Lunging and long-reining

Lunging lets you work a horse without riding it, and watch it move. In Galop 5, you lunge a horse that is already relaxed at walk, trot and halt, and you try long-reining on the circle, at the walk.

In the exam programme

Lunge a relaxed horse at walk and trot, and halt it.Common module A
Learn to use long reins on the circle at the walk.Common module A

The equipment

A lunging cavesson, with the lunge line on the nose ring, or a snaffle bridle with a coupling strap, which joins the two bit rings under the jaw and takes the lunge line: the bit no longer slides through the mouth.
The reins twisted under the neck and caught up in the throatlash, or taken off; the stirrups run up and secured, or a roller instead of the saddle.
Boots or bandages on the legs, a lunge line and a lunge whip.
For you: gloves — a lunge line running through bare hands burns — closed shoes, no spurs, and preferably a riding hat.

The lunging triangle

The horse goes round on a circle 15 to 20 m across. The lunge line, the whip and the horse form a triangle: the line holds the front, the whip points at the quarters, the horse closes the triangle. Stand slightly behind its shoulder, to send it forward, and walk a small circle of your own rather than pivoting on the spot.

A circle 15 to 20 m across, on the left rein
The lunge whip, in the right hand, towards the hindquarters
The lunger, a little behind the shoulder, walks a small circle
The lunge line, in the left hand, towards the head

Fig. 5.9The triangle of line, horse and whip

Get in positionOn the left rein: the lunge line in your left hand, folded in flat loops across the palm — never wrapped round it — the whip in your right hand, tip low. Move away gradually, letting the line run out.
Walk onA clear command (“walk on”), the whip pointed at the quarters if needed. The horse walks the circle, the line lightly taut, neither pulling outwards nor cutting in towards you.
Trot onYour voice rises (“and… trot”), the whip backs it up if necessary. Look for an even trot, neither rushed nor dragging.
Slow down and haltYour voice drops and lengthens (“and… walk”, “whoa”), the line acts in small vibrations. At the halt, the horse stays on the circle, facing the way it was going: you go to it, taking up the line as you go.
Change the reinHalt, go to the horse, swap the line and the whip over and move off on the right rein. Work both reins about equally.

Safety

Never wrap the line round your hand, and never leave a loop trailing on the ground, where a foot can catch in it. If the horse sets off strongly, don’t let it tow you along at arm’s length: follow it at a walk and bring it back with small actions and your voice.

Trying long reins

In long reins, the horse wears a roller and a bridle, and you steer it from a distance with two reins, as in the saddle. It is more precise than the lunge, and it is the groundwork on which driving is built. In Galop 5, you stay on the circle, at the walk, positioned much as for lunging, a little further back.

The outside rein, right hand: round the hindquarters, above the hocks
The handler, in the centre, a little further back than on the lunge
The inside rein, left hand: through the roller ring to the bit
The outside ring of the roller

Fig. 5.10Long reins on the circle

The reins, fastened to the bit, run through the roller rings. The outside rein goes round the quarters above the hocks, or over the back, depending on the set-up your instructor chooses.
The inside rein gives the direction and the flexion; the outside rein controls the speed, supports the shoulder and holds the quarters.
Your voice and, if needed, the whip keep the walk going. The horse must already be used to the feel of the reins against its legs.

Common mistake

Standing right behind the horse. That is its blind spot, and well within kicking range: this position is for a horse that knows long reins perfectly, and you will learn it in Galop 7. Trotting and changing the rein come in Galop 6.

Ekidemy

The Galops^®, from the first step to Galop 7