LUNGING FOR CALMNESS: Get Your Horse Tuned In, Not Tired Out

Doing some groundwork before riding gives you a feel for how your horse is feeling that day.  If he’s feeling a little stiff, you can loosen him up.  If he’s feeling a little lazy, you can get his energy flowing. If he’s feeling distracted, you can help him focus. Never is groundwork more crucial than when your horse is feeling like he’s ready to jump out of his shoes. 

On these days, you might be tempted to lunge your horse just to wear him out. Before you go that route consider these two things: 1) the more you allow your horse to blow off steam and get his bucks out on the lunge line, the more your horse will think it is okay to behave in a steamy, bucking manner when he is with you; and 2) speeding around on the lunge line will cause your horse to waste a ton of energy. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to save some of that energy for the ride ahead?  Wouldn't it be even nicer to get to the point of just being able to hop on your horse anytime trusting that he will behave calmly? Lunging can help get you to that happy place… but not the kind of lunging that just tires a horse out.  So when you feel you need to do that, use your lunging session to help your horse tune in to you by helping him calm down as quickly as possible.  Not only will this allow you to reserve your horse's energy for a pleasant ride, but it will get your horse understanding that he is to behave calmly whenever he is with you – even on the lunge line.

Here are some tips to get you started lunging for calmness:

Create calm energy in you. Think about how you are feeling. If you are ticked off or frustrated that your horse is high as a kite, your horse is going to sense it and the lunging session will turn into something of an adversarial experience. Take control of the situation by remembering that you can guide your horse to calmness only if you are calm yourself. 

Spiral in and out. Smaller circles are harder work for horses so use them to your advantage. When your horse starts flying around and kicking up his heels, spiral him in toward you until he comes to trot.  Keep him on that smaller circle until he gives you a calm rhythm at the trot, and then allow him to go back out onto a larger circle as a reward.  If he speeds up again, repeat the spiraling process.  As soon as he is able to keep himself calm for at least one large circle, reward him.  Bring him to a halt, give him a nice rub, and then just let him walk around for minute. Make it very clear to him that you reward calmness.

Mix things up at the slower paces. When you start thinking about it, you can come up with tons of things to ask your horse to do at the walk and trot, such as: trot one circle, walk one circle, change directions and repeat, halt, back up, step sideways, come forward, step over a pole, back up over a pole, take one step forward and one step back, etc.  By asking your horse to do lots of different things, you encourage him to settle down and focus on you. Make that your number one goal, and then ask for canter only when your horse is completely calm.

A huge part of providing good leadership to your horse is helping him make decisions that make his life easier and more pleasant. The phenomenal benefit to you is that it makes your own life easier and your time with your horse so much more fun! To learn more about developing your leadership skills, buy your copy of The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge today.