Lunging help needed

[juslyn]

I have been working with Xana on lunging so as to get solid groundwork. I do not have a round pen available, so I lunge her on a line. She does not pull on me. I can free lunge in the arena, but it's hard to keep the control I want while working her. Getting her to canter is the issue. I usually have to snap the whip (in the air) repeatedly while running a smaller circle inside of her, kissing to her, and saying "canter" to get her to canter. As soon as she does, I stop the crazy whip snapping and tell her she's a good girl. I'll keep using the vocal cues and snap occasionally to keep her going, but often she'll stop when the snapping does. It's gotten to where she'll turn and make a nasty face at me while lunging. I've tried using a bag on the end of the whip instead, but that doesn't work. I know she's a smart girl, but seems very resistant to lunging. She is sooo slooww in the walk and trot unless I'm asking her to transition up. Her down transitions are awesome. I don't want her to hate working, or even worse, start acting aggressively towards me when it's time to work. I want to continue building her foundation for training and I don't want to skip a step she seems resistant to.

Any ideas?

[Michelle Clarke]

Great to hear your progress working with Xana. I would surely not worry about the canter until her walk and trot are actually "forward". I am guessing that her down transitions are great because that is what she wants to do - stop! If she is going very slow at the walk and trot, she is most likely thinking only of slowing or stopping, not really going forward. She needs to be thinking forward!

You need to work on doubleling her speed at the walk and the trot. Start to work on slow, medium and fast at those gaits before you work on any cantering. When it is time to canter, you just keep doubleing her speed at the trot until she falls into the canter. Remember to first work on only the transition part; lots of folks finally get the horse to go up into the gait they want, then try to keep them there. There is, however, a fine line here. Once the horse is consistant and quiet in going up into the canter, you want them to not stop right after, but continue at a nice, forward trot, then allow them to stop. What can easily happen is a horse that bounces into the canter (lots of up movement and not forward), then slams into a walk or stop.

Also, watch how you are using the whip. While the hindend is the motor, the shoulders are the motivator. So if you are using the whip behind her or at her hip (especially if you are using it overhand), you are essentially sending the hip away, to the outside, and that kills forward movement especially at the canter (they can't pick up the correct lead with the hip to the outside). That can cause a horse to get sour quick because they physically cannot do what you are asking because of the way you are asking.

Use the whip right behind the shoulder as you lead out the lunge line. Not enough to make her go to the outside and pull, but enough to influence energy at the shoulder. If you have a long enough whip to touch her, I can tell you how to use it from back to front to help her reach forward.

So, master that walk and trot at different speeds before you ask for that canter. Besides the fact that she needs to get into shape to get that canter on the smaller circle while she is bent - the trot will really help her get the muscle and flexibility for this!

[desperatehorsewife]

Sounds like a major energy conservationist to me. AKA, lazy.

Sandy is lazy, too. I had a real hard time getting him to canter, even in the round pen. Had someone else help me with that because I just didn't have the power or stamina to keep him moving. So that's my suggestion...find some big, buff guy to help ;D

[juslyn]

Yes...major conservationist! Now that soccer has begun, I've lost my bundle of energy to practice while I'm usually working Xana. Although I would love to have a good lookin' male helper around Ü My stamina is growing after trying to do this in sometimes 100 degree weather even at 7pm. Falling into a canter doesn't really happen as she can trot like a freight train! I'm dripping by the time I get her to do it twice each direction. And she does just drop down to the trot, not stop.

I will try using the whip at her shoulder at the walk and trot and see if there is a noticeable difference in her response to the cues. When using it behind, I am bring it along the side mimicking her movement, not overhand. While I have lain over her back and bitted her up, I don't want to take the next steps of ground driving until I have better control on the lunge line.

Any other ideas?

[Michelle Clarke]

Alot of mustangs can be like that....trot like heck and not want to canter. The trot is the most efficient gait; work half the time, rest half the time; weight is even. They can cover alot of ground very easily. My first Kiger was like that - trot 90 miles per hour and not get into that canter. It was a long learning experience for me. Took me well over 8 months to get him to canter forward and when I wanted it.

