MAY 2023 THE RIDER /31


Palm Partnership Training™


Building A Partnership With Your Horse The Art of Lungeing: Part 2


By Lynn Palm


Use of the whip Initially, I have my stu-


dents practice with the whip without the horse. This way you can learn how to use the whip without confusing the horse or the horse ignoring the whip because it’s not used properly. The first thing to remember is that the whip is to be held in front or to the side of the han- dler, not behind your body. Here’s how to use the


whip in order to encourage for- ward motion: 1. The first step is to raise the whip’s end, keeping it posi- tioned behind the horse. The horse sees the whip and moves forward. 2.


If you need more re-


sponse, swing the whip toward the horse’s hindquarter. Keep your whip level as you swing the tassel. 3.


If you need yet more en-


couragement to get the horse to move forward, swing the whip with more action and make the whip movement faster. 4.


horse out on the circle. Do not pull the head to come in, as the horse will just come in more and more and not improve his balance!


Recognizing that your horse is falling out Here’s how to recognize


a horse falling out. The horse will start to pull you, his head comes in too far, and his body swings out. The horse will slow down, break gaits, and the hind legs will lose power from swinging out. To improve this falling out posture you have to send the horse forward! This will straighten him out.


Falling in / falling out tips Remember where on the


If the horse needs more


encouragement, make a snap- ping noise with the popper at the end of your whip. To do this, you must move your wrist forward and back very quickly, keeping the whip level, creat- ing the popper to snap and make a noise. 5.


If your horse needs more,


swing the whip and touch the horse. Practice these steps without the horse, and when you are confi- dent with the whip, use it with your lungeing lesson.


Developing self-carriage


while lungeing Let’s lunge your horse!


My Golden Rule when lunge- ing a horse: Do different size circles then go straight and start a circle at an- other area. Do NOT lunge the same size circle over and over, making your lungeing session a monotonous drill. Horses hate that!


Recognizing that your horse is falling in All horses will fall in


more than fall out. Falling in is recognized by the horse’s head positioned to the outside and the horse is leaning in, speed- ing up his legs to keep his bal- ance.


The only way to get your


horse to straighten himself is to make the circle larger, making the horse move out. I use the lunge line and toss it toward his head to bring the head straight or inward and then send the


circle (or other configuration) your horse falls in or out. Im- prove the horse’s forward mo- tion before he gets to this place by asking him to move out to improve falling in and forward for falling out! Change gaits often. Change the size of the circle. Go from a cir- cle to a straight line, keeping the triangle configuration*. Go from a straight line to a circle. This is a great exercise for im- proving self carriage. (*To form the triangle: Stay parallel to the horse and make one side of the triangle with your lunge line. The horse is another side of the triangle, and the whip is the third side of the triangle. You are in the middle of the tri- angle.)


Voice commands while lunge- ing


Your voice is very impor-


tant in influencing how the horse responds to lungeing. Horses don’t know words, but they know tones of words. A deep tone is a command. The longer you stretch out the tone of the word, the more you want the horse to hear you and stay smooth and relaxed. A short word could be for the horse that is laid back or loses his atten- tion easy. A soft or mellow voice rewards the horse after a proper response to signals, and then helps him relax. Again, a word with a long, drawn out annunciation is very meaning- ful to the horse. A short word is also important if his concentra- tion is on you! I use the words Walk, Trot, Canter, Whoa. If you over-use your words, your horse will ignore you. Remember, where the


horse’s ears are moving or fo- cused is where his eyes are looking. If you want a respon- sive action from the horse, you have to read where he is look- ing before you give him a cue!


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Controlled play on the lunge line This is something for when your horse


lunges very, very well and you are confident that you can keep your horse in control. I like controlled play for when I take a horse to a show, where they are animated because of a new surrounding. I always work on my In Hand and Lungeing when I go to a new place with my horses. This is the way I will ask for play. I always walk a circle first when lungeing. When the horse is ready for play time, I lunge to the left to get some exercise. When I go to the right, I walk and trot for a while. Then I take the lunge line into two hands and make some sounds, or clap my hands. When the horse starts to run, buck, toss the head, jump up and down, I have my two hands on the lunge line,


lean back to anticipate him trying to pull me, and use a give-and-take motion on the lunge line. I do not hold the line steady, as the horse can brace against me. If he braces against me, he could capture control from me. I will ask him to play at least three or


four times. When the horse shows me that he is not playing any more, I go back to the walk. I will do a short lunge to the right to get him to be obedient and responsive on command


before I end my lungeing lesson.


• Palm Equestrian Academy generalinfo@lyn- npalm.com 352-362-7847


• Cyril and Lynn offer clinics throughout the country and abroad as well as online coaching. Join them on their teaching tours or their Palm Equestrian Academy European Journeys.


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