Warming Up a Horse Before you Ride?

I recently went back and forth on e-mail with a friend of mine living up North who attended a horsemanship clinic where she was lunging her horse on a lead line and the clinician brought that up to the group as an example saying "you shouldn't need to warm a horse up before you ride him." My friend thought what the clinician said wasn't necessarily true all the time and wanted my opinion, and this is pretty much what we discussed.

I hope that what the clinician wanted to convey was that you are not going to get bad behavior out of a horse just by lunging him before you ride him. The old saying that you can't get the buck out of a horse by lunging him beforehand is pretty much true. But then again there certainly are cold backed horses who can wind down mentally by lunging, checking on the extent he's with you, and otherwise benefit by warming him up before you ride.

For the last several years, I seldom leave my house without a cup of coffee and going through a stretching routine. It makes walking and climbing onto a horse less painful. I think it may be the same for an older horse - get him moving without a load on (a rider in the saddle) so he can get the blood circulating, warming the muscles up and getting the joints to move more freer, making it easier for him to carry a load. If you wouldn't saddle a horse then immediately gallop him for fear of injury, why wouldn't you warm him up first before mounting?

So what are you really doing when lunging a horse before you ride him? For one thing, you are moving his feet at your direction re-establishing that leader to horse relationship, especially through changing directions. Moving the horse also lets you look at his gait to detect any problems and gets the muscles warmed up, reducing chances of injury. A couple days ago I was preparing to ride with my wife and I asked her to look at my horse's rear left fetlock because it looks just a bit swollen to me, she concurred, so I palpitated it getting no reaction from my horse such as a flinch or tail swishing, so I lead him forward at a trot to see if he was giving to it, and he wasn't, so after I mounted, I walked him for over a mile before I dismounted stretched him out, made sure he was good, then mounted again and felt better about it when I asked him to trot and lope. So again I ask, why wouldn't you warm him up?

In fact, once I mount a horse, unless I'm in a hurry to catch the Ice Cream truck before he leaves the area, I'll also do what I describe as a pre-ride check. Ask my horse to get soft and give me vertical and lateral flexion; back up; move the front end over independently from the back end and vice versa. It's like saying "Okay, it's time for business, just checking to make sure you're with me."

At my age now, I'm never going to get someone to cajole or harass me into riding a horse that I don't think I can likely get a safe ride out of - for him or me. And, I suggest that if you think you and your horse would benefit from warming up, whether it's on a lead or lunge line, or doing something else, by all means do it. No matter what a visiting clinician or anybody else thinks. Because after they leave, it's going to be just you and your horse.

Question on Lunging a Horse

Haley wrote to say she has a 9 year old TB gelding, "Macho", previously owned by teenage girl who was given the horse from a racing stables. She wants to use the horse for pleasure riding and maybe start doing Western Showing with him. She is suspect that the girl sold Macho becaue he was too much horse for her. Haley say's that Macho is so hyped up he is hard to control. If she rides him 5 or 6 miles then he will normally be much calmer towards the end of the ride. Haley's friend suggested she lunge Macho before she rides him to "bleed off some energy" but Haley doesn't have a round pen for use, only an arena and a dressage field.

A round pen is a great tool because it has no corners and allows the horse to keep forward momentum and is generally safer than a pen with square corners.  Round pens are really necessary for free lunging horse also called lunging horses at liberty, meaning they are not constrained by a lead rope or lunge line.

I wasn't big on lunging horses on a line, but over the years I have came to recognize that lunging horses on a lead or lunge line is not only valid it is necessary to help them get soft, moving their feet, to face up and to move their hindquarters around.  I am not getting on horse if I can help it that can't be lunge on a line in circle and have some degree of softness.  I'd want to be able to move that horse around on a loose lead or lunge line, without him being bracy and be able to disengage his back end and have him face up at a minimum. 

Lunging your horse is not just to "bleed off excess energy", it also gives you a chance to do some ground work which is often the most neglected area of horse training. It gets the horse tuned to you before you ride him that day, as well as allows you to see any lameness problems.

So if you are using a lead or lunge line, you don't need a round pen. The arena or a flat section of ground will work.  In the photo above I am lunging a horse using the reins on a hackamore, not the best lunge line to use, but I am using it to warm him up and get an idea of where his mind is that morning.  I have seen people lunge their horses with the reins attached to a bit, which I highly suggest you don't do. 
Haley's friend's idea to lunge your horse before you ride him is a good idea. If don't have time to ride him on a particular day, lunging him for for whatever time you do have would be good for you both, providing that you end the ground training session on a good note.  I have 14 foot tie on lead ropes for my rope halters for this purpose.

I would also look at what you are feeding him as too much feed or the wrong types of feed can make him an "energetic horse".  But by far, probably the best thing you can do with him is to create alot of wet saddle blankets - riding him as often as you can and changing up the rides and routines. Ground work should be a part of it.