Some lunging problems and solutions

Some problems I have encountered while lunging and what I have done to rectify the situation:

The horse is:

-          avoiding contact and the line is slack – or feels ‘empty’ in your hand

o       drive him forward with body language or use the whip and at the same time take contact with the rein by shortening it until feel him in the other end

o       when he responds by taking contact and line is not slack anymore, give him more line and take the pressure off

o       ready to repeat, if he decides to avoid contact again

-          sluggish and does not want to move forward properly (but is not ill, unlevel or have badly fitting tack, just lazy)

o       touch him on the hind quarters with the whip

o       start jogging or running with him, but keeping contact at the same time – no slack line… Jog or run also as in driving him on, not dragging him as in leading…

-          looking out and bringing his hind quarters inside the circle

o       take more contact on the line, bring him on a smaller circle, drive him on more, ask him to yield his hind quarters

o       this may at first produce a horse that is running faster than really required, but adjusting the aids and staying calm in the middle will eventually make him soften

o       the moment he softens and yields his hind so that the hind legs follow the front legs on the circle, release to a bigger circle or start walking around a bigger circle yourself

o       if he returns back to pushing hind inwards, repeat immediately

-          not staying within the gait you want

o       ask him to move on in the gait he gives and work well within it

o       after some rounds, ask to come back to the gait you were wanting to work on, if he refuses, drive him forward and work more, and then ask again

o       eventually he will want to come back a gear

o       important bit is to remain calm and not get irritated, just think:”ok, you want to trot instead of walking. Fine, then we trot and trot properly.”

-          leaning in and making the circle smaller than you want

o       use body language to drive him onto a bigger circle

o       may have to accept a slacker contact for a wile until he is established on that bigger circle

o       again this problem may need patience and staying calm

o       if he is cutting you off while you are walking with him on a bigger circle, stop walking or trying to push him off, just stop and take him on a small circle for a round, then ask for him to move on again to a bigger one – if he again cuts you off, repeat – eventually he will think it easier to do what you want… which is to stay on a bigger and more comfortable circle

-          running like an eejit head high and not listening at all to you

o       stay calm and let him have a really big circle to run around safely

o       keep him going, if he has decided to gallop around, then he should stay in the gallop or canter until you let him to come back to trot – he may have taken the initiative to run about like an eejit, but you take the control over when he is allowed to slow down

o       at some point he will start to want to slow down, keep him going still just a half a circle or so, and then ask for downward transition – don’t let him drop to slower gear on his own, it is vital that this is your decision, not his

-          keeping his head high and does not want to stretch it down and forward

o       asking for long and low on the lunge requires feel and lots and lots of lunging experience

o       with me it works such that I take a better contact on him with lunge hand while at the same time drive him on more, but this is not as easy as it may sound here… you have to be very observant and sensitive to remove any extra pressure immediately when he gives you better stretch so that he knows what you are asking him to do

o       in the very beginning I just waited until he lowered his head on his own accord, and this will happen, you just have to be patient, first time it took indeed something like 20min

o       later on, when he was used to the new lunging style, I took him to a small circle, creating more contact and more forward pressure, and when he gave his head, I released him to bigger circle immediately

o       nowadays cues are far subtler and just taking a certain amount of contact and more forward pressure usually does the trick

o       a chambon may be of a great help here, if the horse just does not lower his head at all. Chambon has been a vital part of our lunging success since our boy was that ex harness racer and learned to run fast with head high.

o       if using chambon, please do watch the video from Will of how to use it correctly

o       side reins used correctly (loose enough for the horse to be able to take contact himself as well as stretch) may help as well

-          spooking

o       ignore as much as possible and work on

o       if there is a spooky area in the school, take the horse there and lunge around there  in a smaller circle until he is calm – obviously if he is very spooked, don’t go too close to the spooky site, but gradually move him that way

o       however, do remember to stay safe yourself, don’t go too close to the horse’s kick area and be ready to collect any possible slack on the line, and never hold the line in you hand in such way that it may trap your hand or fingers in case the horse bolts; I always keep my line looped back and forth, not in a round loop, this way it is near impossible for me to get tangled in it with my hand.

These are things that I learned in practice during this year and a bit of lunging several times a week. Thought to jot them down in case my experience would be of help to someone out there.

