“It's all my parent’s fault…” We've all heard that phrase about a thousand times. People complain about their childhood and how they were raised. Well, I’m the opposite: I give my parents all the credit for giving me a great foundation before the specialization. They taught me to become confident, curious, responsible, and respectful. For them, I will be forever grateful.

Horse lunging is simply the practice of moving your horse around you in a circle at a walk, trot, or canter. Typically, it is used to burn off excess energy before riding your horse or to do some structured exercise between riding sessions. Horse trainers will also use it to develop a horse’s balance at different gaits or to teach new riders who aren’t ready to go out on their own in the arena yet. 

But there are so many more benefits, particularly if you don’t limit your horse to just running around in circles, but instead use the Circling Game. The Circling Game is one of the Seven Games used to build a partnership with your horse and is the best way to develop mutual responsibilities of the partnership. Contrary to the potentially mindless work of lunging, this game stimulates your horse mentally, emotionally, and physically and teaches him to stay connected to you. It keeps a softness in the line between you and your horse, and develops your horse’s lateral muscles while establishing your leadership dynamic.