LUNGE LINE TRAINING

To begin training, keep the foal on a short line to keep it ni a comfort zone near you, and ask for a walk with a verbal command and a short tug forward. A tap with a lunge whip low on the hindquarters will usually give the desired affect from a reluctant horse. Always keep early lunge work slow and calm. Try to make the horse bend around you as it works, keeping it soft and supple, and working with you instead of against you. A horse that works against you will usually just require a quick snap of the line to bring its head towards you instead of pulling away. If the horse starts to accelerate, bring it back to you and start again. This is much easier than trying to drop it back down from the required speed once it is already running away from you. When asking a new horse to stop, give a short sharp tug on the lungeline or a series thereof, as well as a sharp verbal command. Once the horse has learned this command (which will always be your stop command) it can be shortened to give slow halt or a sharp one depending on what yopu require. In time the stop will become a fluid motion requiring very little physical effort one the part of the human. Ask the horse to turn towards you after the stop. This shows that the horse, even at rest,  is still attentive to its handler. Once the horse listens well and can be commanded purely with vocal commands, free lunging can be taught using the same principles with only the lunge whip and verbal commands. To slow a speedy horse while free lunging, lower the whip in front of him, or extend and arm in the same place. Use this method until only the voice command and maybe the occasional hand signal is needed. To turn the horse around, simply step towards its head once it has stopped. The faster you step towards the horse the faster you will find it turns and goes off again.