I’ll finish this post with five things you should always mind in my opinion while lunging:

1. Always move only forwards. That is, never ever step even one step backwards. This shows submission to the horse and you are immediately below him in the hierarchy. Do Not Step Back! If the horse is coming towards you and makes the line slack, instead of stepping backwards, step forwards on a semi circle following him. That is, drive him forward. This he understands and it is not submissive from you – quite the contrary.
2. Always keep the horse going the direction you want. That is, never ever let the horse change rein on his own. Block him, and turn him immediately back to where you wanted him to go. You decide the direction of the movement, not him. Do not let him change rein and just do it without consequences, not even once!
3. Always when changing rein, ask him to stop on the circle, then walk to him, praise and pat him, then move to the other side and ask him to move off on the other rein. That is, never ever change rein via an S on the hoof… when doing ground work, fine, or long lining with two reins, fine, but when lunging and working with him this way, don’t do it! Teach him to stop and wait for you. Cues that I use are to put the whip away pointing away from him under my arm, stop walking myself, body language relaxing and of course the customary voice command. If he does not stop immediately, fine, you ask again, if he does not want to stop, ask him to move on, up one gear, then after a while a gear down and again ask for halt. Repeat in calm manner until he stops. Then great praise…
4. Always continue the session until your horse is calm. That is, never ever stop a session if the horse is still wound up or spooky etc. If you lead the horse out while he is wound up and unruly, he will most likely repeat the same next time. Always take your time (never be in a hurry) and take the horse back in only after it is calm – no matter how long it takes. This will pay off very quickly.
5. Always keep your and the horse’s safety foremost in mind – use common sense. 

Why do we keep on lunging so much?

Many may be wondering why an earth do we keep on lunging so much. Also why lunging and not long lining/reining. So, I thought to just jot down some reasons why we are doing this and what the aim is in the end. And (of course) it’s all Art2Ride…  

As I wrote on one of my earlier posts, we learned to long line over a decade ago and preferred that since you have immediately better control on both sides of the horse. In fact we may have lunged our old boy Jack only once or twice. Of course we started long lining our new chap as well here in Sweden. However, that never really worked well… As I have told earlier in my long lining post, it was due to him having been a harness racer. When I found Art2Ride nearly two years ago, we switched to lunging work and do get a lot more proper work out of that. Long lining work has been on the backburner, just because it needs so much more work to get it right with our boy. 

To me lunging is riding from the ground but without the riders weight on the horse.

It requires as much concentration and coordination as riding. Since I don’t keep the horse on a small circle the whole time while lunging, but use sometimes even the whole school, I can keep on going for far longer than you would traditionally lunge. That is, the horse’s legs won’t get overly strained from lunging this way, in fact the legs get less wear and tear with this type of lunging than riding, since there is no weight on the horse’s back. So, instead of staying put in the middle of the circle, I keep on (most of the time) walking with our boy. This allows me to lunge on an oval or rectangular as well, if I want.

When lunging, I keep a contact to the horse with the lunge line as my reins and use the lunge whip as my leg aid. This means that the lunge line should not be slack and he should take contact with the bit.

Aim with all this lunging is of course to build up our boy’s topline muscles (back, upper neck and abdominals). The optimal working position for doing this is when he has his head long and low. That is, when he reaches towards the ground with his nose and stretches it forward. The lower the better. This position supports the back and allows the muscles to work and relax – not just contract all the time.

Now there are many out there saying that doing this will put the horse permanently on the forehand and one will never get the horse up and collected. And yes, if you let the horse slouch and don’t ask him to work properly through his hind and back, you will not get anywhere with this method. However, if you make sure that the horse works properly, that is, steps under from behind in good pace and rhythm, you are working his muscles. It is the optimal way to work a horse that does not yet have proper topline muscles. Once the horse has developed some muscle on the topline and can maintain a nice rhythm in the gaits while stretching on a long and low outline, you can start asking for a higher head position when riding.

That is, the final aim is really not to keep the horse always on the long and low position… it is just a tool to build up the topline so that the horse can keep on working optimally through it even when his head is higher. Have a look at the fourth video of the work from Amber and Legolas, this is where I'm also aiming at. 
The cue to get back to long and low is when the horse loses impulsion and rhythm. The long and low work will in time get less, but you return there after any harder work to relax the muscles. It is also best to start with long and low to warm up the muscles before getting into any harder work.

