# Lunging before riding.



## Fii (16 May 2011)

Do you find lunging your horses before you ride takes the edge off them?
 Or does it make them sharper to ride and more wound up ?

  Your thoughts and experiences greatly apreciated.

    Thanks.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (16 May 2011)

I had a little Welsh Sec D once, and he was a bit too sharp for me, so I started lunging him before I hacked him out.

Fine to start with, we'd lunge for say 20 mins to take the edge of him; the problem was that in say a couple of days, you found yourself having to lunge for 30 mins .... then 40 mins - to totally take the fizz out of him and make him OK to ride! 

So yes, whilst it worked to start with, you're liable to find that all you're doing is fittening the horse up and you have to lunge a little bit more each day to get the *****e out of him enough to ride and be sensible!


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## LaurenM (16 May 2011)

It can wind them up in my opinion.


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## silvertinsel (16 May 2011)

I don't 'lunge' before we ride, but I do do some means of ground work that its completely and utterly illegal on the forums, and it does just get him and me thinking straight and listening to each other, not really for 'taking the edge off though'


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## Dizzydancer (16 May 2011)

I am find lunging the day before i ride seems to work quite well with my ex racer. I dont work him everyday so he is at mo having a day off then lunged then ridden, etc.


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## Fii (16 May 2011)

Thanks guys. 
 I don't think it will get worse as they get fitter, because they are on restricted turnout they arent moving about as much as they were, hence they are a bit fizzy.
   So because i have a young girl who rides one (but has'nt for a while ) and because i won't ride on my own, ( bad fall) i thought lunging might take the edge off them.


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## You Wont Forget Me (16 May 2011)

I find my WB X TB 5 year old who's currently 16.2 and still growing a bit of a handful so i reguarly lunge before i ride, it definatly takes the edge off and i would certinly recommend it to everyone!


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## Elf On A Shelf (16 May 2011)

I lunge my breaker before i get on but it quite literally is 2 circles of walk, girth done up, 2 more then 2 of trot. She is just funny about having her girth done up and I don't want to get on her for her to buck me off because of the girth - it would just scare her. So a quick lunge until her back is down is all I do. I don't lunge anything else and as soon as she accepts the girth without a problem I will stop the ini lunging session.


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## Foxhunter49 (16 May 2011)

No, I never longe before riding, I just cannot afford to waste the time as I have so many to exercise. If I was to spend 20 minutes on each horse + the time it takes to put on boots, caveson and walk them to and from the arena you can say that is 30 minutes - times that by 6 and three hours are added to my day. Plus, as I double up most days by the time I had returned with the second horse the first would be cold. 

I am sure that well over half the problems of today is the lack of knowledge with feeding and that mixes contain a lot of sugar and hype horses up.


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## Fii (16 May 2011)

Foxhunter49 said:



			I am sure that well over half the problems of today is the lack of knowledge with feeding and that mixes contain a lot of sugar and hype horses up.
		
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Not in my case!
 They are not fed any hard food.


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## Stacey6897 (16 May 2011)

I'd lunge him before riding, just to see if he's in the mood to stay on the ground, if he's going to be a loon, much better to find out that way than tack up and get on first.  Lungeing doesn't stop him being an idiot, just gives me a heads up on it!


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## jeeve (16 May 2011)

I find lunging can be useful to get any bucks out of them and to check how they are moving, but do not spend long on it maybe 5 mins, max 10 mins.

For my ISH I always lunge him with saddle on as he will often buck, although I aim to have him move out and warm up without bucking and if I think about it, I usually achieve this.

I certainly do not aim to wear them out by lunging them.


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## Fii (16 May 2011)

I was'nt suggesting wearing them out.
 In fact i would be more likely to be worn out.


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## miss_bird (17 May 2011)

I never lunge before i ride i dont have the time, even new horses i prefer to get on and find out what they are like rather than lunge first.


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## AndySpooner (17 May 2011)

I really do not see any useful purpose in lunging a horse prior to riding. Horses which are prone to bucking or playing up prior to being ridden out are offering some feedback to the owner and the problem should be investigated further, rather than hopeing to get this behaviour over and done with prior to riding. It may well stop further bucking for a period, but unless you can truely find the reason, the ticking bomb will always be there somewhere.

Lunging in itself is a pretty mindless exercise for the horse which most horses just get on with. Others are genuinely unhappy with lunging, particularly if nagging commands are given to the horse ie continually on asking for 'trot' or 'canter' when the horse is already doing it. The more voice commands are employed the less use is made of body language, and many people have little idea how to instruct their horse without using the voice. In addition driving from behind with the lunge whip is at best annoying for the horse and at worse very un settling.

