Proper Lunging Part 2 – Correcting Alignment Issues
Birgit helps a student find the correct lunging position while lunging Miho, a Quarter Horse/Arabian cross gelding owned by Falling Star Ranch.
By Lisa Wieben and Birgit Stutz
In part two of our article on lunging we are adding pieces of equipment as well as talking about correcting alignment issues with the use of the whip to help shape the horse more on the circle and develop bend and relaxation.
Why we lunge with a Vienna rein If a horse is chronically inverted (high-headed with hollow back) or counter bent we prefer to lunge with a Vienna rein. The Vienna rein is a combination of a draw rein and side rein but it is not hooked up static and therefore encourages the horse to stretch long and low into a proper frame. The horse will feel better while stretching and bending. To attach it, run the lunge line from your hand through the snaffle bit ring from the outside and then attach it to the d-ring of the cinch, the buckle of the girth, or the ring of the surcingle. Do not use a Vienna rein if you are unsure of your body position as you could send conflicting signals to the horse (see previous article Proper Lunging Part 1 on using the wheelbarrow turn). We sometimes use an outside side rein, but only in order to prevent the horse from overbending through his neck. The side rein should be adjusted fairly loosely so it only engages when the horse starts to overbend. If your horse lunges well, carries himself properly without inverting and counter bending, and is not prone to bucking or bolting (being silly), you may lunge your horse directly off the bit using a D-ring or full-cheek snaffle bit. Contact The lunge line should never be slack, but instead there should always be steady, elastic contact between the horse’s mouth and the lunger’s hand so that the horse cannot flip his nose out/change his bend or make an unwanted turn. The lunge line should never be used to pull the horse into a turn. The contact with the horse should be giving, taking and blocking, never pulling (imagine a bungee cord). Hold the lines in folds rather than loops as they will unravel easier if the horse were to jump, bolt, or spook.
Pirro, 7-yearold Warmblood gelding, wearing a cavesson (owned by Lisa Wieben) 26 • APRIL 2022
Additional equipment for lunging Additional equipment for lunging includes a surcingle or saddle, a lunge line used as a Vienna rein, as well as side reins. Protective boots for the horse are also recommended. Don’t forget your gloves! Instead of a bridle you may want to use a lunging cavesson. For a simple and effective piece of lunging equipment, the cavesson has many benefits. The cavesson has rings along the nose piece which when the line is attached to the middle ring (centre of nose piece) it can guide the horse on the circle, encouraging the horse to maintain true bend rather than counter bending. With the horse in true bend it is easier to shape the horse’s body with the use of the whip and body language. Throughout a lunging session the horse can be encouraged to stretch down as well as move more uphill through the use of body language and the whip (see below corrections with use of whip).
SADDLEUP.CA
