# Can you lunge a horse in a longe leadrope?



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Do any of you lunge your horses in a long leadrope?


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## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

Technically yes you can. Should you? No. For several reasons. Smaller circles put more strain on your horse's joints and are harder on the horse. The major reason though, is your own safety. Horses like to express themselves. Kind loving horses are known to buck or play or kick on the lunge line and sometimes many will aim kicks at you. You want that horse away from you so you can be safe. I know many people who have been put into the hospital from a horse who would "never kick". Putting strain on the horse may be enough of a reason for your horse to object to.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

LadyDreamer said:


> Technically yes you can. Should you? No. For several reasons. Smaller circles put more strain on your horse's joints and are harder on the horse. The major reason though, is your own safety. Horses like to express themselves. Kind loving horses are known to buck or play or kick on the lunge line and sometimes many will aim kicks at you. You want that horse away from you so you can be safe. I know many people who have been put into the hospital from a horse who would "never kick". Putting strain on the horse may be enough of a reason for your horse to object to.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Even a ten foot leadrope?


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## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

What if he gets frisky? Rears or tries to go wide or somehow jerks you. If you are at the end of the lead rope, you are going to lose him. No shame in that, but it still isn't good. Or if you hang on, he could jerk you into harms way. You want a good bit of rope to feed him. You don't want to be at the end of the rope. 

My advice, teach your horse to trot in hand and run with him. 

What are your goals? What do you want to get out of lunging?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

horsecrazygirl13 said:


> Even a ten foot leadrope?


 
10ft?! My lunge line is 25ft. My lead rope is 12ft and my horse only walks on that. That is an extremely small circle.


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

I start them off with one that is 12 foot then after they are going well with that move to one that is about 42 foot long so yeah, but within a few boundaries. What one can and can’t do with a horse is not a simple yes/no question. It depends on your skill, your experience, the horse and its experience, how well you know it, it knows you, there are many factors to think of. You can do mostly anything with a horse, lunge it with a long rope, a 12 foot one, no rope at all; should people simply tell you yes you can or no you can’t? I don’t think so. For example, one might ask, “can I ride my horse with nothing on his head, no bridle, bitless thing, hackamore, halter? Can I just chuck on a saddle and away we go?” yes it most certainly is entirely possible, the guy who taught me to ride does it easily; should just anyone try it, or should even very experienced people try it on any horse they come across? Of course not. Its a matter of context and experience, both the person’s and the horse’s.


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## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

If cost is an issue, I am sure the people here could find you a great deal or tell you how to rig one up with a snap and rope. If you need help convincing a parent to get you one 1) you can't put a price on safety; 2) early Christmas present.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## EvilHorseOfDoom (Jun 17, 2012)

horsecrazygirl13 said:


> Even a ten foot leadrope?


10ft isn't very long for a leadrope, just over the standard 8ft size. My leadrope is 20ft and I still wouldn't lunge in it. I like at least 25ft, preferably 30ft, on my lunge line as that is the size of a large circle in a dressage arena (still don't do it for very long, max 10 mins with plenty of walk and little to no canter, and only where I think it will be beneficial). There are other options to lungeing on a line (free lungeing, or free schooling in a paddock/arena). 

I've also taught my horse to 'lunge' around me in a 60ft circle whenever I ask using body language but I'm not sure if I could explain how I did this as I'm still trying to work out what I did right :lol: But to ask for it, I extend my left hand (when I want him to travel anticlockwise) to "open the door" for him to go, and hold a dressage or driving whip pointing just behind his hindquarters (no need for it to touch or go anywhere near really) that I flick in time to the gait, while I stand at the girth line. I use voice commands for transitions (these can be taught off the lunge by the way). But I have no idea if this will work with your horse - I'd already taught mine to lunge, free lunge and freeschool before I tried this so those steps might need to be taken first.

