Lunging/Longeing Introduction and Tips
- Megan G. Thomas
- Jan 19
- 20 min read
You will often hear people say lunging is boring or you will hurt your horse lunging. And these could be very valid concerns if you or your horse were never taught the skills to lunge properly, It is not your fault if you've never been taught to lunge much less taught how to lunge correctly. It is sadly a lost art. Most trainers don’t teach it and it’s literally unheard of in many lesson programs.
In basic terms lunging is when the human is on the ground and is able to cue the horse to do a variety of gaits, transitions, patterns, etc. at a distance. Typically this includes the horse wearing a lunging cavesson and a single (lunge) line. Some people do lunge purely at liberty using positive reinforcement and other times, negative reinforcement with no equipment.
Proper lunging is often acknowledged as more so “Gymnastic lunging.” This is because it's about physical education for the horse - an exercise that develops strength, balance, agility, and coordination. I love it as a wonderful option for cross training in the fitness development of the horse - whether they are young, old, or a high competition level horse. Like humans, horses have natural asymmetry. Us humans can easily make the asymmetry worse if we don't know better. Many of us are right handed dominant and we create more imbalances in our horses. We should be leading, mounting up, tacking evenly from both sides to create better balance in ourselves and our horses.
Furthermore, I personally don’t know how people or horses get away without this great skill! I grew up being taught to lunge and Pony Club required it as basic D level/beginner knowledge. At the most basic reason WHY lunging should be a skill EVERYONE learns is that lunging is required for vet checks or performance exams.
I personally don’t feel a horse is really ready to be ridden unless they generally lunge OK, with the exceptions of horses that have severe PTSD from poor lunging or chase lunging, which will require time consuming re-training. I see lunging as a direct reflection of the work I will do with the added weight of the saddle and rider.
If I were to meet a new horse, I would much rather work them on the ground first to get to know them and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses as well as understand more about how they are as an individual and how they are trained. Also, this makes the work out less challenging for the horse without the weight of the saddle and rider (although you could always add the saddle and a rider later on too). I feel it is not only fair as a stranger to the horse, but also sets us both up for success once I do ride them. We may not always get that choice to lunge, but why not take the opportunity to lunge a horse to get to know them better if you have the option?
As an equestrians, becoming skilled at lunging improves our body posture, timing of the aids, and use of negative and positive reinforcement. It simply improves communication between human and horse. It also helps us train our eyes to see how the horse is moving that particular day and their natural posture and balance so we can better understand where they are at fitness wise. I enjoy lunging as I am able to more clearly see their physical improvements over time or even catch a minor lameness before one accidently gets on to ride them. As a part of good horsemanship, it will also help you be aware of the horse's emotions on a day-to-day basis - are they comfortable, happy, relaxed or are they unusually tense or tired for some reason?
You simplify a LOT of the learning process when not riding - your legs and seat are not yet the major component - BUT your body language replaces those aids while lunging.
I also find lunging an excellent way to get more fit along with my horses!
Lunging should typically be done in a properly fitting lunging cavesson. The old masters, such as Antoine de Pluvinel (1555 – 1620), used a cavesson to spare the horse’s delicate mouth so please do not lunge from the bit. I like using something similar to the Wauldenhausen or Milestone multi bridle because it’s very multi purpose. These types of bridles work as a bitless sidepull, lunging cavesson and have bit clips so the horse could also wear a bit.
There are also some great "only" lunging cavesson options here in the U.S. now whereas years ago we often had to buy out of the country, You are welcome to cover the noseband with a sheepskin noseband cover if you horse is a little more sensitive, An extra jowl strap for a lunging cavesson is often super helpful for stability as well. Again, if you have a sensitive horse, a throatlatch and a jowl strap will help with stability.
If your horse or pony tends to be pretty unique in size, consider getting a custom lunging cavesson. If you want only a lunging cavesson, Manolo Mendez, Patrick King, and Anja Beran all have some high quality (although a bit pricey) lunging cavessons. I tend to remove some browbands as they can be too small so be certain to look out for brow band fit as well. If it doesn't, no harm in just removing it or just replacing it with a browband that fits if you want a browband. Whatever you choose, please be certain it fits and is comfortable for your horse.
