the seen and that he cannot do as he pleases any
longer. I've heard it's good exercise for them, keeps them in
condition, teaches them balance on turns and corners and proper
leads, is a definate plus on stress releaf provided I don't create
stress in the lessions.
I also learn a lot from the experience in the event (future plans)
I decide to get a youner horse and pass the elders off to someone
else who is at the beginners level also.
I'll keep you informed of progress or failure but I will not give
up, that's for sure!!!
ps There are not many trails around without taking a 1.5 mile hike
down the road to conservation land. They both are traffic save but
that little lack of control with Jasper sometimes makes me wonder
what he'll try next.
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| You may already know this, but a few words on lunging safety. These
tips are important even with the horse experienced with lunging,
and all the more so when dealing with an inexperienced horse.
Never, never, never wrap the loop at the end of the lunge line around
your wrist/arm. Keep any excess line neatly coiled and out of the
way. This is sort of common sense, but people do overlook it.
In case your horse runs off, you don't want to be permamently attached
to the lunge line; you want to be able to let go!!
If your horse is not easily controllable, or is new to lunging,
I recommend gloves. That way, you can hang on a little longer if
you need to, yet still save your hands.
You didn't mention your lunging equipment. A well-made, leather
lunging cavesson is ideal, but you can also use your bridle if you
take some precautions. (With my strong gelding, I feel more in control
with a bit. My mare goes in auto-pilot mode, so a halter is enough.)
Don't just attach the snap to one end of the bit; the bit can be
pulled right out of the horse's mouth. I usually attach the snap
to the outside ring, run the line up behind the horse's ears, and
run the line around through the inside ring. That way, I have the least
wear and tear on my bridle (an alternate way is to attach to outside
ring, wrap line around noseband a few times, and run line through
the inside ring - but, this can wear the noseband and I would think
it's not as comfortable for the horse). Make sure the reins are
twisted a few times and secured by the throatlatch, so they aren't
flapping around.
I second Julie's idea that riding is better, although lunging has
its advantages, too. Lunging is easier on an older, but fit, horse's
legs. One drawback with lunging is that once a horse knows how,
and is proficient at it, it really doesn't learn much more from
it. The horse will learn a lot more while being ridden. A young
horse can learn alot from lunging - obedience, balance - but it
is very important not to overdo it. Still, lunging is a good tool
for the horse that needs to be worked down a bit before you get
on, or those days when you just don't have time to get yourself
and your critter ready to go riding.
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| My opinion/experience:
I have a well-mannered 5-year-old Arabian stallion. I almost always
lunge him briefly before I ride simply to give him the chance to
get the kinks out. This is a horse who is able to come and go as
he pleases 12 hours every day. But when he feels good (all the
time) he likes to do these *leaps* through the air. I've been on
him when he does that and I don't feel the need to repeat the
experience. Ten minutes trotting on the lunge takes care of it
and we can go on and do our work without any unnecessary discussion.
One thing I do, that others may disagree with, is to put a chain
under his chin if I think he's going to be wild. It's just a dog
choke chain run through the halter and attached to the line. I
use the chain whenever I feel the need for insurance with any horse
I'm lunging (for instance, if I'm at a show working in a field with
no fence).
My last suggestion is to work your recalcitrant lunger in his stall
using a lead and your bat. Just ask him to walk in quiet circles
around you, stop, reverse direction, whatever. His stall is a safe
place in case he's feeling insecure about lunging and if he decides
to act out, you can reach him quickly and correct him. This is
the method I use on my youngsters when they first learn to lunge.
So far it's worked like a charm.
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