We went to the barn today and Brooke and Suede practiced lunging. Lunging a horse is the process where you stand while you have your horse lope or trot, or even walk, around you in a circle. It can be used simply for exercise or for a training and fine-tuning tool. It can really help to develop a good relationship between you and your horse, and to help you work together when you're up on his back instead of on the ground, as well. I never knew anything about lunging horses before we got ours.
Since Suede hasn't been worked with in a very long time, he didn't remember how to lunge. But Brooke worked with him and he started to remember. (Don't be worried when you see that long "whip" looking thing in Brooke's hand - it's not to hit the horse with - it's waved behind the horse to encourage him to go forward.)
The most important thing that happened today was that Suede got to know Brooke a little better, besides her being the giver of horse treats and hay and nice scratchy brushings. She let him know that she was going to be the boss of this relationship. He decided after a while that she would be a nice boss.
So.....anyone in the market for a sweet, pretty horse?
4 comments:
Oh, Ginger, I SO need to find an instructor here for Holly. I am horse ignorant, but this looks like the kind of training that her old instructor used to do.
Are you part of CHA? That's what Melanie suggested we look for, but there's no one in our county. Do you have any recommendations for finding a GOOD instructor? Once we know where to begin looking, Holly will have an idea of what we are looking for, but it's hard to know even where to begin. I've asked a few people, but we are just beginning to go out and meet people-other than checkers at Walmart and Lowe's, haha.
If you have any insight for me, would you mind contacting me privately? Rom828 at embarqmail dot com.
(You'll have to type that the regular way; and "embarq" there has a Q at the end.)
Thanks!
I love reading about your horse shows & riding. My niece has ridden since she was six but she does mostly English (dressage, cross-country, etc.). This always looks so familiar though! :-)
It's so KEWL that she knows so much about horses. Our kids don't really know much about animals even though we live out here in the country. We've never had animals other than cats and a dog because we're gone too much to take care of them.
Love all your horse posts. We have 17 ourselves, but don't show. They are just for fun and ranch work.
Remudamom
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