Few people lunge properly by giving the horse responsibility for the gait, and many find that they have to drive the horse away from them to keep it on the circle, this has the effect of lessening any bond you may have formed with the horse. Even if you consider the bond you have to be good, it could be so much better without this.

Personally if I am working a horse on a circle, I expect to give one instruction to the horse, which is carried out  until it receives another. The horse should not change gait or speed and certainly not direction till asked. I then maintain a nutral position, not exerting any unneeded or unwanted pressure on the horse.

For horses which people consider 'need taking the edge off' prior to riding, what they really need is to get their brain engaged which can be more usefully acheived with groundwork tasks.

Obviously, some folk can and do lunge successfully, and competantly, but I post my thoughts having watched countless people getting it wrong and helping their friends and clients to perpetuate the same thing.


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## horsegirl (17 May 2011)

So my horses who have been stuffing themselves with spring grass all day and who charge round leaping and bucking before settling down are trying to tell me there is something wrong? Where's that eye rolling smiley?


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## tallyho! (17 May 2011)

I have a COB. Fizz & edge is a huge bonus, i'd never lunge to get rid of that! i might lunge to put some IN...


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## Snowysadude (17 May 2011)

Foxhunter49 said:



			I am sure that well over half the problems of today is the lack of knowledge with feeding and that mixes contain a lot of sugar and hype horses up.
		
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Not for me he wasnt fed anything other than hay and was out on a small paddock and strip grazed as a fattie . 
But I did find that lunging before I rode (which I did every day for about 3 months) made him uber fit so when I went to a show and couldnt lunge etc he was a bit crazy and feeling rather well! But it did take the edge off on a day to day basis. I dont need to lunge at all now and hes fine .


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## AndySpooner (17 May 2011)

Horsegirl lots of people look but don't see. So you don't feel the need to lunge, good for you, lots of people have very different problems, some cannot let their horses stuff on spring grass.

You cannot personalize everything by saying 'My horse' as though that justifies anything.


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## Ladylina83 (17 May 2011)

I find it helps yes, quite a few times I have got on and felt her buzzing underneath me and then gone to get a line - it just helps her to settle into her work. 

She is full of it at the moment bucking and farting all over the place in the field ! not a chance I would ask her to work with out getting some spark out of her

... ETS also on no hard feed at all


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## leflynn (17 May 2011)

I do it for my boy, a) to get the edge off him sometimes if he hasn't been ridden or out for whatever reason for a while and b) so he responds to voice aids and body language.

Some people like lunging others don't, it's more about what works for you and your horse at the end of the day


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## Tickles (17 May 2011)

I did it with something known as cold backed. Turned out he wasn't, saddle didn't fit. After saddle was refitted I lunged in the saddle a little to get him used to it being there and not hurting. TBH I think it did more for my nerves than for him.

Other times when I'd lunge/free school first...

- getting a new horse used to voice aids before trying something new ridden
- when horse has been stabled 24/7 (e.g. snow) to get the bucks (and rolls in hand when itchy rugs come off!) out first

Wouldn't do it day-to-day. But if you're nervy and it gives you a nice demo of your horse listening to you before you hop on then it shouldn't do much harm if you keep it brief.


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## ThePony (17 May 2011)

AndySpooner said:



			For horses which people consider 'need taking the edge off' prior to riding, what they really need is to get their brain engaged which can be more usefully acheived with groundwork tasks.
		
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This is really true for my mare and I. She will always have a stack more energy than me and is more than capable at spending it in ways that I don't find useful in a schooling session! If she has had a few days off so has a bit more about her then we hack as trying to get her settled and concentrating for a decent schooling session isn't realistic. Then we school the next day, but contentrating on lots of work in walk (esp lateral work) to get her listening and concentrating rather than having eyes on stalks for the imaginary wind monsters!! Once she is listening then she is a love, but without bringing her to her knees, no amount of lunge work will get her that way, the only way for us is through steady thinking work. I assume for others that some groundwork that involves a few more questions than lunging has a similar effect. I would have no idea what to do with groundwork to get the same effect, so we stick with this way!


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## BlueCakes (17 May 2011)

I will sometimes lunge my boy before riding if I thinks he's going to be silly. Or sometimes I will get on, he;ll be daft, and I'll get off and lunge and then get back on again. 
Though to be honest its not so much to wear him out, but to let him have a silly 5 mins then to make sure he is listenning and ready to work.


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