If she's not got her eyes focused on you it defeats the purpose of even lunging, keep bumping her nose in. What type of halter do you use?
Turning head to outside when lunging
I lunged Dolly properly for the first time today (I've done it before with a lead rope, but not a proper lunge line). She did pretty well, and for a start she was very good about leaving a little bit of slack in the rope, but after a few minutes she started turning her head to the outside and pulling on the rope. I gave it little tugs to get head head back in, and she did respond, but she kept turning it back to the outside again. I lunged for maybe 20 minutes in total.
Should I just bump her back in each time she turns out, or is there something else I should be doing?
Thanks in advance.
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Should I just bump her back in each time she turns out, or is there something else I should be doing?
Thanks in advance.
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If you can find a well fitting lunging cavesson with a ring on the nose, that is helpful for a more precise cue to get her nose tipped in on the circle. I would also work on yielding her hind quarters while keeping her nose a bit towards you during groundwork if you aren't already. I have done a lot of this with my gelding and found that it helps translates to a nice bend while lunging on a longer line.
Noticing small try's and having precise timing for cues and releases in groundwork goes a long way in keeping the horse thinking "towards" you instead of away from you. My favorite trainer for this type of work is Warwick Schiller (pictured below).
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Noticing small try's and having precise timing for cues and releases in groundwork goes a long way in keeping the horse thinking "towards" you instead of away from you. My favorite trainer for this type of work is Warwick Schiller (pictured below).
The debate of to lunge or not and what benefit does the horse derive from this is what you need to be able to answer and back it up with done deal accomplishments.
Being you wrote this, "I lunged Dolly properly for the first time today (I've done it before with a lead rope, but not a proper lunge line). " makes me wonder....
What did you teach Dolly?
What has she just learned from that exercise and was it beneficial to her...or not?
So the horse circled you with their nose tipped outside and pulling against the lunge line unless you thumped the face by line movement and the animal quickly moved their face away from that pressure felt then resumed their method of travel of nose tipped out and pulling against you....
I didn't see you, only read your words and description which immediately made me think the horse is unbalanced and using the nose tipped out and pulling against you as a balance point.
You "thumping" the lunge line pulling her nose back inside is = to striking her in the face to me. The nerves in the face and the force felt at the end of that line..
Some people can do a lot on a lunge line working a horse.....
Some people think they do and don't...
Some people complicate further how the horse travels and why when not lunging it correctly.
I don't know any of those facts only what I've seen and observed many times...nor pointing a finger in yours or anyone's direction.
There is a right way and a wrong way and many do wrong thinking they are the cat's meow making that horse do all this, that and something else while they are moving in a circle around a pivot point, that be us, their human.
I would rather saddle up, mount up and ride where my horse is not forced to keep their body on a continual arc that is not natural....any size circular movement just arced the body and transferred the weight and stresses of movement to particular areas...
If I want to "arc" and bend the body, the horse can and will do so with me astride in any size circle or even on a straight path...now that seems a novel idea and one many not do often.
Be careful lunging is not overly stressing the animals body, forget shutting down its mind in endless roundy-round boredom....
As said, some can derive a lot for the animal when lunging is done correctly and with variation to the exercise and both directions worked so balancing of the animals musculature and coordination is undertaken..
Just be careful to not stress mind & body, nor allow...yes allow what just took place to occur....every interaction is a learning experience....done 3x it is no longer being learned but now a set trait good or bad in this is what they do when we do this activity...
How many times did you "thump" that line and pull the nose in and how many times did the horse go right back to what it was doing....something to think about and why.
🐴.... jmo...
Being you wrote this, "I lunged Dolly properly for the first time today (I've done it before with a lead rope, but not a proper lunge line). " makes me wonder....
What did you teach Dolly?
What has she just learned from that exercise and was it beneficial to her...or not?
So the horse circled you with their nose tipped outside and pulling against the lunge line unless you thumped the face by line movement and the animal quickly moved their face away from that pressure felt then resumed their method of travel of nose tipped out and pulling against you....
I didn't see you, only read your words and description which immediately made me think the horse is unbalanced and using the nose tipped out and pulling against you as a balance point.
You "thumping" the lunge line pulling her nose back inside is = to striking her in the face to me. The nerves in the face and the force felt at the end of that line..
Some people can do a lot on a lunge line working a horse.....
Some people think they do and don't...
Some people complicate further how the horse travels and why when not lunging it correctly.
I don't know any of those facts only what I've seen and observed many times...nor pointing a finger in yours or anyone's direction.
There is a right way and a wrong way and many do wrong thinking they are the cat's meow making that horse do all this, that and something else while they are moving in a circle around a pivot point, that be us, their human.
I would rather saddle up, mount up and ride where my horse is not forced to keep their body on a continual arc that is not natural....any size circular movement just arced the body and transferred the weight and stresses of movement to particular areas...
If I want to "arc" and bend the body, the horse can and will do so with me astride in any size circle or even on a straight path...now that seems a novel idea and one many not do often.
Be careful lunging is not overly stressing the animals body, forget shutting down its mind in endless roundy-round boredom....
As said, some can derive a lot for the animal when lunging is done correctly and with variation to the exercise and both directions worked so balancing of the animals musculature and coordination is undertaken..
Just be careful to not stress mind & body, nor allow...yes allow what just took place to occur....every interaction is a learning experience....done 3x it is no longer being learned but now a set trait good or bad in this is what they do when we do this activity...
How many times did you "thump" that line and pull the nose in and how many times did the horse go right back to what it was doing....something to think about and why.
🐴.... jmo...
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