Let's be honest about what happens to most horses in winter.

Shorter days. Frozen or boggy ground. Less riding, and sometimes none at all.

And lunging becomes the thing you do to "let them blow off steam" before you get on. Or the thing you do when you can't ride.

I'd like you to see it completely differently this winter. 🍂

Here's the problem with most lunging.

A horse going round in circles with no purpose usually does one of three things.

They fall in through the inside shoulder. They put their head up and hollow their back. Or they trundle round on the forehand, leaning on the line.

And that last one is the opposite of good, useful lunging. A horse trundling round with all his weight on the forehand isn't building anything. He's practising exactly the pattern you're trying to get rid of.

So when people say "lunging isn't good for horses", they're not wrong, about that kind of lunging.

What I teach is completely different.

I teach horses to work over the back properly. They engage their core and carry themselves, so the weight comes off the forehand. They lift through the shoulders, then stretch down and over the topline, symmetrically on each rein, in each direction.

That's nothing like how most horses go on the lunge.

And the best bit? With my methods, it can be taught as your horse's default, with no training aids needed. 🙌

Why this matters for your horse's body.

When a horse works over the back like this, the back lifts, the core and abdominals switch on, and the topline muscles get to do their job.

That's why correct lunge work can do more for a horse's back than an hour of hacking in the wrong shape. 💪

It's also why it matters so much for horses with a weak topline, posture issues and kissing spine. Long and low is the position that encourages the back to be used properly, and keeps it working.

Why winter is the perfect time to learn it.

You don't need a huge arena, daylight or a perfect surface. A decent-sized circle and 15–20 minutes is enough. And you can make great improvements just in the walk!

(One note on ground. Keep your circle as big as you can, and keep it out of deep, slippery or frozen ground. Circles are hard on joints when the footing's bad.)

And because you're not riding, there's no rider to think about, so you can focus completely on what your horse is doing with their body.

Imagine how much stronger, softer and more balanced your horse could be by spring after a whole winter of this kind of work. 🌟

This is exactly what I teach in my Lunging Course.

I take you through why we lunge and what it can really achieve, and then the specific ways to work your horse on the lunge to develop good posture and movement.

You'll learn how to train long and low as your horse's default, with my method.

There's also a training aids module with video demonstrations. I sometimes use aids at the correction stage, to help a horse get the idea, but they're not something your horse should rely on.

It's all at your own pace, with lifetime access, so you can start whenever the evenings allow.

Just £49 / $65 — lifetime access.

👉 Lunging Course: CLICK HERE

And if you haven't started the foundation work yet, Core Exercises is the piece underneath all of it. It switches on the deep postural muscles that make long and low possible in the first place.

Still 80% off at £9 / $12 — lifetime access, but not forever.

👉 Core Exercises Course: CLICK HERE

Don't write winter off. Use it. Your horse's back will thank you for it in spring.

And as always, if you have any questions, need help deciding which course is right for you and your horse, or want to chat about 1-2-1 support — you can get in touch via the Contact page. I'd love to hear from you. 💛