Lunging for back rehab

[Casey76]

As I mentioned in my blog, I've started trotting with Pinto, and hopefully by next week we should be up to about 5 minutes.

In order to strengthen his back, and build up muscle, I'd like to start lunging as I am well aware I'm heavy (working on getting lighter!).

I know "gadgets" are almost universally frowned upon  but I was wondering if there would be something I could use in the short-term to encourage Pinto to work correctly.

Now I can't use a lunging whip, and I can't long line.  Both are far too traumatic for Pinto, and are probably intertwined in his mysterious past.  I do now have an in-hand whip, which I hope he will accept, and it might be a bit more useful than a schooling whip to ask him to step up a bit more.

Any advice or suggestions/ideas would be gratefully received.

[Wendy]

  Straightness training.

http://straightness-training.kajabi.com/fe/4206-my-complicated-horse

[catkin]

Pole work? start with random single poles around the school, then small grids. Encourage him to walk/trot alongside you but at a distance - (you can incorporate circles too, you on a smaller one and him on a larger one rather then the 'typical' lungeing)

If you have hills one of the very best ways of strengthening is to walk up and down them purposefully - I do it leading level with their shoulder but with a 4-5m leadrope - the horse then has space to go in a straight line, and make a proper arc through a corner rather than with a shorter line that can encourage the head and neck to twist around towards the leader (I've heard it called parallel leading.)

[cirocco]

I dont lunge.

Im with Catkin for pole work and hills. Ditto too with the longer lead rein. If your leading from another horse. You can soon train them to trot along next to you rather than zooming off.