...my mare is so confident on course now

"My mare could jump clean but was dragging me around the course, and tight turns were a little sketchy. Paige watched us jump and explained that she was not using her back right over the jumps and that was why she was rushing. Within a few lessons, she taught me how to fix it and what I should feel. Now we can get around a stadium course sanely and our times are faster. My mare is so confident on course now! She (Paige) said smoothness first and speed comes automatically.  I wasn’t sure about that because it felt slow, but she was right."  S.M. Iowa

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This video is to introduce the lunging technique we use. It is not intended to be used without our guidance. It is important that we see how the horse is responding to this because like any technique or gymnastic, if the horse's coordination is not right, it can do more harm than good. The set-up is DeCarpentry's. It is useful in rehabilitation when we need to encourage the horse to explore healthy body coordination. Side-reins are fixed in length throughout a session. In the DeCarpentry configuration the lunge line is run through bit rings and a ring on the saddle allowing for length adjustment by the horse. The horse can not lean on the bit and is therefore able to discover self-carriage at the same time the trainer has some ability to suggest a boundary for head and neck carriage. The back coordination ultimately determines the neck position. The lunge line suggest the result.