I just adopted a horse 2 weeks ago. I tried to lunge her the other day and it was HORRIBLE. She tries to drag me around the entire time, stops constantly, and refuses to start again. She dragged me so much that my hand is bruised. She’s 13 years old and is usually great but she HATES me. I don’t know why and I don’t know how to fix our lunging sessions. She bonded with my husband but not me. How can I get her to stop pulling so much and ignoring me when I lunge her?
Does she know what is expected of her in lunging? Does she lunge with someone else handling her but not you? Does she know basic ground rules? If the answer is no, no and no… then you need to teach her. I’m sure she doesn’t hate you.
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Horses react to you. They don’t hate you.
If you don’t know how to lunge the horse will end up lunging you.
If too fast, start in walk. If turning in, use two reins.
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You should get a trainer to help you. Have you ever trained a horse to lunge before? There is a step by step process that I use that works very well. But I had to learn it over time. You need someone to help you. You also need to learn how horses learn. That will help you too.
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Just to clear up some confusion for me:
You said you adopted her 2 weeks ago. This really isn’t enough time IMO to get to know/bond with any horse.
So I’m prompted to ask if you spent any time with her BEFORE adopting? If so, did she lunge then? And/or did the adoption facility tell you she lunged? I’m just trying to get some background info. 
Also, did you move her to a new place after adopting – or are you keeping her/working with her at the same aadoption facility? If you moved her, just know that some horses do need time (more than 2 weeks) to ‘settle in’ and get comfortable with their new surroundings…and their people.
You also said she is "…usually great’." Again, 2 weeks is not enough time to know ‘how great’ a horse usually is – unless you worked with her before adoption. ???
So… I’m curious as to ‘what ways’ she is 'usually great’? At lunging? If so, did she just suddenly started giving you trouble at this? Or…was this the first time you tried to lunge her?
If this lunging session was indeed the first time she was EVER lunged (by you or anyone else) then the problem is that she doesn’t KNOW how to lunge – has never been taught – or properly taught.
If you could answer some of these questions it would be a lot easier to give you advice on your lunging issue.
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You “adopt” children; you buy or lease horses. They are property.
Horses aren’t birds; they don’t “bond.” They do form attachments but they tend to be shallow. Their world is more pyramidal than lateral. That means when you pick up the lead shank you are The Great Alpha. If the horse is behaving as you say then they don’t think you are.
So, do some “small stuff.” Go for a walk. During the walk ensure that the horse stays in the proper position and follows simple commands to walk, stop, turn, back, etc. Do this for a few days and see what happens. Praise, PRAISE, PRAISE every positive step. Accept nothing less than excellence. This will tell the horse clearly that good behavior brings reward and ill behavior does not. If the horse remains disrespectful then you’ll likely need outside help. You have a 13 year old animal and if you bought it from some sort of “rescue” that means it’s very likely to have had some very unpleasant experiences with humans. You have to overlay the bad memories with more pleasant ones. But the first one is to become the herd boss.
An alternative is to use a round pen vice a longe line. The same basic rules apply.
Working with older horses that have some “sourness” about them can be very challenging. Don’t be afraid to admit you’re past your depth and need professional help.
Good luck as you go forward.
G.
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You need to work with a professional trainer.
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I knew her before I adopted her. She’s at the same facility as before (she’s a rescue from slaughter). She lunges well with my husband and my best friend but not with me. She has lunged before and hasn’t had an issue, only with me. I am a little nervous around her because I had a fall last year from a draft horse and shattered my wrist. She is completely trained for English, western, and trail riding. I’m not sure if she’s testing me to see what she can get away with or if she just doesn’t want to listen. After my husband lunged her, he unclipped the lunge line and ran around the ring. She ran after him and when he stopped, she stopped right next to him. If it is a dominance thing how can I be “in charge” She is a Haflinger who used to be an Amish carriage horse (we believe because of her “driving trot”)
Silly question: do you need to lunge her?
If she’s great for you in every other way (I would assume you can ride her successfully) why worry about lunging?
