Love to lunge
Fizz Marshall explains how to tackle common lungeing problems with her five easy exercises to help counteract your horse’s weaknesses and build on his strengths
Photos: Jon Stroud
Lungeing can bring so many benefits to your horse’s way of going and is invaluable in helping you achieve an effective schooling session when you’re short on time or unable to ride. The lack of a rider can highlight a horse’s common faults, though – and it’s important to have a robust toolkit of exercises to resolve them and improve his way of going. Here are my go-tos.
Our expert
Fizz Marshall has worked with all types of horses in her six years as Centre Manager at the Equine Therapy Centre at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. More recently she’s managed racehorses for Jonjo O’Neill and been Yard Manager for Carl Hester.
Work the warm up
Whatever exercises you plan to focus on in your lungeing session, a good warm-up is a priority.
Consider the best way to begin for your individual horse. This might be free lungeing to start with, or attaching the training aids very loosely – trial and error is needed here to find the most effective way to encourage your horse to move his body forward in a positive but calm way while he loosens up.
Transitions on the lunge can be something people struggle with – but often that’s because they do so few of them that their horse isn’t tuned in to listen for the aid. So, be sure to incorporate plenty of transitions in your early work – between and even within the gaits – and focus on settling your horse into a rhythm as much as you can. The aim is to keep his attention on you and the aids you give him.