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Lunging
Lunging is a very useful way of working a horse. It enables you to see how the horse is working and can also be useful in the event of the horse being unable to be ridden due to an injury, or if it needs to let off a bit of steam before it's sat on.
The trainer will stand holding a lunge line that is attached to a cavesson under the horses bridle. The horse works around the trainer on roughly a 20 meter circle. A series of clear voice commands will let the horse know what is required, upward transitions should be said with the voice going higher and downward transitions should be said with the voice going lower helping the horse to understand.
Transitions can include walk, trot and canter. A lunging session should last for 20 minutes due to the fact that lunging on a circle is quite strenuous for the horse. The trainer should wear a hard hat, gloves and sensible footwear and during lunging will carry a lunge whip which can be used to encourage the horse forwards if required. The side reins can be attached after the horse is warmed up and the length adjusted as necessary and care must be taken to work the horse evenly on both reins.
When changing the rein unclip the side reins and fasten to the D rings, walk the horse around to change the rein then re-clip the side reins on from the outside rein first then the inside rein. At the end of the session unclip the side reins and attach to the D rings, loosen the girth off one hole on both sides.
Equipment Required
- Cavesson - can be made of leather or webbing it should fit in the same way that a cavesson noseband would allowing two fingers to be fitted under the cheek bones and between it and the horse. The noseband part will fit with the noseband part going under the bridle with the throatlatch part going over the bridle. This prevents the bridle or cavesson from moving. The cavesson will have three rings across the front the lunge line can be clipped on to the central ring or use the side rings depending on your preference.
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- Bridle - with noseband removed and the reins twisted over and secured by the throatlatch to prevent them from falling down.
- Lunge Line - made of webbing it contains a clip at one end which will be attached to the cavesson with the trainer holding the other end with any line spare neatly held in a loop so that it can easily be let out or reeled in. Some lunge lines contain leather notches along them which does help to give the trainer some grip.
- Saddle - it is from the girth straps on the saddle that side reins are attached and when not in use the side reins are clipped on to the D rings on the saddle. The stirrup irons should be run up and the end loop brought back up through the iron itself with the loose end of the leather going through it and then through the keeper to hold it in place.
- Roller - can be used instead of the saddle They can be made of leather or webbing and will have D rings on them for attachment of side reins. When putting on a roller it should go just behind the wither on the horses back, the girth strap will hang down from the near side of the horse while the girth strap with the buckle will hang down from the right hand side. The roller is done up much like a girth by bringing it under the horses tummy and doing it up tight enough for it to stay in place but not so tight that it will cause discomfort.
- Breastplate - can be used when lunging to help prevent the roller or saddle from sipping.
- Crupper - can be used to help prevent the saddle from riding up the neck of the horse, it has a loop at one end which goes under the tail and a strap which then leads to the roller or saddle for attachment to a D ring.
- Horse Boots - due to the strain of lunging boots should be worn on both the front and hind legs to help prevent injury. Suitable boots include brushing boots and over reach boots.
- Trainer - hard hat,gloves and sensible footwear are essential to protect the trainer.
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