Longing students on a well trained longing horse can expedite your student's progress toward a deep seat, independent aids, and confidence.
It's not my intention with this post, to discuss how to lunge the horse or the rider. Rather, I want to discuss why longing the rider is an important part of any instructor's tool box, and an important part of any rider's seat development.
A Classic Lunging Example
Riders that enter the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, are often worked on the lunge line without reins or stirrups, for up to two years. This method permanently embeds an educated independent seat as well as independent hands and legs to the riders. When riders start their riding careers with quality training on the lunge, they develop an elegant and effective seat through their entire riding lives.
Obviously things are handled a little differently in the US, than they are in Vienna. Few riders would be willing to be lunged for 2 years, but riders can still benefit from regular lunging lessons whether they are in a series or periodically.
Spelling
BTW - Did you notice my spelling switch from longe to lunge? This is because both spellings are acceptable.
What Lunging is Not
When I speak of lunging lessons I'm not referring to a child on a pony who makes a circle around the instructor who holds the line coiled in to 10 or 12 feet. True this is a lesson on a lunge line but it's purpose is to control the pony.
What Does it Take?
The two most important requirements for lunge lessons are an experienced instructor who understands how to work with a rider on a lunge line, and a horse who is well-trained for mounted lunging. In this case, the instructor is equipped with gloves, a lunge whip, and a lunge line that is attached to the horse's cavesson ring, rather than the bit. The horse is tacked with a saddle, bridle, lunge cavesson and correctly adjusted side reins.
Look for the Best
As a rider, when you find this wonderful paring of knowledgeable instructor and angelic lunging horse, be sure to buy as many lesson slots as possible, because this will be money well spent. If you are an excellent lunging instructor with wonderful lunging mounts, I'd encourage you to exploit this part of your ability both with students and student instructors.
What to Expect
While we know nothing is guaranteed with horses, a good lunge lesson is one of the safest learning atmospheres that a student can experience. The horse knows his job and is controlled by a person who knows their job. The instructor will regulate pace, rhythm, size of circle, and transitions, leaving the rider the opportunity to concentrate fully on herself.
This is the best environment for any level of rider to pay attention to detail. Lunging is also a great way to start beginners and to help rider's who have confidence issues.
Since the instructor is literally feet away from the student, she can work on the student's whole seat from the bottoms of the feet to the top of the head, longitudinally and laterally, allowing the rider to be in better balance and to move more harmoniously with the horse.
Riders in a lunge lesson have a more focused opportunity to develop body awareness for themselves and the horse because they are not concerned with direction or speed. This is a good time to isolate body parts and develop those important independent aides.
You can help riders develop feel by having then ride on the lunge with their eyes closed.
Most lunging lessons involve "exercises". Valuable exercises for the seat are all those that work toward suppling, alignment, and good posture because without these three things it's impossible to have a good seat. Consequently, any exercises that have eliminating stiffness as the main goal are valuable toward developing a good seat. Most exercises that are done off of the lunge line, are suitable for lunging the rider; including neck stretches, arm circles, shoulder shrugs, toe touches, scissors, airplane twist, and sitting with knees up like a jockey in order to feel seat bones. Most instructors agree that legs away is one of their favorite seat developing exercises because it helps stretch the tight hip area, a major stumbling block in developing a good seat.
It's easier to develop the idea that we don't stop the horse with the reins when the rider doesn't use the reins during lunging. Use this opportunity to teach students how to stop the horse with their seat, or by reducing energy. Students also learn how various pelvis movements and pressure with either seat bone effect the way the horse moves and travels.
Riding without stirrups is one of the best methods for for students to develop their seat. The opportunity to sit the trot,on a controlled and balanced lunging horse, while not using stirrups, gives students a taste of what they will strive for on their own, off the line.
Lunging Lessons Have Real Value
Because they are strenuous for both the horse and the rider, lunge lessons are short, perhaps 20-30 minutes. By the nature of the education the instructor and horse must have, lunging lessons should be costly.
I can't stress enough that lunging lessons should be taught by an excellent instructor with an excellent lunging horse. I can't repeat this often enough. Lunge lessons on erratic horses or given by instructors who are inexperienced at lunging riders on horses can be unsatisfying and even dangerous.
Here's to teaching all sorts of terrific riding lessons!
Thanks for reading The Riding Instructor
Barbara Ellin Fox
On the line is how I have staryed my step-daughter. She is very timid and unsure of herself on a 15 hand mare, my horse Country who is a babysitter horse; great with kids. I have bought her a Saddle Club DVD in hopes of giving inspiration and am teaching her how to balance and have independent parts. I could elaborate on these exercises that I call, dog, frog, and eagle, and air plane, which I hope are self explanitory.
Does anyone have anything they use that may help a 9 year old rider? I want her to have fun and to be safe. I’m glad she is showing an interest in my passion but it scares the s*** out of me because she is so small.
Dear Sarah
Instructing someone you are related to can be difficult. We hear all the time that we shouldn’t teach our own children, usually because of the communication barriers that are automatically in place in certain types of relationships. But the other half of that is that when you teach your own, you feel the impact of fears, disappointments, even falls etc in a different way than you do with riders that are not related to you. When it’s your family member – we try to absorb the disappointments, scary things and tough things for them, and often become over protective. Our goal in wanting them to be successful and safe can become the hindrance. I know this because I’ve been the instructor for both of my daughters who are grown now and periodically work with my granddaughter, who is also 9 and not the most bold child. I have the advantage of teaching Emma on a size appropriate pony who is solid. I like that the pony is a size that she does not feel intimidated but even so, she was not ready to move forward much until this year at 9.
It sounds like you are on the right path working on balance and independent parts. I would add exercises that would strengthen her legs- standing in the stirrups to stretch down, even holding a paper under her leg, lifting herself up a little off the saddle with out stirrups at a halt and walk. I would also do a lot of work on controlling the horse’s direction- on a lead line at a walk. Set up cones to weave or a clover leaf pattern or a poles pattern. Hang pool toys around the arena and have her ride to them and maneuver the horse to pick them up. Lay out a fun obstacle course with turns and stops, circles to stand in, things to step over. Do it all at a walk relinquishing a longer lead line as you progress so that she is actually doing the steering and Country is not just following you. Giving a rider strength and control – even if it’s just at a walk- will help their confidence.
Also you might be surprised at how bold your step daughter will become if you can find a riding friend for her, another child her age that she can become barn buddies with. I love the Saddle Club series for kids but two 9 year old girls who love horses and animals will do a lot more to inspire each other than a movie will. Plus then you can let them have a movie/pop-corn time and get a lot more mileage from the video.
Keep up the good work! Can anyone add a few more ideas for Sarah?
I LOVE lung line lesson both giving and taking them. I feel so much better after I have stretched my back, legs , arms and hips. feels like yoga on a horse!