Lungeing, Long-Reining and In-Hand Schooling E-Book

Claire Lilley

• Herausgeber: J A Allen
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Schooling the horse is not just about riding - many problems or misunderstandings between horse and rider can, and should be, sorted out on the ground before attempting to ride at all. This book explains how to school your horse from the ground, starting with fundamental techniques, and gives progressive exercises to work through. It explains the importance of stretching work, how to establish a correct outline, and how to build strength and suppleness. Remedial work is also included to improve crookedness, unbalance, and stiffness, for example. Also covered is the use of training aids where necessary, and schooling over ground poles and cavaletti, as well as jumping the horse on the lunge.Observing your horse working without a rider gives you valuable insight as to the correctness of his paces, how his muscle development can be improved, and his general attitude and willingness. When your horse is moving beautifully on his own, there is no reason why he cannot do the same with you in the saddle.

Leseprobe

Lungeing, Long-Reining

and In-Hand Schooling

CLAIRE LILLEY

J.A. ALLEN

First published in 2015 by J.A. Allen, an imprint of The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book edition first published in 2017

© Claire Lilley 2015

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 978 0 908809 69 8

The right of Claire Lilley to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Disclaimer of Liability

The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. While the book is as accurate as the author can make it, there may be errors, omissions, and inaccuracies.

Edited by Martin Diggle

Photographs Dougald Ballardie

Line drawings by Carole Vincer

Dedication

This book is dedicated to ‘The Boys’ and Amadeus – a very special horse who is never forgotten.

Contents

Acknowledgements

The Horses

Introduction

A brief history of groundwork

The importance of groundwork today

1. Equipment

For the horse

For the handler

2. The Unbacked Horse

Basic handling – manners and obedience

In the school

In the field

Building a relationship

3. Groundwork Training for the Rider/Handler

In-hand work

Lungeing

Long-reining

4. In-hand Work

Basic in-hand work

More advanced in-hand work

In-hand exercises to try

Common in-hand problems and solutions

5. Lungeing

Stretching work

Establishing a correct outline with side-reins

Working in walk, trot and canter

Free-schooling

Lungeing exercises to try

Common lungeing problems and solutions

Remedial work

6. Long-reining

Long-reining on a circle (double-lungeing)

Double-lungeing exercises to try

Common double-lungeing problems and solutions

Remedial work

Long-reining on straight lines

Long-reining exercises to try

Common long-reining problems and solutions

7. Ground Poles and Cavalletti

Ground poles

Cavalletti

Pole and cavalletti exercises to try

Problem-solving and remedial work

8. Jumping

Introducing jumping in hand

Common jumping problems and solutions

9. Lungeing the Rider

Suitability of the horse

The instructor

Equipment and preparation

The rider’s perspective

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Lesley Gowers of J. A. Allen for giving me the opportunity to write this book. I have had it in mind for several years, and am thrilled that it has finally come to fruition. Thank you to Martin Diggle for being on my wavelength throughout the editing process, and to Carole Vincer for turning my rough drawings into the clear diagrams to illustrate the exercises. My husband has, as always, been brilliant at taking photographs with meaning. It is so difficult to capture the exact moment to go with what I am attempting to say, but I hope you will understand what I am trying to put across throughout this book. I am also very grateful to my friend Lorraine Mahoney for allowing me to use her and her horse Merlin for some of the photos.

And finally, a big thank-you to ‘The Boys’ – Heinrich, Norman and Mr Foley who teach me something new every day, and bring me to ever-increasing levels of self-awareness, which is an essential part of training horses.

The Horses

THE HORSES WHO appear most frequently in the photos used to illustrate this book are three of my own: Mr Foley (a 3-year-old Dutch x Thoroughbred gelding, real name Spartan Revelation), Heinrich (a 15-year-old Trakehner gelding, real name Broomdowns Donaupasquale) and Norman (a 12-yearold Hanoverian x Thoroughbred gelding, real name Dangerous Liaison). Amadeus, who also makes an appearance, was my Lippizaner x Thoroughbred gelding, who was about 10 years old at the time of the photos. I bought Amadeus as a yearling having seen him parading around a field at the head of a herd of young warmbloods. Norman is the only one I have not started from very young – he came to me as a 7-year-old from a showing background and has undergone a huge transformation over the last couple of years. I have known Heinrich and Mr Foley from a few days old; they were both bred by my friend Lynne Balcombe of Broomdown Stud in Kent.

Introduction

THERE ARE MANY misconceptions about lungeing. It is not about trotting the horse endlessly around in small circles ‘to take the edge off him’ before getting on board. Nor is it about strapping him into ‘an outline’ with his chin on his chest until he ‘gives in’.

The horse likes to move: movement is natural to him. Whether schooling the horse from the ground or from the saddle, training is about learning how to work in harmony with the horse, developing his mind and body to make him more beautiful and powerful.

Your horse should trust that you would not frighten or hurt him. You need to have faith that he will not forget you exist and mow you down if he gets spooked. It is your duty as a horse owner to care for the horse, and to look after his needs, taking into consideration his natural instincts of being a flight animal. He needs to be part of your ‘herd’ with you as ‘herd leader’. This entails training the horse to understand his role. A happy horse is one who understands where he fits in, that he is cared for, fed and watered, and that he is appreciated and loved by you.