Did not realise here June 2013 that his back was dipped,
he did not use his belly and was moving forward from
his forehand... Quickly seen, this photo may thus look ok,
but looking at it more critically, you will spot the
signs of no topline... 

The difference is very clear between a hollow back horse without topline muscles and a horse with his back up and using the topline. Everyone can see it, if they just know what to look for. When the horse lowers its head, you can start to see the back (behind the saddle) muscles visibly move. He also steps under immediately more when the head is low than when his head is high. Lower neck relaxes and upper neck muscles become visible. Later on in the process these upper neck muscles pop out even clearer. And further down the line you will start seeing the belly muscles working (a muscle line starts to show up along his belly).

Here working thru topline and with the back up September 2014.
Movement does not yet come all from the back end,
but we are moving the right way... ;)
and collection is perhaps a year away (fingers crossed..). 

With our boy the first thing I noticed (well over a year ago now) with the long and low work was that the hind legs did suddenly not drag along scraping the ground, but were lifted up and placed on the ground… and that change was immediate. After about 6 weeks or so of systematic long and low work the next big change in him was that he lifted his back up while I was riding him. That is, it took about that long for his back to develop enough muscle to start carrying me on his back. It was a day of revelation alright. And made things very clear to me. This work was paying off alright.

So, the matter of ‘being on the forehand’ while stretching him on long and low outline.

Yes well, if I would train him any other way, he would still be on his forehand… This way I am in fact eventually getting him off his forehand through building up his topline optimally. When he has enough muscles, he will start pulling up through his withers and automatically release his front end. But this requires a lot of muscle building work. According to Will, it will take between one and two years of systematic work to get into that position. Work without set-backs such as injuries… ;) A year to build up the topline sufficiently with mainly long and low work, and then another year to reach true collection. Since we had the set-back in the form of shoulder muscle injury, we are still working on our first year of muscle development at the moment.

And yes, unfortunately a horse is on his forehand automatically, if he doesn’t use his topline to move forward. Things may look fine and the horse may seemingly be on a good outline, but if the back, belly and upper neck are not up and working, things are not what they seem… 

I have also found it very useful to lunge before I ride. Lunging this way warms up his topline nice and well without my weight on his back. Then when I get on him, riding is a lot easier and I can start working immediately. Everybody is happier. :D He can be ridden and warmed up without lunging, but still, he is better with the lunge warm-up at the moment.  

The only lunging aids that I would consider using are the chambon and the side reins. Chambon has worked wonders with our ex-harness racer, who has been so used to running around with head high... With side reins you just have to make sure that they are long enough so that the horse can stretch down and out and not get restricted or pulled backwards when stretching. We have had to add new holes on our side reins... But if we use something, we mainly use the chambon, since it works so well with our boy. Not having to be at all tight - in fact it's pretty loose, it just somehow makes him be more concentrated on the work. 

Lokakuun työskentelyt

Käyntiä lokakuun alussa.

Ja tässä minä ajattelin, että kirjoittelisin tänne nyt vähintään kerran viikossa... hahaa... eipä oikein semmoinen vielä ainakaan onnistunut. Töitä on tullut tehtyä enemmän, olo on ollut vähän väsynyt koko kuukauden ja muutakin hommaa on ollut. Mutta katsotaas nyt sitten, mitä on tullut tehtyä lokakuun aikana.

Käynnissä venyy kivasti puomin yli. 

Pojulla on ollut kuusi täysin vapaata päivää, seitsemän päivää ollaan ratsastettu kentällä, kolmetoista päivää juoksutusta, kolme oikein rauhallista maastopäivää, yksi päivä irtohypytystä, ja yksi päivä vaan maastossa maastakäsin kävelyttämistä.

Ravissakin on ok, vaikkei chambonia

Ollaan juoksutettu chambonin kanssa ja ilman, vain vähän laukaten, kunnon laukkapäivin, puomityöskentelyin (yhden ja kahden puomin yli), ja jopa pienien esteiden yli. Eli todella vaihtelevaa juoksutusta ollaan harrastettu tässä kuukauden aikana. Juoksutuksen aikana alkaa nyt tosiaan näyttämään siltä, että tuolla rupeaa olemaan tosiaankin nostetta menossa – ilmaa alkaa tulla kavioiden ja maan välille ravissa.

