The horse is rushing on the lunge.

Slowly decrease the size of the circle and speak softly with your voice low to your horse. Never pull your horse sharply onto a smaller circle, just take a little at a time from the lunge line until the circle becomes smaller. The horse will be forced to slow his pace down. Once he is going at a steady, rhythmic pace, you can slowly increase the size of the circle again.

The horse is rushing through the transition.

This is a common problem often occurring under saddle as well. However, when the horse is ridden, it is often the rider’s seat and aids that result in this rush, but when on the lunge, it is usually due to a number of reasons, 1) The horse does not understand your request, 2) The horse does not want to work harder, or 3) The horse is sore or physically uncomfortable to perform the transition or work at the next gait.

If the problem is due to either of the first two reasons, you can solve it by going back to basics and teaching your horse how to respond to voice commands. If he is sore, then it is best to have a chiropractor look at him. Almost all horses could benefit from a visit from the chiropractor.

The horse turns in on the circle.

If your horse cuts in on one side of the circle, cut him in on the opposite side and urge him on. This means that if your horse habitually makes one side of the circle too small, make the opposite side too small for him by taking in some lunge line, then give him a little slack on the side on which he cuts in. Ask him for more forward activity. You can use the whip in the motion described above, only without actually touching the horse.

The horse tries to run out of the circle.

This is usually associated with a little bit of bucking and kicking. The horse is either too excited or he is scared of you. Whichever the reason, the key to solving it is to calm the horse down. Walk and trot him on a small circle until he has settled. But if he is turning away and kicking at you, watch out! This becomes a matter of respect - the horse does not respect you. At this point, your best option is to remove the lunge line, free lunge your horse, that is, ask him to walk, trot, and canter without a lunge line attached. This is best done in a round pen. When he turns away and kicks at your direction, make him run around in circles until he is out of breath. You can do that by either waving your arms or by swinging a lead above your head. Eventually, the horse will start looking for ways to get out of this exhaustive situation. When he reaches that stage, show him that you are the only place of refuge by retreating a few steps every time he looks at you. Inevitably, most horses choose to settle down and approach the handler in submission.

This method is similar to Monty Robert’s Join-up, but it is actually adapted from Mark Rashid’s studies on passive leadership. In simpler terms, it is natural horsemanship, that is, training from the horse’s point of view. What you need to achieve is gain the horse’s respect as a result of his personal preference not out of his fear of you.

You may need to repeat this process two or three times before the horse has accepted you as his chosen leader. You can then bring him back on the lunge.

The horse is leaning on the bit and is using the side-reins for support.

Ask him to step forward with more energy and get his back swinging. The side-reins may be too tight, adjust them and give the horse more slack. This is similar to the horse leaning on your hands if you were riding. It is a sign that he is falling on his forehand. Get his hind quarters active and he will stop leaning on the bit.

The horse tries to change the rein on his own.

This mostly occurs with young horses who don’t know better. If the horse suddenly pivots and changes direction, calmly ask him to halt. Walk to the horse and lead him back to the track on the rein he was originally traveling on. Keep the horse framed from behind by following his hocks with the whip. If he does it again, just lead him and turn him around. In time, he will learn to stay on the current rein until you decide to change it yourself.

The last thing you should keep in mind is that perfecting your lungeing technique takes practice, but it is relatively easy to grasp. Don’t lunge your horse excessively with no particular goal in mind. You should always be focused and lungeing with a purpose. Horses get tired quickly on the lunge so limit the session to about 20 minutes.