I don't have that problem anymore because I learned what truely forward movement is. When they trot so intensely alot more of their energy is going up instead of forward. Each joint has two muscle groups - those that flex and those that extend. When a horse is using its' flexers, the head is up, the neck is stiff, the back is dropped, the hindend is out behind and the legs pump up and down...the hind legs are not tracking up. A horse cannot go into a true canter in this state, they can go into a gallop (four beat, weight forward) and do a sort of bounce or very stiff, locked canter-type gait. At this point, only adrenaline can feed through the veins.

The trot (and walk) really needs to be mastered in true forward before the canter is asked for (then I promise, they will "fall" into it!). When a horse extends and moves forward, the head lowers, the neck hangs from the topline (instead of being held up by the under muscle of the neck), the topline flattens (caused by the abdomen lifting), the hind comes underneath and the legs reach forward and swing instead of pound up and down.

If possible, take a few shots of what she does and maybe I can offer something more directly helpful... ;D

[juslyn]

Well we've moved back to just walk/trot and seem to be making progress. Now that I'm paying closer attention I've gotten her mostly out of the "up" habit and into forward movement. She hasn't relaxed enough to drop her head while trotting, but it also is not carried totally upright. I've been trying to throw in more transitions too. If things keep improving, we may try the canter again in a few weeks.

[Michelle Clarke]

Thanks for the update! Where is your position as she moves around you? Putting your bellybutton toward her shoulder but at a forward angle will help keep her forward; bellybutton at her nose or neck may push her to the outside which in turn will cause her to be stiff throught the center and really not be able to put her head down; bellybutton at her ribcage can be great for lateral or creating a correct bend on a cirlce with a well trained horse but may cause her to stiffen against the energy and not drop her head.....try bellybutton at her flank or else at the tip of her tail. This will cause the inside hind leg to step more under the horse in a semi-lateral movement which should cause her to lift and bend her ribcage which for correct balance she will have to lower her head to do (don't let her lean on the lunge line...!). The art to this is keeping your feet moving forward on your circle and not actually walking toward the horse - just sending your energy there. You may have to take a step or two toward her at first so she gets the idea, but then get right back to forward energy. When lunging a horse, your body is constantly changing positions to assist the horse in the area of their body they need adjusting.

Also check your energy level. If once she is moving you still have the "go" energy in your body, it could be causing her to stay a little wary and keep that head up. Ask her to go and then come into neutral as you walk with her; up your energy again for transitions, then go into neutral for that gait.

Horses are such masters at reading body language that what happens most times is we go right past their softness and responsiveness with our rude body language and they get stiff and defensive. When I was doing liberty demos with Charro, he would face me and depending on how deep of a breath I took, he would go around at a walk, trot or canter - no other aide. This is what I expect under saddle with my horses, but it is very possible to have that transfer of energy with no attachments!

[juslyn]

I aim my energy at her shoulder. I'm afraid she will come in if I aim at her flank as she often tries to close the circle, but I will see what happens. I step "infront" of the line to slow her as well as give verbal ques. I try to keep my energy up enough to keep the movement forward and her out at the end of the line. So far she has never pulled on the line. She's more inclined to come closer than move far away. We've been trying to work on transitions within the gait (speeding up and slowing down). Right now I have to be more active to keep her going faster, but I am trying to back off and keep her there with a little progress. My Arab gelding is so sensitive to my body position and voice commands that he does beautifully free lunging. I want to get Xana there on the line. Thank you so much for your help in this process!

[lilnagy]

I have a lazy one too; we really struggled with longing. She was right out of the wild though, and actually, it made her easy to gentle as she hardly moved away from me! I kept her longe line pretty short, so she knew I could reach her with the whip if I really needed to. But for all our struggles with moving out on the longe line (which I persisted with), she is not nearly so lazy under saddle. She is responsive, but still never goes faster than I ask :-). so be encouraged, be consistant, and keep at it. Lil