Once you’ve learnt how to lunge a horse, you might want to introduce lungeing over poles to his routine.
Lungeing over poles is a great strengthening exercise for the horse and can add variety to a training programme.
Why should I lunge my horse over poles?
There are benefits to using pole work during a lungeing session, including:
- Gives the horse something different to think about
- A solid introduction to pole work and jumping
- Helps the horse improve his balance and technique over poles without the weight of a rider
- Aids the horse’s muscle development and helps him to work from behind
- Helps the the horse develop his length of stride
- If a horse rushes to a fence, lungeing over poles teaches him to find his own stride pattern
How do I lunge my horse over poles?
If you would like to introduce trotting poles into your lungeing sessions, but you’re not sure how to start, here are some tips:
Using trotting poles on the lunge is a good exercise, but always warm your horse up on the flat first.
Introduce the poles in trot, but don’t go over them every time. Making the circle smaller or larger to miss or include the poles will make the horse work harder.
Start off with four poles fanned out on a circle with the distance at the centre of the poles correct for your horse or pony (between 4-5ft). Use coloured poles if possible as the horse can see them easier than rustic poles.
The poles will encourage your horse to look down, stretch the muscles in the neck and back. This will improve the activity in his stride, help him keep an even rhythm and increase engagement behind. If working in side reins make sure they allow this stretching to take place.
To encourage more joint flexion, poles can be raised at alternate ends using jump blocks. This encourages the horse to work harder and prevents the poles from rolling out of place. Working over raised poles is strenuous and shouldn’t be over done.
Canter poles can be used if your horse is sufficiently balanced to canter on the lunge. Cantering over a single pole helps the horse negotiate a stride and multiple poles will improve rhythm. Start with a single pole and then add two more poles approx 9ft apart – you may need to adjust the distance to suit your horse.
Your can vary the distance between the poles to encourage the horse to shortern or lengthen his stride in trot and canter. Never use two poles as the horse may jump them.
You might also be interested in:
How do I lunge a young horse? Useful advice from Jennie Loriston-Clarke
Lungeing for a better riding position
Expert advice from HORSE magazine on how to improve your riding position onthe lunge
What is lateral work, and how can it help my horse?
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.
