Lunging and the competition horse – how can it help?

The eventing season will be kicking off in just a couple of weeks, the sunshine jumping tour is in full swing and we know lots of our customers have set exciting competitive goals for the year ahead. That means they are busy with training and fitness work, making sure their horses are schooled, fit and raring to go.

One tool which is often used for breaking youngsters, restarting horses and bringing them back into work is lunging. But lunging isn’t always something that riders carry on with once their horse is fit and in full work. Of course, here at EquiAmi we know that targeted and planned sessions can make lunging a very useful tool for the competition horse, so here are just some of the reasons why:

  • Lunging is an excellent form of cross training for your horse, giving them a change of routine from schooling and hacking, and the chance to stretch and enjoy work without a rider on board.
  • Sessions on the lunge don’t need to just be a few boring minutes of walk, trot and canter on each rein, there are lots of ways to jazz them up! Why not work on communication with your competition horse, with plenty of transitions to ensure they’re listening and pole work to keep things interesting? You can even work on stride length if your horse is in tune with you.
  • Lunging is excellent for developing balance and rhythm, especially when pole work is incorporated into the session too. Raised poles will give the added benefit of encouraging limb engagement and work their topline more too.
  • A session on the lunge is also a useful opportunity to observe your horse moving from the ground, something that can get forgotten about when you’re always in the saddle!
  • By using an effective lunge aid, such as the EquiAmi, you give their topline and core a workout too. That ‘pump’ of blood flow to the muscles in the back without the weight of the rider is an excellent way to build and strengthen their topline and core in just two 20-minute sessions a week.
  • Lunging is great if you’re short on time and just need to get your horse moving. The days are getting longer but it’s still tough to ride in the evenings unless you have floodlights, but lunging can be done with a headtorch. Two lunging sessions a week, especially with the EquiAmi to help encourage self-carriage and engagement of the hindquarters, will help you stick to those horse fitness goals.

The EquiAmi is used by eventing, show jumping, dressage and even barrel racing riders to help their horses perform at their best in competitions. If you would like to learn more about how the EquiAmi lunge aid works, why not check out our ‘Why EquiAmi’ page here?