Lunging

The lunging rein is an at least 7 meters long flat rope, which provides contact between the mouth of the horse and the trainer, thus making the horse evenly move around a circle of 10-14m in diameter. It is obligatory to change hands at the middle of the lunging session in order not to overwork the muscles of the horse unevenly on one side. The maximum time limit on one hand is 20 minutes. One of the greatest advantages of lunging at a beginner’s session is that the trainer can control the horse until the rider learns to hold the reins properly and use his/her hands independently from the rest of his/her body. It also provides the trainer the possibility to render more of his attention to the rider. After approximately 8-10 lunging sessions (depending on the frequency of the trainings and the person) the rider may ride independently. If the rider can use his/her hands perfectly independently even in a slow trot, has a stable base in at least two gaits (pace, trot), individual work may start. The rider sees only after getting off the lunge that there are even more things to pay attention to, for example, controlling the horse. The first phase of learning this is to ride in circles, then come the different layouts. In general, a hobby rider has to take the time to learn the basic flatwork. The major aim here is to learn to control the horse the most accurately as possible. If the rider has successfully learned the basic flatwork, a new lunging phase will come to learn the gallop. The gallop is the fastest gait of the horse. Lunging is necessary because the gallop requires completely different type of movement from the rider than the slower ones. The rider may easily lose balance so lunging can prevent many accidents. Later on the rider may always return to lunging whenever necessary, since this is the best way to improve the base, or to correct smaller imperfections. (Bóka, Dinya 2014 p. 63)