# What are the benefits of lunging?... (just a headcollar/cavesson and line)



## Chloe_GHE (5 March 2011)

Have to admit that I'm a bit of a lunge-a-phobe unless I can use a gadget whilst doing it. If it's just a headcollar or a cavesson and a line and the horse is basically free, I find it hard to see what benefit it is (except for just loosening up and watching the horse move)

Am I missing the point?...Are there real benefits to lunging without any 'extras'?...

Twiglets and home made (what are supposed to be) muffins on offer


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## MegaBeast (5 March 2011)

spooky, I just posted a thread about lunging too!  I also don't see the point in lunging without gadgets unless doing it to check soundness (currently doing this the day after each jumping session as convinced my mare's leg will fall off) or seeing the horses natural way of going.  Will swap you the horlicks I offered for a muffin


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## minesadouble (5 March 2011)

I'll be interested to see the answers to this one - loads of our liveries spend a huge amount of their time lunging gadgetless, horses trotting aimlessly round with nose in one county and hocks in the next and I often wonder why.....


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## Chloe_GHE (5 March 2011)

Ohhhh psychic! I will swap you the muffin for the horlicks and raise you a ginger biscuit!

I think half the time when I really analyse them moving on the lunge I freak myself out because we don't have mirrors and I usually school alone I don't really know what they look like being 'normal' so then the more you watch the more you think 'has he always moved like that' then I tend to focus on one leg and develop a paranoia about that for a while before moving onto a different leg!


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## Chloe_GHE (5 March 2011)

minesadouble said:



			I'll be interested to see the answers to this one - loads of our liveries spend a huge amount of their time lunging gadgetless, horses trotting aimlessly round with nose in one county and hocks in the next and I often wonder why.....
		
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yes well that's something i see often too, and also baby/green horses lunged like this which allows them to spook and then do the wall of death bucking and lunging and galloping round on the end of the line!


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## wellsat (5 March 2011)

Only reason I would lunge with no gadgets on would be if I had tacked up but horse was looking a little 'fresh' so i wanted to let off some steam before getting on board.


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## Leg_end (5 March 2011)

I used to lunge my old boy in just a headcollar and lunge line but he would work nicely and would stretch down of his own accord. I also will warm up with nothing on if I'm going to jump on the lunge. 

However baby pone is never lunged without the draw rein combo because he will go around with his head in the air and totally hollow which makes it a pointless exercise TBH. 

Would be interested in hearing what other people think


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## racingdemon (5 March 2011)

used to lunge one of my old Pointers 'naked' mainly becasue he was so disorganised & crooked anything other than very loose sidereins baffled him, he slowly got stronger & straighter & i used the usual gear, but to start with, it just freaked him out

i also occasionally lunge most horses 'naked' to get a feel of how well they are working without any gear/me sat on top, sometimes it's interesting to see how much they have improved (or not!!)


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## MerryMAL (5 March 2011)

Nope don't see point in it either. I've only ever done it when madam hurt her back and was prescribed by physio not me. A friend does it to calm down her horse before xc (he likes it A LOT) but those are only the two real reasons I can think of...


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## Ginn (5 March 2011)

Well to jump of course!!! (though it invariably includes a mud skiing session in my case aswell!)

Seriously, about the only time I lunge without a contact on her mouth/nose is when I stick some jumps out for her to lunge over.


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## Allover (5 March 2011)

I lunge mine with just a headcollar (or cavesson) and line, all the horses i have lunged like this have learnt to stretch down and through the back and balance themselves well, i am  a gadgetophobe though!!.


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## kerilli (5 March 2011)

ummm, if horse is tacked up, sometimes i'll do a quick lunge to see if there's any bucks or general explosions in there, because if there are, i'd rather watch them from the middle than try to stay on top of them...  
otherwise, to see horse's natural way of going really, see how happy it is in its body, how it works as a whole, how its natural balance is (e.g. if it's the sort that pulls itself along with the front legs instead of pushing from behind, gadgets can disguise this, but a naked horse will show it. that can be a rather weird one to diagnose from on top unless you've felt it before and had it pointed out... it took a top physio to notice it with one of my horses, who was already at a decent level by then... no trainer or dr judge had ever mentioned it.)  i guess i think of naked-lungeing as 'exercise' as opposed to 'work' though, fwiw, and i only do it for a max of 5 mins both ways, because i agree it doesn't benefit them a lot.
oh, just thought of another one: if i see a stuffy horse which isn't opening its shoulders and using itself, which is a bit pretty-pretty-pottery in its way of going - sometimes sending them on, on the lunge, probably on ovals rather than a circle but with no gadget or anything else to put them off opening up a bit, can really work.


