Why is Monty Roberts against lunging?

Oh hey Darla! It's Dreaming Luke. I agree completely and it is exactly what I do. I never use it to tire my horses out and just run them senselessly around in circles.

I am also going to bet that you are not training an OPEN leven NRHA reiner either. When I ask for a stop the stop means back up. Not turn. There is no hesitation in that cue from one maneuver to the next. I do not even want then thinking turn.

Hmmm...so yours has even more training and still doesn't know the difference?

*peaks out from behind the couch*

I like lunging.

Not as a means to any end. Just as a challenge in and of itself. Teaching a horse to lunge beautifully is hard. Having a horse go snappily from a walk to a relaxed trot with only a little raise of the hand. Having that horse come back down to a quiet walk immediately when asked. Whoa and turn to face, disengaging the hindquarters, in response to the handler taking a step towards their haunches. Roll back and immediately change directions when cued. No pulling, cutting the circle, tossing the head, pinning ears...

I don't use it to work a horse's body, but the horse's mind. Any movement without permission is a lack of control. Every foot step is within my guidance. (Ideally! But that's the challenge!)


Well, I'll duck back under the couch.

It is not about knowing the differance. It is about anticipation and guessing. When you are training a horse like I have already stated. It is not about training that maneuver it is about training what comes next. Horses are always looking for what comes next. SO I do not want them to think turn when I stop. I want them to be thinking back. I do not want them having to sit there for a second waiting on me to cue them or for them to have to figure it out. When I ask for the stop I want them thinking back up. Not turn.

Here is a video showing what I am talking about. Shawn does it better then any rider I have ever seen. Watch the horse stop. That horse is goign backwards before the horse has come to a compeit stop. If I let thengorse at any point think I want them to turn after a stop you would loose this. It is not about being smart or knowing the differance it about know thinking about anything but going backwards when you stop.


Also it about how the horse uses itself too. When I ask for the stop I want them thinking back. When I turn/spin I want them thinking forward.

I do not train professional reining horses....I do not train any horses but my own. However, I will say.....my horses stop on a dime...may not be a fancy rolling stop....but on a dime and they don't turn sideways, simply still like a statue and I teach them to face me during their lessons or any other time I am around them. They are to always wonder what question I am going to ask of them next and pay attention.

I don't lunge unless it is to teach something specific and it is controlled, not mindless circles in hopes they will tire for their ride. I find that comical since if you lunge before every ride, you are actually building their endurance and it will take longer to tire them out in the future. I believe in building the relationship so the horse looks to you as the herd leader no matter what the situation is.

If this is wrong, it works for me. My horses are very well mannered on the ground and under saddle. I have used this on horses with all different personalities and had the same results. So, how can I knock it?

I lunge in a lunge arena when my horse is fresh. I try to avoid lunging on a line as much as I can, but unfortunately most show facilities don't have lunge arenas. Riding my horse when he's fresh is not only tiring for me, but it doesn't accomplish much with him either. Sometimes, I think, horses need it. Every horse is different, and quite frankly riding a hunter when he's very fresh can not only be scary but dangerous in some circumstances. However, I think everyone has very good points; I'm learning a lot just from reading some of these posts :)
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That's an extremely ignorant response.

All horses process things differently. You cannot compare one horse to another fairly. My horse was taught to turn. He thought that was the answer under saddle as well. I'm re training him.

But when someone allows a horse to get the wrong answer.. right.. then it causes confusion.

It's not about "brightness" it's about communication.

The clearer you are, the better behaved and understanding/obedient your horse is.

But good for you for not being a "pro trainer" and having a respectful horse. Do you want a prize for that or some kind of pat on the back?

Pretty sure a large portion of forum members have great horses and aren't "pro trainers" too.

You are describing training results, we're talking about the training process.

Reining horses are not supposed to "think ahead", they are suppose to wait for the next cue.

EVERY maneuver should be "in and of itself".

And no, I no longer ride at "open level", but I have in the past. And "thinking ahead" is what gets you a cheating horse.