hi it's Josie and today I'd like to share with you how
I get a horse to walk on the lunge if you're anything like me in the early days I used to
have my off-the-track thoroughbreds which I bought in the beginning that would be running
around madly on the end of the lunge and I couldn't work out how to get them to walk now
walking on the lunge to me is pretty important especially with off the track thoroughbreds
because usually their heads scrambled anyway and if you're letting them run around on the
end of it you just actually encouraging that behaviour this is Dale he is an off the track
Thoroughbred he's been with me for a few weeks now he's a little underweight I know guys but
trust me when he got here he was worse and I've been doing ground work with him to teach him
some aids so that I can get him to walk on the lunge now he is usually he's all right when he's
up close with me like this but when I put him away from me I have not lunged him like I'm
going to lunge him today I promise and I won't edit this I will show you warts and all because
that's what it's all about because he truly is an off-the-track Thoroughbred out of he's in
the paddock for a year I think before the people who sent him to me bought him he hadn't hasn't
been ridden but anyway um so I have taught him groundwork and one of those is to to yield his
hind quarters or move his hindquarters over which helps him to bend and slow down and soften in
the body and in the mind and I will be using that particular Aid to help him to walk on the lunge so
I'm just I've got a Serreta on him I usually lunge if I'm actually properly lunging horses which I
don't do a lot of I do a lot of work on the circle on a rope I use a Serreta because it gives me
control of the poll of the horse which helps with Bend but I'll quickly show you what that exercise
is so the exercise for him is just to move his hindquarters over now he has not had this Seretta
on so he might be just a little lost but that's okay so he needs to move his hind quarter away and
then when I give him that sort of Aid he's to move it right over and stop facing me now we're going
to use that when he's going fast I'm going to get him to turn his haunches which means he has to
cross over his back legs which will slow him down I don't let them go out on the end of the lunge
and run around like maniacs either I keep them pretty close to me to start with and you have to
they they also move their shoulders because I want him to go out that way and not walk through me
and he's the one that goes out on the circle so this is new to him this Serreta
and he's going to go and trot now and I don't want him to trot so I'm going to use that hindquarter
yield and let and give it away when he walks and I'm going to do it again I pull his nose a little
towards me and let him go when he walks I'm going to do this until he walks quietly on the lunge
and you can see what happens with him when he straightens his body he goes faster
I promise you I've not lunged this horse and he's not actually been in this Arena
at all that's a better walk but it's still quite a tense walk look at it guys he's not soft
he's a bit tense and straight in the body which means he's not yeah and when I can get him to
bend a little good so that was just a subtle body language for him to move his hindquarter
out a little and bend a little good boy so I've got this boy to walk pretty well but on the lunge
pretty quickly I know some horses I'm going to let him out longer and longer because the further
away from me the this horse gets the worse there sorry I'm concentrating on what I'm doing as well
turning that hindquarter away until he walks and then release the aid
and I do you the shoulders coming in at me so he's falling in on the circle
so you can't fix two things at once on a horse guys don't try and fix the falling in
the speed at the same time so I'm actually going to ask him to go out though I want him
to step and that's I don't I have a sp I had to go forward a but none of them are what it
is I teach this stuff in basic horse training the academy if you're interested there will be a link
in description you can go and have a look and see if it's something that you would like good
so okay he's not on a 20 meter Circle guys but Rome wasn't built in a day either that
is my gut now that's it right wrong way so now I've got mine my intention asking
him to go yep and I just didn't change my mind I knew I wanted him to go that
way and so did he I don't want him to run though so I move his haunches over
he can read my body language don't you worry about that and I'm stepping in my rope here
which means I need to pick it up
I really am stepping in my rope here
and I will just make him walk good and then I'll let him out again
and when he goes to trot I'll ask him to move his haunches over
I promise you I'm truly training this horse here because he has not walked on the lunge before he's
not been lunged I knew he would go fast because that's his makeup good boy I've got no um no
energy in my body at all my body's very relaxed because if I pick up my energy he will pick up his
and you cannot get frustrated he's just being who he is be unfair to be cross with him he's falling
in here I'd love to correct that shoulder but if I push him out he's gonna probably Trot off and let
him if he wants to go out I'm happy for him to go out I'll keep him at that length though good
and then he's trots off so I'm asking him to cross his haunches over and he may need to come
in like he seems to need I need to get shorter to get him to do it that's okay doesn't matter
so every time he goes off I just ask him to come back to a walk because nowhere here have
I asked him to t-r-o-t nowhere I haven't done it with my body done it with my voice
haven't done it with anything it's better that's much better good so I'm keeping all my energy low
because he's a very sensitive little boy he'll pick it up on it good boy he's a thoroughbred
after all good boy there we go there's a nice little licking a chew good boy and a drop of
the head a little so the head's getting lower I don't know if you can notice but try and make
a point to look at horses his body itself is softening the walk is still a little bit fast
and he trots off again and you just you cannot
cannot get frustrated guys he's only doing what he thinks he needs to do
he's not being belligerent he's not thinking he'll Trot off and annoy the heck out of us
he is just doing what he feels he needs to do I'm trying to bring him down this end a little
bit there you saw me if the cam if he didn't block the camera give him a little go forward Aid
good and now I've actually got a little bit of connection with that lunge rein on his
nose so I can get some poll control it's a little bit like getting contact on the rein
lunging should be um when you do it properly should be see I've got can you see that from his
nose to my hand now I have a connection so I can use my ring finger like that and bring his nose
in good boy still fast in the walk but it is he's having steps where it's slowing down and I didn't
explain but I don't have a lunge whip in my hand because I used that's better did you see him drop
his head then guys and he started to just lose that real um tenseness that he has in his body
good boy I'm just gonna stop him on the lunge whoops my fault stop him
use my flag to help him know to stop there good boy good boy so there you saw that we only got
you know a few circles so it certainly wasn't all but that's how you build on it yeah Rome wasn't
built in a day the horse isn't gonna be perfect on your first day lunging and this is his first
day in this arena with a Seretta on and with me on a lunge whip asking him to go out like that
but if you are consistent and kind and patient I promise you your horse will learn to walk on
the end of the lunge if you're interested in learning some more about how I do this there
is basic horse training academy there will be the link in the description I would love to
see you on the inside if you think it's a good fit for you thanks for watching foreign [Music]