>>>> Karen says Tivar will work on a lunge but I must be doing it in that >>>> roundpen manner he fears because when I put him on a lunge he starts >>>> going fast in a circle in a very frantic upset manner until I force him >>>> to stop and pet him and talk soft and calm him and get him "back".
I'd be willing to bet that Tivar was chased in the round pen at some point before he came here, because when he came here he would instantly go into zombie-mode and start mindlessly trotting in circles if he even thought that's what I wanted. I had to work carefully to overcome that tendency, but he DID learn the difference. I don't have pics or videos of that process however, since I did it myself and I can't effectively video myself. He will even walk on a circle in a quiet, relaxed way. Watch your body language - think subtle...REALLY subtle. >>> I dont lunge thee horses at all or even try, with them instead, I just >>> put them on a lead and go through some laid back exercises where we >>> walk, i have them whoa, flex right, flex left, sidepass, then we go to >>> the mounting block. I don't lunge/circle my horses much at all, but that said, I think EVERY horse should know how to play the circling game, lunge, free lunge, whatever. If you haven't had it come up yet, I can just about guarantee that you will eventually: a horse will come up slightly, possibly lame for whatever reason, and if you're walking beside him, you can't see what he's doing, and you may not want to ride him to feel what's happening. And, there's a good chance you want have a groundspotter when you really need one or a person to trot the horse out while you watch. Granted, it may be more accurate to judge what's going on if the horse is on a straight line rather than circling, but if you don't have a helper, it's great to be able to give the vet the best description you can before he comes out. If the horse is obviously three-legged lame, you'll probably get the vet out regardless, but there are some subtle lamenesses that should be addressed pretty quickly too. What I'm talking about is WAY different from chasing a horse in a round pen though. Karen Thomas, NC
