Have you ever watched someone lunging their horse and wondered how the horse moves so well with the trainer’s body language? What tools do they use to achieve that?
In this week’s video, we show you how to use your body language correctly alongside your whip to achieve effective communication. When starting out on your lungeing circle, your body should be parallel to your horse. The arm you’re using to hold the lunge line, the whip, and your horse should all make a triangle pattern.
While your horse is moving around the circle, you should be standing still in the center, only rotating on your own pivot spot. As you stay in the center, you should also stay in your triangle position.
Staying in the triangle position also helps you to keep the whip’s lash behind you. If you get your arm and whip in front of you and then need to use it to communicate with your horse, it is going to end up in a useless position behind you.
You are also able to move the whip evenly over the lunge line if you remember to stay in your triangle position. This encourages you to use smooth, clear, movement as you navigate the whip which will enable you to send clearer signals to your horse. Remember that you can also make your arms bigger or smaller while staying in the same shape. Body language while lunging is one of your four most important lunging aids.
Want to learn more about body language and the whip? Check out our video.
Do you want a comprehensive learning platform about the Art of Lunging? Check out our masterclass. Our next session starts June 14th.