Puomityöskentely on parantunut ja Poju venyy myös kahden puomin yli. Tosin jos on ollut jäykkä lavaltaan, on tuo ollut myös vaikeaa... eli puomityöskentely on noin yleisesti ottaen parantunut, mutta on meillä ollut myös huonompia päiviä. Ollaan myös ruvettu nostamaan puomeja maasta himppusen verran, kun on mennyt niiden yli hyvin ensin niiden ollessa maassa.

Lennokkuutta alkaa löytymään... 

..vaikkei venytys olekaan aivan ok...
mutta selkä ei ole notkolla kuitenkaan

Laukkatyöskentely liinassa on ehkä sillä samalla tasolla, millä se oli viime kuussa. Filmattiin laukkaa yhtenä päivänä, ja taidan kirjoitella erillisen jutun siitä myöhemmin. Eli haluan näyttää eron laukassa silloin kun Poju käyttää yläpuolen lihaksiaan ja silloin kun se ei käytä niitä. Todella mielenkiintoista, siis ainakin mun mielestä. 

Sitten yhtenä päivänä päätettiin tehdä jotain aivan erilaista ja laitettiin pieni este sille hypättäväksi. Siitähän se tykkäsi! Oli todella innoissaan ja kun sattui koskettamaan puomia kerran pari, niin kyllä oli harmissaan... Ja saatiin sitten tehtyä vähän enemmän laukkatyöskentelyäkin. ;) 

Ratsastuksessa ollaan pysytty siinä ihan perustreenissä, eli kävelyä ja ravailua.

Pohkeenväistö on paranemassa ja Poju on alkanut pitämään venytyksen ja rytmin paremmin väistössä. Suunnanvaihdot toimii myös paremmin silleen, että venytys ja rytmi eivät muutu. Olen kokeillut laukkaa muutaman kerran ratsailta. Ja vaikka luulin, että ihan sama huono laukkahan se on, niin kyllä se onkin parantunut sitten vuoden alusta! Huomasin sen katsoessani ratsastusta filmiltä... eli tässä taasen yksi syy, miksi on hyvä videoida menoa aina silloin tällöin.

Eli laukannosto onnistuu paremmin, voin nostaa monta laukkaa samalla ratsastuskerralla ilman ongelmia, ja vaikka tuo jäykistyy laukkaan, ei se ole läheskään yhtä pahaa kuin vuoden alussa. Alkaa myös näyttämään siltä, että Poju rupeaa pikkuhiljaa rentoutumaan alakaulaltaan laukassa ja käyttämään selkäänsä.

Lokakuu alkoi todella hyvällä työskentelyllä, mutta ensimmäisen viikon jälkeen tuosta tuli tahmea ja väsyneen oloinen – ei ollut energiaa enää. Ja sitten yhtenä päivänä tuo kompuroi oikein todella pahasti.

Oikein kunnon kompurointi... ja se paheni vielä tästä...

Oikeastaan oli aikamoinen ihme, että pysyin selässä, koska tuo meni alas ihan kaikilta jaloiltaan ja sen täytyi tehdä todella paljon töitä, ettei mätkähtänyt kokonaan nenälleen. Kaikki tuntui olevan ok jälkeenpäin kuitenkin. Ei könkännyt mitenkään tai ollut edes epäpuhdas, ja pystyin jatkamaan treeniä. Mutta, lavan jäykkyys on nyt tullut takaisin... Kenttä on ollut todella huonossa kunnossa sään takia, se on raskas, märkä ja epätasainen, ja Poju on kompuroinut sekä liinassa että ratsastettaessa... Eli ei tykkää tuollaisesta pinnasta yhtään. Ja kompuroi myös sen takia, että kaviot kasvoi ennätysvauhtia nyt syksyllä... Kengittäjän käytyä kompurointi jäi vähemmälle. Ja huomattiin myös se, että lämmittyään Poju kompuroi huomattavasti vähemmän. Siinä siis näkyi todella selkeästi ero yläpuolen lihasten käyttämisellä.