Just remember, lungeing is quite stressful on joints (especially young ones) and there are other options when it comes to groundwork - focus on the goals, not the method. (Incidentally, what is the goal you have that you think will be met through lungeing? Just so we can think up some alternatives, even just until you can get a lunge line  )


ETA: I was so long-winded in my response four other people covered what I was saying before me :lol:


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## sarahkgamble (Nov 7, 2011)

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with your horse, but if you're just looking for a way to work him on the ground and don't have a lunge line, you can try groundwork. You can do this with a halter & lead rope. The exercises are kind of hard to explain in words, but I can give it a shot. 

Exercise 1: Stand in front of your horse, holding onto just the end of the lead rope. Shake the rope, starting easy at first & gradually getting harder until the horse takes a step back. As soon as he/she moves, be quiet and stop shaking. Repeat until there's little to no slack left in lead rope. Then, pull on lead until horse walks to you, releasing pressure once he steps forward.

Exercise 2: Referred to at my barn as "Around the World". Toss the lead rope over your horse's head onto the side opposite of where you're standing, keeping hold of the end, and walk towards your horse's hind end, wrap the lead rope behind his rear & pull until he swings toward you. Be careful, though, & watch out for his behind. (Sorry, I feel like this is the worst description, but it's the best I can think of)

Exercise 3: In a way, like lunging, but not. Send your horse on a circle around you, using the end of the lead rope & swinging it over hand to get him moving. Once he's on the circle, stop twirling. Do this both directions.

Exercise 4: Incorporated with exercise 3, take hand that was holding the end of the lead rope for twirling & grab further up the lead rope, pulling horse's head towards you & grabbing the end of the lead rope with the other hand to twirl it if needed to send horse back on circle. It's basically just changing the direction. You can do this multiple times throughout the exercise.

Exercise 5: Also incorporated with Exercise 3. You do a hind end from the ground. While the horse is on the circle, shorten the lead to about arm's length & walk towards horse's rear end, causing his head to turn and him to move his behind away from you & his back feet to step over.

If anyone can think of any others or describe these better, please feel free to do so!


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## sarahkgamble (Nov 7, 2011)

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with your horse, but if you're just looking for a way to work him on the ground and don't have a lunge line, you can try groundwork. You can do this with a halter & lead rope. The exercises are kind of hard to explain in words, but I can give it a shot. 

Exercise 1: Stand in front of your horse, holding onto just the end of the lead rope. Shake the rope, starting easy at first & gradually getting harder until the horse takes a step back. As soon as he/she moves, be quiet and stop shaking. Repeat until there's little to no slack left in lead rope. Then, pull on lead until horse walks to you, releasing pressure once he steps forward.

Exercise 2: Referred to at my barn as "Around the World". Toss the lead rope over your horse's head onto the side opposite of where you're standing, keeping hold of the end, and walk towards your horse's hind end, wrap the lead rope behind his rear & pull until he swings toward you. Be careful, though, & watch out for his behind. (Sorry, I feel like this is the worst description, but it's the best I can think of)

Exercise 3: In a way, like lunging, but not. Send your horse on a circle around you, using the end of the lead rope & swinging it over hand to get him moving. Once he's on the circle, stop twirling. Do this both directions.

Exercise 4: Incorporated with exercise 3, take hand that was holding the end of the lead rope for twirling & grab further up the lead rope, pulling horse's head towards you & grabbing the end of the lead rope with the other hand to twirl it if needed to send horse back on circle. It's basically just changing the direction. You can do this multiple times throughout the exercise.

Exercise 5: Also incorporated with Exercise 3. You do a hind end from the ground. While the horse is on the circle, shorten the lead to about arm's length & walk towards horse's rear end, causing his head to turn and him to move his behind away from you & his back feet to step over.

If anyone can think of any others or describe these better, please feel free to do so!


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## sarahkgamble (Nov 7, 2011)

Sorry for double post, don't know what happened there!


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## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

Triple post now! Lol!

Good post Andrew. I am on mobile and cannot "like" your post.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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