I typically suggest that your lunge line not be super thick with a heavy and chunky/clunky clip. You don't want a heavy metal clip bouncing around on their nose! Go for as light of line as you can comfortably and safely use with a small buckle. I personally have small hands and an overly thick and heavy line feels very cumbersome. I love the HKM long lines and I cut them in half or Patrick King Horsemanship & Dressage long lines and lunge line. You will see how small the buckles are on Patrick's lines. I also recommend comfortable gloves that allow good movement and feel. You do not want anything that muddles clear and concise communication and prevents your horse from responding or learning to respond to the lightest cue on the line. You need to be aware of what you are using for communication between you and your horse and how it impacts understanding.
With a lunging cavesson's center ring, you are more able to position the horse in a more proper bend and half halt as a rebalance cue without pulling the horse onto the forward as much as a halter would pull downwards on the poll. If you have a horse that tends to lose balance and halt if they get too heavy on the forehand, a properly fitting lunging cavesson is going to be incredibly beneficial. With the use of the center ring for a horse that loses it's balance occasionally and perhaps overbends or loses hip or shoulder coordination, the center ring of the lunging cavesson is going to assist in keeping better alignment. It's not a magic fix, but it will help the lunging be a better gymnastic exercise and lessen the likelihood of a horse getting tense, bracing, and bolting off if they feel like they have lost their balance/body control. Of course, a halter is OK in a pinch and a properly fitting halter is always better than an improperly fitting lunging cavesson. Furthermore, I do like to intentionally practice lunging in a halter to spruce up or test a horse's leading or loading skills, where we usually are not using a lunging cavesson. The USPC teaches that lunging should be done in a helmet so if you or your horse are new to lunging, this is not a bad idea at all. If you or your horse are new to lunging, stick to walking for a couple weeks. I like this as it also sets the tone for ALL work outs with the horse. I like to establish that we are not in a rush and time with me is positive - not a negative or anxious experience. Oftentimes horses have to be rehabbed/retrained from "chase" lunging. Rehab from this can often take 6 months or longer so although it make seem as though "correct lunging" takes time, rehabbing/retraining actually takes even longer. If you practice incorrect "chase" lunging you also set up yourself for failure as the horse may become fearful and aggressive and kick out or bolt off.
As you and your horse advance your lunging skills, I always recommend a minimum 10 - 15 walk warm up prior to trot work. If your horse is not well balanced or not fit, cantering can be quite difficult so ensure your horse is fit enough at the walk and trot to stay happy, balanced, and relaxed before cantering on the lunge line. What is basic lunging position in forward motion? -Human is generally angled towards the direction of travel (hips, shoulders, etc.)
-Human is behind the horse's girth area, more towards the hindquarters or hips at a distance What is basic lunging position to halt or in halt?
-Human is facing horse -Human's body is positioned at a distance still, but in front of horse's nose or at head to signal the horse stop moving forward
The lunge line is typically held in the leading hand with the excess line in the outside hand. If you are on the horse's inside going left, you main line would be in the left hand and the excess in the right. When doing certain exercises, such as obstacles or ground poles, I may move the main line hand depending on where it's best to position my body. Also, with a shorter lunge line I don't often have excess that may drag on the ground.
So what are some pre-lunging exercises I recommend or tips for successful lunging from my personal experience?
1) Practice Leading Equally Left and Right Around The Shoulder Area and Reinforce Verbal and Postural Cues: First off, please be certain your horse can be led everywhere on BOTH sides with you at their shoulder or at their girth area. Think your shoulder should line up with their shoulder. Your ultimate goal is to use mostly voice cues and body posture. Use half halts on your lead rope or lunge line with awareness. If you tend to over use pressure on the line, the time is NOW to start integrating more verbal cues and postural cues to replace that constant line pressure while leading. If your horse is taught to halt with "whoa" and you stop moving your feet, then stay consistent and positively reinforce a job well done. If you horse is taught to walk forward with a cluck and "walk" verbal cue, reinforce this positively and stay consistent no matter where you are.
Positively reward a job well done whenever possible as they learn to better be aware of your postural and verbal cues.
Consistently practice this to the barn from the pasture. To the stall. To the trailer. Where ever you go. This doesn't mean you have to be glued to their shoulder for every second - you may have to lead first going through a smaller gate or doorway area or get on the trailer first - but make this a comfortable spot for both you and your horse to be able to move forward in rhythm without confusion or hesitation.
Go ahead and practice using the lunging cavesson regularly in your leading work.
