One of the biggest misused exercises in the horse industry is lunging. Lunging is not to “get the buck out” or “tire a horse” before you ride. I often see people do this exercise with their horse on a 60 ft. line and the horse is loping around mindlessly at best. The horse will be throwing his head, pinning his ears, and have his head turned out pulling on the rope. Then after awhile, when the owner stops the horse to change directions, the owner is the one running around the horse, flailing her arms and nagging the horse with the same meaningless voice command to get him to move. Ultimately, the horse doesn’t get any less shittier on the ground, and it doesn’t change when the owner gets on. Lunging, when done correctly, is about gaining your horses respect and gaining control of his feet so his mind follows suit. You accomplish this by getting the horse to use the thinking side of his brain instead of the reactive side his brain by lots of changes of direction. When the owner asks the horse to move, he should have a ‘yes,ma’am’ attitude and not be trying to rip your arm off. When your horse is respectful on the ground, it makes a world of difference under saddle.
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