En ole uskaltanut ratsastaa siis chambonin kanssa kentän ollessa tuollainen epäoptimaalinen. Venytys on ollut ok, mutta ei niin hyvä kuin mitä se oli syyskuun lopussa. Pojulla on tosin paljon enemmän voimaa taas menossa, eli toisaalta kyllä työskentelee hyvin ja kunnolla, mutta koska venytys ei ole ollut täysin optimaalinen, edistys ei ole mitään huippuluokkaa.

Me pidettiin yhtenä päivänä myös irtohypytys! Oli todella hauskaa, ja Poju tykkää! No, saattaa olla, että kaurasanko linjan päässä nostaa motivaatiota myös huomattavasti... ;) No oli miten vaan, tuo ei tarvitse mitään rohkaisua tai yllyttämistä esteiden ylittämiseen. Aloitettiin neljällä laukkapuomilla, jotka sitten nostettiin ylös vähän. Kun näytti hyvältä, otettiin kaksi estettä keskeltä pois ja nostettiin viimeinen okseriksi. Sitä nostettiin vähitellen ylöspäin, aloitettiin jotain 50cm, sitten nostettiin noin 80cm ja viimeiseksi noin metriin. Eka yritys metristä epäonnistui, kun tiputti puomin alas takajaloillaan hipaisten. Ärsyyntyi siitä ja seuraavalla kerralla nykäisi takajalkansa paremmin ylös ja selvitti sen hienosti.  

Koska Pojulla oli energian puutetta kuukauden alussa, ruvettiin antamaan sille enemmän kauraa. Se auttoikin, kuten myös se, että tuli nyt sisälle öiksi ja sai lounasheinää tarhaan. Hikosi ihan mielettömästi normaalissa liikutuksessa koska oli kasvattamassa myös tiheää talvikarvaa. Ehkä sekin sitten tosiaan söi sitä energiaa. Klippasin ensin vaan vähän pois alakaulasta, sivuilta ja takapuolesta (trace). Auttoi vähän, mutta ei tarpeeksi. Ja sitten klippasin lähes kaikki pois, jätin vaan jalat ja satulahuovan kohdan. Se auttoi. Mutta sitten tuli seuraava ongelma eteen: kuinka loimittaa.. Ennen pärjäsi ihan vaan loimetta sisällä tai sadeloimella ulkona suurimmaksi osaksi. Mutta ennen ei oltukaan klipattu näin paljon. Ja jäykkyys tuli nyt sitten todella selväksi... Ensiksi hankittiin lycrainen lapasuoja. Ja laitettiin sitten kevyttopattu loimi kaulapalalla myös ulos päälle. Ja nyt viimeksi sitten alettiin loimittamaan kunnolla myös sisällä öiksi. Pari viime yötä on kyllä tosin ollut niin lämpimiä, että tuo hikosi... jotta nyt on sitten ollut nakuna yhden yön... Mutta nyt taas sää kääntyy kylmäksi, että eiköhän taas laiteta vaan yöpuku päälle tänä iltana. Ovat myös menneet kaverin kanssa takaisin kesälaitumelle aina silloin tällöin, jossa liikkuvat enemmän kuin pienemmässä talvihaassa. Koska Poju on ollut jäykkä lavaltaan ainakin sessioiden aluksi, ollaan treenattu vähemmän intensiivisemmin viimeisen viikon parin ajan. Enemmän juoksutusta, ja vain rentouttavia kävelyjä maastossa joko maasta käsin tai ratsailta. Kentällä ratsastusta lähinnä käynnissä. Juoksutus myös mahdollisimman suurilla ympyröillä. Toivottavasti tuo jäykkyys nyt lähtee taas pois tässä lähiaikoina. 

October work

Walking in the beginning of October.

And here’s me thinking that I would from now on do an update over here at least once a week... haha. Well, lets see what we have been up to during October…

He’s had six complete days off, seven days of riding, thirteen days of lunging, three days of very quiet hacking only, one day of free jumping and one day of just walkies out.

Nice stretching in walk over the pole. 

We’ve been lunging with and without chambon, with minimal cantering, with more intensive canter work, over poles (one pole and then two poles) as well as over jumps. So, very varied lunging work. And we can see that he is starting to lift off the ground on the lunge.