2) Practice Leading At A Distance: Another important step is to practice lengthening the length of your lead rope or lunge line while leading - aim for about 3' - 4' then once that's comfortable for both horse and human, graduate to 5' - 6’ of line. The goal is with the longer line, the further away you should be from your horse, but still in line with their shoulder or barrel.
With the longer length of line, I like a lighter lead rope or go ahead and start to use your lighter weight lunge line. I feel when you start getting further out the weight of the line can cause some horses to think you are pulling on them. Stay in this 5' - 6' range unless the horse comfortable both ways doing walk-halt-halt transitions and walk and trot with you parallel to the shoulder or girth line. Yes, you will have to jog along! Start in a smaller arena if your horse sees a lot of space as freedom to take of.
A good pre-lunge exercise is to do walk-trot-walk or trot-halt-trot-halt work in hand - are able to trot a triangle (as you would see in sport horse in hand) or do trot serpentines in hand around cones (as you may see in trail in hand or obstacle courses in hand)?
If your horse is staying relaxed and straight, you can also practice lengthen your line a bit more and starting gradually moving towards the horse's barrel and then haunches/hindquarters. However, no reason to rush if you and your horse are still getting the hang of working together at a bit of a distance from one another! While doing the above exercises, this would also be a good time to start practicing in a properly fitting lunging cavesson. 3) Use Guide Lines and Visuals: Put yourself on one side of a ground pole or set up a row of poles or cones as a visual and physical support for you AND the horse. You could also set up a reverse round pen - I prefer a large square or octagon. In a "reverse round pen" you put yourself on the inside and the horse on the outside of the poles. If your horse is having difficulty halting straight, halt them in between two poles or a square of poles. The ultimate goal is not to have to use these visual or physical aids (guidelines), but they can be incredibly helpful with the learning process. Even with my more advanced lunging horses, I still like to do patterns around cones or over poles.
4) Use The Entire Arena: Put hoof prints on every inch of the arena. If you are fighting asymmetry, every circle should include a long straight line for a break. I prefer to think SQUARES rather than circles for horses that tend to fall in while lunging. Lunging should be a direct reflection of the work you will do ridden. That means changes of directions, transitions between and within the gaits, serpentines, squares, straight lines, lateral work, etc. I never had a round pen to teach my young horses lunging when growing up at my first farm. If you work on different patterns, figures, lots of transitions, and get a solid wait/park/halt/ground tie, you may never need a round pen. I, like many with concerns of incorrect lunging techniques, personally am not one to want to limit my horse to a never ending 20 meter circles for the valid reason of repetitive strain on a horse's body and mental boredom. Some of these pens have very deep footing that is not good for a young or out of shape horse. I'm not saying that a round pen doesn't have it's very valid uses - it could be a covered pen that is the only place to ride safely during a rain storm, a safe place to let a young horse or inexperienced horse move free in a smaller area with the saddle on for the first few times, and first time rides. At our second farm, for a little bit we had access to a square pen, which we then cut in half so it's was not something I could rely on for lunging green horses or babies for much time at all. There's been more discussions on larger square pens to allow young or less fit horses get a few strides of straight lines to have a chance to straighten up and not "motorcycle" around the bend. This is definitely a topic that is worth discussing deeper. 5) Cross Train: Please don’t be afraid to do multiple types of work during one session. Cross training is important for a valid reason! Classical in hand work, lunge, long line/ground drive, etc. If the horse/pony is so out of balance lunging OR your body position or cues aren’t that well coordinated yet, there’s ZERO harm in offering support with an outside rein by long lining/ground driving or doing in hand work for a few minutes with two reins. It’s not about not lunging, but sandwiching it with exercises that bring confidence. It’s would just be like integrating the first grade level exercises with a few second grade exercises to build a strong foundation.
A work smarter, not harder tip until a horse (or human) gets better is start lunging the horse their balanced way FIRST. Just please don’t forget you need to work each direction (left AND right) evenly as close to 50/50 as possible. The goal is to set the horse (and human) up for success by gradually introducing lunging type work without making it a negative experience. 6) Your Are So Important: Your posture and cue matters enormously - why you should practice the majority of your leading at the shoulder area and be very aware of your body posture (hips, shoulder, eyes), verbal cues and half halts on the line even when you are not “lunging.” There are so many every day scenarios you are able to utilize to help you and your horse be more successful with lunging and in general, developed better coordination to the left and right.