In my personal experience, I’d rather ground drive a horse than lunge. I might teach a young horse to lunge just so they know how to do it, but I find many other better ways to work on what needs to be done.
I would, however, be worried that this horse knows you are nervous and has decided she can railroad you because of it.
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Horses do not “Hate”, or at least not in the mere 2wks this mare has known you.
That said, it is your body language that is causing the problems on the longe (< & Yes, I am, in fact, the LONGEING Police).
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/longe
Have your husband or friend work with you until you have developed the confidence to longe this horse correctly.
Helper can stand just to your side, on the side you are holding the line with, & circle/walk with you as long as they can keep from being tangled in the line.
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+1
G.
2 dogs An American dictionary doesn’t mean much to us on the other side of tbe world. Add to that according to us you drop ‘u’ out of a lot of words and you put ‘z’ where Aussies put ‘s’.
New Horse Mum If she lunges okay for your Husband, that is the person you should be learning off, rather than asking people you don’t know and who don’t know your horse.
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This is a good point. There is no rule that says horses must be lunged. In fact, it’s sometimes hard on certain horses to be lunged – circle to small – bending isues – stress on joints, etc.
If mare is great to ride, why bother?
:uhoh: I stubbornly stand my Word Police ground.
The word comes from the French “longer” < pronounced - phonetically - in English (American, Aussie or NZealander) “lawn-jay”
I am a longtime crossword/Scrabble player & words/spelling are my fortes {pats self on back}
I get USA “color” in place of “colour”
But where does a Z replace an S 
& we are agreed OP’s husband s/b her longeing teacher :winkgrin:
Early 18th century: from French longe, from allonge ‘lengthening out’. The basic attacking move in fencing, in which the leading foot is thrust forward close to the floor with the knee bent while the back leg remains straightened.
LOl in a lot of words.
We use s for most words. I am talking about the back of a word like organisation.
New Zealand have a totally different accent to Aussies. They even say sex for six!!
I googled for you. That is them bolding, not me.
Longing /ˈlʌndʒᵻŋ/ (US English, classical spelling) or lunging (UK English, informal USA) is a technique for training horses, where a horse is asked to work at the end of a lungeline and respond to commands from a handler on the ground who holds the line.
The first question is why are British and American spellings different for certain words? The first answer is to blame Noah Webster, of Webster’s Dictionary fame. He believed it was important for America, a new and revolutionary nation, to assert its cultural independence from Britain through language.
The spelling and users are the only difference but the meaning is absolutely the same. Organization with the “Z” - commonly used when writing using US English. Organisation with the “S” - commonly used when writing using UK English.
So you get a better word score in scrabble using z. We get a better word score with the u in colour, favour, flavour, labour, etc
To me longing is when you are wanting to do something. You are longing to go for a ride.
and hopefully for this thread. The couple that ride together stay together.
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“The first question is why are British and American spellings different for certain words? The first answer is to blame Noah Webster, of Webster’s Dictionary fame. He believed it was important for America, a new and revolutionary nation, to assert its cultural independence from Britain through language.”
Well, America First!!! :lol:
G.
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My eyes are opened, Suzi Q :eek:
I do watch a NZ cooking show - Anabel Langbein - where I am amused by some of the pronunciation of words like “pepper”
Now I’ll have to listen to see if any ingredients are measured in "sex"es 
BTW: the landscapes are beyond beautiful. Your country is truly a lovely place to live.
BUT: I still maintain IT (longe) is correctly spelled with an O & E 
Lunge is a verb - you do not want to lunge (at) your horse.
Yes it is correctly spelt longe in America. It is correctly spelt lunge in Australia.
Now I think about it New Zealand six might sound more like sucks.
I’m a bit worried about you trying to longe a horse you’re having difficulties longing with a formerly shattered wrist. Did it heal up nicely or is there still some residual weakness? Lots can go wrong with longing, in a split second.
Are you longing in a small enclosed area? Be very careful.
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