And good enough in trot as well, no chambon here... 

Lift, but not really a stretch...

Polework has improved and he is stretching himself also over two poles now. Although when he is stiff on his shoulder, he finds this difficult… So, polework has in general improved, but we have had the not so good days as well. We have started to lift the poles off the ground as well after he has been going well over them on the ground.

..although at the same time not really dropping his back either.

Canterwork on lunge has maybe stayed where it was last month. We did some filming of the cantering one day, I think I’ll post another story of that later on. That is, to show what the difference is on his footfalls when he is working through his back and when he is not. It is pretty interesting to see – I think.

Then one day for a change in the regime we decided to lunge him over some small jumps. Gosh, he did like that! Became hugely enthusiastic and when he happened to touch the pole once or twice, he got well annoyed of himself. And we got some more canter work done as well.

Riding has been your basic training with walking and trotting work. Leg yields have been improving and he is starting to maintain his stretch and rhythm more consistently when yielding. Also changes of rein via figures of eight are now more consistent without changing of stretch or rhythm. I have tried cantering a couple times and although I felt on the saddle that he was just as bad as ever, he has in fact improved! Noticed it when viewing it all from the film…

This is why you should film regularly. He picks up the canter a lot easier, I can do several canter transitions without problems, and although he is stiffening up for the canter, he is nowhere near as bad as he was in the beginning of the year. He even shows the first signs of starting to relax his lower neck and use his back instead.

Almighty stumble, and it got still worse than this... 

The month started with pretty good work, but after the first week he became slow and sluggish – out of energy. And then he had a massive stumble one day when riding. It was a bit of a miracle that I stayed on, since he went down with all his legs and had a real struggle to stay upright and not fall over altogether. Anyway, it seemed then that all was well. No lameness and I could just keep on working him. However, after that he has had his stiffness returning again… In fact not straight after that one massive stumble, but then again he has had several other minor stumbles in the school both while riding and while lunging; the surface of the school has been suboptimal with the weather… it has become heavy, waterlogged and uneven. And Usko found that really difficult. He was more liable for tripping also because his hooves were growing really fast… After farrier we had considerably less tripping. Also I noticed that he could be stumbling at first but stopped it, when he was warmed up. Thus clearly showing the difference in his going when he was using his topline more efficiently.

I have not dared to ride with the chambon on since the footing is not that optimal and his stumbling. Stretching has been ok, but not as good as it was in the end of September. He has more power yet again, so is working properly most of the time, but since the stretch is not that brilliant, the progress has not been exactly huge.

We also had a day of free jumping! He loves it! Well, it could also be the oat bucket in the end of the line... ;) Nonetheless, he needs no encouragement to take the jumps. We started with four canter poles, then proceeded to put them up a wee bit. After that was looking fine, we took away the two middle jumps and put up the oxer in the end incrementally something like 50cm, then 80 and then about 100cm. Not sure about the exact figures, but it was something like that... First attempt at that about 1m failed since he touched the pole with his hindlegs. Got annoyed about it, and pulled them hindlegs up more with the next attempt and cleared it fine. 

Since he was out of energy the first part of the month, we started to feed him more oats. That helped, as well as the fact that he started to come in for the nights and get hay in the field for lunch. He sweated also quite a lot since he was growing his wintercoat. So, I first clipped him a trace, but when that did not help that much, I clipped him further leaving only legs and a saddle cloth area unclipped. That helped and he does not sweat excessively anymore. Clipping produced though another problem; how to rug him. At first we just had a rainsheet on him and nothing on during nights. But then he started to be really stiff and becoming slightly uneven… Obviously stumbling had not done any good to his shoulder, and the damp cool weather, standing in the winterfield with newly clipped coat would not have helped matters either. So, we got him a lycra-antirub vest to get a bit more protection on the shoulder area as well as preventing any rubbing on the chest, then changed the rainsheet to a lightweight with a neck piece, and had jammies on in the night. They also have been back to their bigger summer field for at least some days so that they will move a bit more instead of just standing around. He has still been stiff to start off with, so we have now brought the training intensity down a notch. More lunging of late and just walkies out in hand or very relaxing hacks. Riding done mostly in walk. And lunging done in bigger circles. Hopefully he will improve and loose his stiffness one of these days.