by Flyin' High » Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:58 pm
#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#ok, personally i use both roundpens AND lungelines... depending on whats available to me at the different barns im at, and depending on the horse im working with.#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys//horsehead.gif"#ed_cl# heres 3 examples of 3 different horses, and what was available to me, and ALL were successful.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#at the barn where i have my boy , we dont have a roundpen.. trying to convince the BO for next year.. but as of right now, i have to go without one. my horse has actually never been in a roundpen with me... we've just never been at a barn that had one available. so he learned to lunge without the roundpen... actually he learned wiothout someone walking him aswell. his lunging is definately a bit rusty because he hasnt been lunged in a while, but he knows all my voice commands, from walk, trot, canter, halt, easy for a slower pace and trot on for a stronger pace.now im not at all a natural horsman... i dont follow that kind of training, and dont know the techniques.. i simply know what works for me. and what i know is what i have done. my 2 y/o gelding was taught to lunge in 3 weeks. he had his days where he'd say screw you, im going home now#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Teasing/1.gif"#ed_cl#, and decide it was a good time to pull me across the arena..... but we got through them, and now he's amazing, and listens to all my aids, WITHOUT leaning on my lungeline to balance himself.#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Happy/21.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#in a roundpen however, the horse is forced to listen to your body language, and NOTICE when you want them to change directions, walk, trot, canter, etc. yes when im working in the roundpen i still use my voice commands regularily.. its just how i train, but in the roundpen im forced to be much more tuned into my horse, because unless i give the exact signal using my body and voice, the horse could very well say "screw you" and ignore me.. whats going to stop him? the imaginary lead thats attached to him? #ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Teasing/12.gif"#ed_cl#during the summer i trained a mare for a lady,while i've roundpenned quite a few horses, this particualr mare extremely bright and she had all of my BODY and VOICE commands down pat in about 2 weeks. she knew walk, trot, canter, halt, and reverse voice commands, if i walked towards her hind, i wanted her to speed up her pace, if i pursued another stride, i wanted a change of pace (trot - canter, walk - trot). if i stepped away from her, i wanted slower paces, and eventually downward transitions, and if i stopped moving, she stopped as well.when i finally took this mare out of the roundpen and onto the normal lungeline, she used the aids i had already taught her, and did wonders on the lunge line.#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Thinking/3.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#my LAST example, is my old mare that i owned about 1.5 years ago. im using her as an example because she doesnt quite fit into either of the two categories.. better to linge/better to roundpen...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#this mare was 14 when i bought her, and SPUN#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Shocked/1.gif"#ed_cl#... to lunge her was interesting in itself.. she knew all of her upwards transitions beautifully... but when she was up, she didnt come down#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Teasing/19.gif"#ed_cl#, and the pulling and dragging would start, and thats how it would go until she wore herself out and decided she would actually listen to me... of course this didnt work so well.. and some horses are just never going to be good for being lunged anyways... so i wasnt too worried. when i moved her to a barn with a roundpen, i tried her in it one day... again, great upwards transitions... but her downwards only came when i stepped in front of her and she had no choice but to stop or run me over#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Teasing/12.gif"#ed_cl#... so i started her roundpen/lunging training over, but in a way that worked for her. i noticed that she responded MUCH better to voice commands then body language, so i went off that. i didnt bother throwing body language at her. when we were in the roundpen, she was attached to a lungeline. this helped keep her contained when she wanted to have her runnig sprees... because she didnt respond to body language, her training became different frrom most.... if she was given a command, trot for example, she was expected to trot until i gave her a different command, REGARDLESS of when i may have been facing. if she started walking, she was asked to pick up the trot again, and if she cantered, i had the lunge attached to give a slight tug to bring her back down... because she was in the roundpen, i was able to do so without her running away from the tugs.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# in the end, if i sent my mare into a trot, i could have a conversation with a friend in ONE direction, and my mare would continue around me at the trot. i would ALWAYS turn back to her however when giving her another command. eventually she was good enough that she didnt need the lunge anymore#ed_op#IMG src="http://forums.equestrianconnection.com/richedit/smileys/Happy/11.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#so to end my very long post (sorry) i truly think that lunging and roundpenning truly depends on the horse you're working with, and what you have available to you. yes i agree that roundpens are great tools, but they arent necessary.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#