Groundwork P6: Lunging Around a Round Pen.

Gymnastic Groundwork Part 6 of 6: Lunging Around a Round Pen.

In this final part of the series we introduce lunging around a round pen, teaching voice cues and collection with clicker training.

This final instalment in this series is all about lunging using my Around a Round Pen technique. To demonstrate this, I’m working with my QH Freckles.

Lunging is a great way to give your horse more space to move and to teach him how to stay balanced and calm on a circle and in higher paces without the added challenge of carrying a rider. But, we want to train it in a way that the horse enjoys.

Often, horses have had negative experiences with lunging and are afraid of being chased, running round in circles or turning in. This is a great technique to re-train it as well as to introduce it to green horses.


You’ll see how I use this set-up to easily teach the horse about going on a circle around me while staying relaxed and connected, meaning that Freckles is listening to me. I can then train voice cues, transitions and work on balance changes quietly and happily.

This is all trained using a marker (clicker training) and I reinforce Freckles with food rewards. Throughout my training, I’m looking for emotional joy, physical balance and strong communication between us, which is what Connection Training is all about :-)

Watch the full Gymnastic Groundwork Demo series here:

Part 1: Getting started with In-Hand work: Leading and Connection
   • Groundwork P1: Leading with Connectio...  

Part 2: How to start lateral flexions and shoulders & quarters over
   • Groundwork P2: Lateral Flexions and S...  

Part 3: Teaching lateral movements
   • Groundwork P3: Teaching Lateral Movem...  

Part 4: Introducing pole exercises for confidence, body awareness and strength
   • Groundwork P4: Introducing Pole Exerc...  

Part 5: Mats and pedestals for despooking and body awareness
   • Groundwork P5: Using Mats & Pedestals  


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➣ We have a full Home Study Course on Gymnastic Groundwork in the CT Club. This shows you exactly how to train these movements, starting from leading and building from there, right up to shaping the trot and teaching lateral work in-hand. It's laid out clearly step-by-step showing real horses learning every step of the way so it's perfect if you've never done it before and/or you're looking for a way to train groundwork using clicker training or positive reinforcement.

The CT Club is an online membership site where you can get access to hundreds of step-by-step training videos on training your horse using positive reinforcement.

You can find out more and sign up here:
https://connectiontraining.com/learn-...
We look forward to seeing you there :-)

➤ You can also find out more in the #1 bestselling Connection Training BOOK 📖
Get it on Amazon (search for 'Connection Training') or download Chapter 1 free here: https://connectiontraining.com/book/ for a preview 👀

➤ More info on us, our training approach and the CT Club can be found at: https://connectiontraining.com/

#horseclickertraining #horsegroundwork #horsepositivereinforcement