Lunging Horses - Why Bother?

In a herd more dominant horses move those less so. The less dominant horse defers his space and peace reigns. This language of pressure and release will make sense to your horse. When you move towards his shoulder and point your whip make sure he steps away from you widening the circle. Resist stepping back from the horse to keep your lunge line taut move him away from you. When you step and gesture your whip toward his hind end you should expect him to accelerate promptly. Done well lunging becomes like a dance.
I like a horse to remain perpendicular to me when he stops. Turning in from the rim of the circle toward me is contrary to the deferyourspace theme of our ground training. Your horses ears should always be tuned in to you checking in for your measured voice signals and gestures.
More than mindless miles on the odometer Lunging is more than simply exercise or a way to wear a horse down without thought to any training. Instead ask your horse lots of questions in your lunging conversation to keep him connected to you. Will you move away from me? Will you lengthen your stride? Will you slow down? Change your location and shift your circle around the perimeter of the ring.
Complex dialogue Like The Boy Who Cried Wolf chattering desensitizes your horse to your voice and as a result he wont respond when you really mean it. Keep your commands simple. Horses understand tone more than the words themselves. The commands I use are fairly universal a cluck means move or accelerate whoa signals a complete and immediate stop kiss is for canter and a long aahh sound as in waaaaaalk or traahht signals a downward transition. Any voice commands my horse disregards will be followed up with my whip for upward transitions or pressure from my lunge line for downward transitions.
Use the exact same commands youll use under saddle. If saying trot on wont fit your riding program dont use it on the ground.
Constant nagging If lunging becomes an aerobic activity for you as much as for your horse youre working too hard. If it dawns on you that if you stop working your horse stops moving its time to expect your horse to take more responsibility. Selfcarriage is when the horse maintains his rhythm pace and line by himself without you holding him there. I