7) Fitness Development: If your horse has asymmetry or is simply out of shape or out of balance, I would do stable based exercises recommended by your vet, equine physiotherapist, and/or equine massage therapist at least 3 - 4 times a week as well as balance/stability pads/mats. It's important to understand your horse is not losing balance or not as quick to respond to verbal cues because he's doing it as a personal vendetta against you or some sort of intentional challenge to you. Correct fitness development takes TIME. Weeks, months and yes, years for more advanced work. Keep up with a correct prehab/physical therapy/fitness development plan 4 - 5 days a week. Reinforce/reward when they do well and you will have a happier and healthier, more motivated horse in the long run. It's very possible your less coordinated and less balanced way also lines up with the horse's less balanced and less coordinated way. If you are NOT well aware of this, you and the horse could end up becoming very frustrated. If you acknowledge you both have a similar weakness you have a goal of improving and can have a little extra patience, this will go a long way with your lunging training. Not much different at all with ridden work as well!
All the above mentioned points showed have the ultimate goal of helping your horse find balance and straightness for a sound and happy horse. Are his hoof angles good? Had he had a recent massage session and Chiropractic session?
8) Targets and Hand Signals: For a little bit of out of the box, but super useful tip for lunging - use and teach with targets and hand signals. Go from cone to cone or mat to mat and have the horse touch it for a positive reinforcement/food reward. Teach them to go where you point. Teach the word “up” for up and over a pole. This will help mentally a bit even if the horse is still a bit asymmetric. At least he will have a better understanding of WHERE he should head to even if he’s going there a bit crooked. This is why it is also so important to stick to WALK work until they are better balanced at the walk prior to trotting on the lunge line.
9) Turn Horse Away From You - Body Balance or Rebalance: When you change directions for the first few weeks of lunging training, if the situation allows…turn the horse AWAY from you with a large baby horse modified turn-on-the-haunches or technical a circle. Typically we are in the bad habit of always turning horses TOWARDS us - which is often a general safety no-no - that it makes complete sense they are used to turning towards us. If you consistently turn the horse towards you for years and then suddenly change this whole concept no wonder they are clueless! This also really helps as a gymnastic type exercise to build better balance, especially chest/shoulder/thoracic sling development. So when you change directions think about doing a beginner horse modified walk pirouette or turn on the haunches in good form AWAY FROM YOU for the first few weeks.
10) Replay and Review Training Sessions: Video your lessons and training sessions and review them and take notes! Many lunging issues are worsened by the human. We block them, pull too hard on the line, get ahead, etc. Get yourself a PIVO or ask a friend or family member or your trainer to video. 11) Evaluate Your Horse Prior to Lunging Training: Take photos of your horse on all four sides and over the back. Is his muscle development smooth and symmetric? Does he naturally stand square? Is he base narrow/narrow chested with an underdeveloped thoracic sling? How’s his top line? Proper gymnastic lunging, classical in hand work and long lining and regular physio and stable based exercises should help! If you gently massage his pectorals does it feel good to him or is he sensitive and sore? Also, getting up to date x-rays of hooves can be helpful to see sole depth and angles to see if something there is really impacting their way of going, comfort, and/or balance.
