Keys to Courage
Many forms of lunging–or lateral lunging, as some call it–often fall short of increasing a horse’s ability to relax and perform. The purpose of this article is to show how a horse’s state of negative contraction (counter-flexion, inverted) can be changed so that it does not hamper a horse’s ability to improve in its mindset, athletic ability, and more importantly, its emotional well-being. By just modifying our approach a bit, we can accelerate a horse’s ability to accept and feel good about whatever we are asking. A horse, or human being for that matter, that feels relaxed in what we ask is always more positive in its ability to accept new surprises and give a superior performance.