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Horse Behavior and Training

Single-line lunging: Head to outside?

By:

Meredith_Honey

Date:

2010-Dec-01 at 02:26PM

Why is it that horses turn their head ot the outside whe you single line lunge them? I was showing my friend the bad horsemanship of single-line lunging and she said that the horse did it out of disrespect. I immedietly knew this was wrong but i honsetly couldnt explain WHY they do it.

Miriam (Holland&Germany) 2010-Dec-01 at 04:57PM

Hi Meredith_Honey! There is a very good lesson on this Uni about the negative effects of single-line-longeing, which shows the horse in the roundpen seen from above. Here you can see that the spine is in the wrong curve, the opposite of the curve the horse is travelling. To keep their balance, when single-line-longed, they have to make a counter-weight with the head. All joints, ligaments and of course the spine are suffering from this wrong curve. This natural balancing-out has nothing to do with respect or disrespect but with mechanical forces working on the horses body, when asked to go on one longe. When guided by two longes the horse can keep his body in the same curve he is travelling, so WITH the direction of the roundpen. Look for the lesson and you'll see for yourself how more natural and less stressful this is!

Meredith_Honey 2010-Dec-01 at 06:09PM

Thank you miriam! I saw the videos but I guess i juat didnt understand what causes the horse to turn its head. Is it the pull of the one line and the horse pulling against that pressure? Or is it about the horse turning its head to balance having to constantly turn in a round pen? Sometimes i see horses turn its head to the outside running at liberty in the round pen. WHY?

Miriam (Holland&Germany) 2010-Dec-02 at 07:03AM

Hi Meredith! I have the feeling, you are finding the answer to your question, by writing about it. The presence of one line and the eventual pressure on it may make the horse anticipate and take the head to the outside. I've seen horses at liberty in the roundpen with the head to the outside, too. Guess what! They have been longed with one line and now have the habit of taking the head to the outside, because their anatomy has adapted to it. You have seen Monty putting elastic side-reins on the horse and let her find a new balance at liberty, putting more pressure on the inside rein. Her anatomy needs time to adapt to this new situation, but in the long run it's a relief to find the right curve and angle when working in the roundpen.
In Monty's book " From my hands to yours" there are very good drawing that help you understand the situation.

Meredith_Honey 2010-Dec-02 at 11:35PM

O my goodness THANK YOU. I guess without realizing it i did understand just didnt know how to put it into words till i wrote it out. yea it makes sense it would become a habit because of the way the horses skeleton and muscles have developed. Thanks again!!