Lungeing is one of the most useful things you can do with a horse, and one of the easiest to do badly. A horse worked thoughtfully on the lunge builds strength, balance, and coordination; a horse pulled around small circles on the same rein week after week develops asymmetries that take months to undo. In this guide we want to cover both sides: what the research says about what actually happens to a horse’s body on the circle, and how to use a training-band system sensibly inside a lungeing session.
What actually happens when a horse lunges
Before we talk about bands, it’s worth stepping back to look at lungeing itself.
When a horse moves on a circle, the inside and outside limbs travel different distances, load differently, and push off at different angles. The horse has to lean slightly toward the centre of the circle to generate the centripetal force that keeps it on track. All of this is normal, but it also means that lungeing is inherently asymmetric in a way that straight-line trot is not.
Research backs this up. A 2015 study published in Equine Veterinary Journal measured head and pelvic movement in 94 riding horses considered sound by their owners. The researchers found that lungeing induces systematic asymmetries in vertical head and pelvic motion, asymmetries that may not be the same in both directions, and that can be mistaken for lameness during a clinical exam if the evaluator isn’t aware of them.¹
An earlier study from the same research group showed that both the speed of the trot and the radius of the circle significantly influence how much body lean and asymmetry is generated. Smaller circles and faster speeds produce more of both.²
The takeaway isn’t that lungeing is bad. It’s that lungeing is a real physical task, and the horse’s body responds to it. That’s useful to know when we think about how to structure a session, and what role a training-band system might play inside one.
Why lungeing is a good place to introduce training bands
Lungeing is often the first setting where riders try a training-band system, and there’s a reason for that.
Without a rider’s weight, the horse can move more freely and you can see how it responds to the bands before adding the complexity of ridden work. You also have your hands free to watch, to check the horse’s expression, the tail, the shape of the back, the symmetry between reins. That kind of observation is much harder from the saddle.
Lungeing also gives you the time to introduce bands gradually. You can start with a low tension, walk a few minutes, assess, adjust, and build up, without committing to a full ridden session first.
What the research says about bands on the lunge
The 2017 Royal Veterinary College study we’ve cited in our other articles specifically included lungeing in its protocol. Seven horses were tested with and without a system of elastic resistance bands during trot in-hand on a hard surface and during lungeing on a soft surface, on both reins. Across a total of 3,215 analysed strides, the researchers found that the bands significantly reduced roll, pitch, and side-to-side displacement in the thoracolumbar region, meaning the back moved in a more stable way. Over the four weeks of the programme, rotational movement at the withers and thoracic region decreased, while dorsoventral (up-and-down) movement increased in 80% of measured parameters on the lunge, which the researchers interpreted as potentially reflecting increased impulsion.³
The study had real limitations, no control group, and a small number of horses, and the authors were clear about them. But the direction of the findings is consistent with what trainers often describe anecdotally: bands can help a horse use itself in a more connected, more stable way, including during lunge work.
Setting up a lungeing session with training bands
Here’s a practical progression we recommend. Adjust for your specific horse and setting.
1. Warm up without the bands first
Ten minutes of walk, then a few minutes of relaxed trot, on both reins, before you introduce any equipment. This lets the horse get the stiffness of the stall out of its body and gives you a baseline of how the horse is moving today.
2. Fit the bands at low tension to start
The published research used tensions in the range of 25–30%. Start at the lower end, or even lower, the first few sessions. The bands are meant to offer a gentle cue, not to create strong resistance. If your horse reacts sharply when you apply tension, that’s information: reduce it further, or pause and reassess.
3. Start with a large circle
On a bigger circle, the horse has less body lean, less inside-outside asymmetry, and more room to find its rhythm. A 15-metre circle or larger is a reasonable starting point for most horses. Smaller circles produce more asymmetry and more physical load, save them for when your horse is genuinely strong enough for them.²
4. Work both reins equally
This is the single most important rule in lungeing, bands or no bands. Because the circle naturally loads the inside and outside differently, working only (or mostly) on one rein over time builds asymmetries into the horse’s muscular development. Aim for roughly equal time on both reins every session. Many horses have a clearly “easier” rein and a “harder” rein, the harder one usually needs more patient, shorter repetitions, not less time overall.
5. Vary the work
Straight walks in and out of the lunge, transitions, brief changes of tempo, and short intervals of trot and walk give the horse a more complete workout than continuous circling. Monotonous circling is how soft-tissue issues start.
Common mistakes
- Circles too small, too soon. The 10-metre circle looks harmless but produces significantly more asymmetry than a 15- or 20-metre one. Small circles are an advanced tool, not a starting point.
- One-rein dominance. Every session, both reins. If you ran short on time, cut the session in half evenly, don’t skip a rein.
- Band tension too high from the beginning. If the horse’s back drops or the tempo becomes hurried, the tension is too high. Loose bands that provide a gentle cue beat tight bands that provoke resistance.
- Lungeing too long. Twenty to thirty minutes of lunge work is usually plenty, and the first few minutes of warm-up count. Tired muscles learn the wrong patterns.
- No contact with the ground. Don’t lunge on poor or unsuitable footing. Hard ground, deep sand, or slippery surfaces all change the biomechanics of the circle, usually for the worse.
How often and how long?
For most horses, two lunge sessions per week is a sustainable rhythm, alternated with ridden work, hacking, or rest days. Daily lungeing, especially in the same arena, is rarely the right answer; variety and recovery matter more than volume.
A realistic session structure for a sound horse starting with bands:
- 5–10 min warm-up walk (no bands)
- 5 min trot both reins (no bands)
- Fit bands at low tension
- 10–15 min trot both reins, with short walk breaks
- 5 min cool-down walk (bands removed)
Build up tension and duration gradually over several weeks. As with any strength work, the body needs time to adapt.
Signs to stop and reassess
During any session, bands or no bands, pause if you see:
- A hollow or dropped back
- Tail-swishing, ear-pinning, or a tense jaw
- Loss of rhythm or rushing
- Sudden reluctance on a particular rein
- Any sign of lameness or uneven gait
These aren’t signs of disobedience. They’re your horse giving you information. The right response is to reduce tension, shorten the circle time, switch reins, or simply end the session, not to push through.
Ready to build lungeing into your core-training routine?
CORE by D is an elastic training-band system that attaches to a saddle pad with clips. It’s designed to provide a gentle proprioceptive cue during lunge work, groundwork, and ridden sessions, helping your horse engage the core and hindquarters without forcing a frame.
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References
1. Rhodin M, Roepstorff L, French A, Keegan KG, Pfau T, Egenvall A. Head and pelvic movement asymmetry during lungeing in horses with symmetrical movement on the straight. Equine Veterinary Journal. 2016;48(3):315–320. doi:10.1111/evj.12446
2. Pfau T, Stubbs NC, Kaiser LJ, Brown LEA, Clayton HM. Effect of trotting speed and circle radius on movement symmetry in horses during lunging on a soft surface. American Journal of Veterinary Research. 2012;73(12):1890–1899. doi:10.2460/ajvr.73.12.1890
3. Pfau T, Simons V, Rombach N, Stubbs N, Weller R. Effect of a 4-week elastic resistance band training regimen on back kinematics in horses trotting in-hand and on the lunge. Equine Veterinary Journal. 2017;49(6):829–835. doi:10.1111/evj.12690