12) Leave the Whip In The Tack Room....For Now: As a final note, I have met quite a few people that say "Well I HAVE to use a whip to lunge." Over the years, I've personally decided to NOT use a whip as I find it almost like a crutch. You will notice in some of my older photos you will more often see a whip in it than not; however, as time as gone on I've grown to say if I cannot do the majority of my communication with the horse without reliance on a whip I then ask "Why is this the case?" My goal in a work session is that even if I bring the whip to the arena "Just in case" then I don't want to use it. I like to question my use of the whip - was it my lack of focus, skill, preparation, consistency or clarity in practice that I think I need to use the whip OR will it actually be kinder and more helpful to the horse to use the whip as a guide? I am also not a fan of integrating the whip when most humans at the early stages of still figuring out their verbal cues, body positioning and hand aids to properly communicate with the horse with their "natural aids." I don't feel it's fair to the human OR the horse to put a whip in the hands of someone still fumbling around with the proper use of the lunge line and the proper location of their hips, shoulders, body, and rhythm of their steps, etc. This especially is even more apparent when things speed up at the trot and canter and there could very easily be some miscommunication leading to an unintentional accident. If for some reason the horse MUST have a whip at a particular moment in time, I usually recommend the instructor be with the lunging horse and student and be the one that uses the whip. If using a whip is the "ultimate goal" for some special reason, the student should be taught to use the whip WITHOUT a horse present. They should learn to manage the line and whip while walking WITHOUT the horse. Are they able to jog along in a lunging like posture both directions and still hold the whip quiet and at neutral (WITHOUT the horse)? Are they able to lift the whip up and down without pulling on the lunge line or loosing their walk or jog rhythm (without a horse)? Next I would ask: Does the student have good line management with the horse? Does the student understand the use of negative reinforcement (pressure/release) and positive reinforcement for the purposes of leading and lunging? Is the student familiar with what a half halt is while leading and lunging? Does the student properly use verbal cues and postural cues the individual horse knows and understands? Is this a horse the students has worked with regularly and recently? If so, then they are probably ready to use the whip with the horse if there's a CLEAR and VALID REASON WHY. For example, for a student with a physical limitation, a longer dressage whip or a shorter, manageable lunge whip may be the needed solution to communicate with the horse better at a distance to replace certain body language cues. Certainly the whip can be helpful in very certain scenarios, but I do not find it has a common place early on in lunge training for horse or human. I personally recommend leaving the whip in the tack room the majority of the time unless your trainer/coach/professional is able to help you/the student clearly distinguish the situations where it can be incredibly helpful (Clearly discuss or explain the WHY and HOW) and be the skilled user of the whip so the student can watch and learn the proper use and timing. Some Recommended Lunging Resources: Philippe Karl / Philippe Karl's School of Légèreté UK
Anja Beran Academic Art of Riding - Bettina Biolik Max Goodman Amy Skinner Horsemanship Ritter Dressage Emotional Horsemanship by Lockie Phillips Connection Training Reward Based Riding
Long Drove Holistic Horse Training I wanted to include one of my favorite lunging videos! "Lunging with the cavesson, basic communication, basics in shoulder control" by Melanie Bulmahn Watch the Video Here: https://youtu.be/CzgnW5F4zlw “Lunging according to the School of Légèreté with my horse Lichterfee. That video shows a non-spectacular, but harmonious lunging unit. Lunging is used in many training systems. My goal in lunging is that my horse moves in balance (inner and outer balance), moves straight (correction of the horses natural lateral inbalance), that my horse is listening to subtle signals and that I improve my relationship to my horse. The philosophy of Légèreté excludes any use of force or coercive artificial aids (including side reins, draw reins, tightly closed nosebands etc.), but includes all types of horse and takes an interest in all equestrian disciplines.”
Hope these tips are helpful or insightful or at the very least, worth critically thinking about. In conclusion, what are some tips or hints that you were given to learn to successfully and properly lunge? What benefits have you found with lunging? How often do you do gymnastic lunging with your horse or pony?
- Written by Megan Gilker Thomas. Megan is very passionate about the Arabian Horse, education and the ups and downs of a busy amateur life with horses. She understands the journey and stages that one goes with horses at different points in life wants to share her experiences (and mistakes) with others so they don't have to repeat them! She is an Arabian Horse Association Rider of Excellence, USDF Bronze Medalist, and the 2018 Georgia Arabian Horse Association President's Award recipient for her volunteer work. In 2017 she was Nationally Ranked 8th place Arabian Horse Association Adult Amateur, 1* Rated Rider on Centerlinescores.com, and Georgia Arabian Horse Association (GAHA) High Point Awards Reserve Champion Equitation/Showmanship Recipient. Megan grew up in the 1990s - 2000s eventing with the Atlanta Pony Club, competing in open hunter & dressage shows, Welsh Pony shows, and Arabian shows, trail riding for fun for many miles and hours, riding bareback, and spending lots of quality time her horses - not just riding. She enjoyed the opportunity of learning from and riding 8 - 15 different horses a day owned by her mother, Kathy. She helped raise and train several of her mother's homebred horses from the ground up for the trails and show arena as well as rehabbed/retrained several purchased projects. While in college 2006 - 2009, Megan competed on the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) Berry College Equestrian Team for 3.5 years until she graduated early. Megan competed in Open Hunt Seat Equitation and then all the way up to the National level in Advanced (Western) Horsemanship. Megan received her USDF Bronze Medal in 2018 earning all her needed scores on her beloved Arabian Horses: J.A.G. Cafe Au Lait+/, Conkar+/ and JAG Kalico Kid+//.
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