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## moosea (5 March 2011)

So come on then - give me some advice on what gadgets are out there and the benefits of each one.

I'm hopeless with gadgets!


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## LadyRascasse (5 March 2011)

i lunge with nothing when i want to check soundness or to allow them to blow off some stream. otherwise i usually lunge in drawreins. although the pony i help with does long and low without any gadgets so possible in future i won't bother with the drawreins


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## smiffyimp (5 March 2011)

i only ever 'lunge' - if you would call it that, in a headcollar when my old boy has to stay in (weather, only horse etc) and I do it to stretch his legs as he is retired. My young one gets lunged in a bridle with side reins and works. otherwise whats the point


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## Jane_Lou (5 March 2011)

One of my project horses had previously been ridden with a saddle that was way too narrow and draw reins resulting in a stuffy way of going and no muscle behind the shouders/wither area. I did a lot of lunging and long reining to start with to help build him up over the back but the minute you put anything on him he went stuffy and hollowed.To teach him to go forward and to stretch over his back I lunged him for 5 or so weeks with nothing on him, by the end he was working through, working really long and low, with a length of stride that I didn't think he had and had gone from a narrow/medium fit to a medium wide! When I restarted ridden work he was no longer coiling back at me and was happy to go seek the contact forward - totally different horse. This however was an extreme situation and my more "normal" horses are always lunged with something, be it a pessoa, draw reins over the back or (rarely) side reins.


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## dominobrown (5 March 2011)

i must admit I lunged my pointer the other day naked for several reasons,
-ground was horrible and he need a blow
-I could let him off in the outdoor school, and although the fence is extra high, he probably would still jump out!
-Let off steam and loosen off


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## MileAMinute (5 March 2011)

Allover said:



			I lunge mine with just a headcollar (or cavesson) and line, all the horses i have lunged like this have learnt to stretch down and through the back and balance themselves well, i am  a gadgetophobe though!!.
		
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This. I'm a self confessed gadgetphobe too! Saying that, I only have a little Sec A atm and I certainly don't ride him so he gets a lunge now and again to stretch his legs (and of course show off his jumping talent!)


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## Firewell (5 March 2011)

Lol, I actually I like lunging without gadgets. It's amazing how many young horses cannot balance themselves without a good rider or a pair of side reins holding them up!
I like seeing how they move freely, are they falling in? What rein are they stiffest on? How do they naturally move? I certainly wouldn't bung a gadget on if they weren't balanced and supple enough to trot round loosely on a 15m circle without.
My horse naturally stretches down loose, he really trots and often he puts his nose on the ground. If he is fresh and wants to be silly then I put a gadjet on, no way will I tolerate him flying around or messing about on the lunge, lunging is work just like riding. I never lunge to get beans out either, that's what the field is for, I expect him to behave so I can ride straight away or lunge quietly or whatever.
I do use gadjets and think they are useful but I think free lunging is vital for the horse to learn how to carry and balance itself on a circle. I also like to be able to lunge my horse without pressure on the lunge line also


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## Cadfael&Coffee (5 March 2011)

firewell said:



			Lol, I actually I like lunging without gadgets. It's amazing how many young horses cannot balance themselves without a good rider or a pair of side reins holding them up!
I like seeing how they move freely, are they falling in? What rein are they stiffest on? How do they naturally move? I certainly wouldn't bung a gadget on if they weren't balanced and supple enough to trot round loosely on a 15m circle without.
My horse naturally stretches down loose, he really trots and often he puts his nose on the ground. If he is fresh and wants to be silly then I put a gadjet on, no way will I tolerate him flying around or messing about on the lunge, lunging is work just like riding. I never lunge to get beans out either, that's what the field is for, I expect him to behave so I can ride straight away or lunge quietly or whatever.
I do use gadjets and think they are useful but I think free lunging is vital for the horse to learn how to carry and balance itself on a circle. I also like to be able to lunge my horse without pressure on the lunge line also 

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^^ this is absolutely spot on!!!


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## superpony (5 March 2011)

My Dad lunges mine when i'm at uni just in a headcollar, one of them is prone to lami so needs regular work and if i asked Dad to put his pessoa on he'd probably put it on upside down at best!


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## only_me (5 March 2011)

I like lunging with no gadgets, and do lots of work with transitions from trot-walk-trot to see how they naturally do it; how do they balance themselves and how do they hold their neck


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