04/05/2026
At Pony Club activities and events, lungeing is often part of how riders prepare their horses to work.
With that in mind, the Pony Club Australia Horse Welfare Policy asks coaches and officials to monitor for horses being lunged for more than 20 minutes.
As a guide, that looks like:
• 5 minutes warm-up
• 10 minutes work
• 5 minutes cool-down
This isn’t about being restrictive. It’s about understanding what lungeing actually asks of the horse.
Horses did not evolve to move continuously in circles. In a natural setting, their movement is varied… straight lines, changes of direction, changes of pace.
On the lunge, every stride places load through the same side of the body. The inside limbs and joints absorb repeated forces, while the outside limbs stabilise and push. Over time, that asymmetrical loading adds up.
That’s before you factor in surface, speed, balance, and the horse’s level of training.
Research has shown that in an average round pen, a horse may cover around 5km in just 20 minutes of lunging, all on a constant curve.
That’s a significant amount of repetitive circular work, particularly if it’s happening before the horse has even started its ridden work.
There’s also a training consideration.
Fatigue affects coordination, balance, and the horse’s ability to respond clearly to aids. A horse that is tired, physically or mentally, is more likely to lose quality of movement, struggle to concentrate, or show signs of discomfort.
🐴 What this means in practice
Lungeing has a place. It can help a horse settle, stretch, or prepare to work.
But it should be short, purposeful and planned, not something done continuously beforehand or used as a default.
More is not better here. In many cases, it’s the opposite.
A horse that’s already fatigued before it begins is not being set up to perform well, or feel comfortable doing so.
