Equestrian Writer

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In the past, I’ve addressed lunging in the classical style using a bit and side reins. However, some people expressed an interest in learning how to lunge without a bit. So, I decided to make a tutorial on how to lunge with a cavesson. This technique is a great intro to lunging for an inexperienced horse or rider and is appropriate for most age levels of horses. You should never lunge an extremely young horse using any method. I don’t like lunging a horse younger than 2 years old. Some might say it is fine to lunge them as young as yearlings. However, I think 2 years old is a better starting point. I prefer to start my young horses later than most people and take my time bringing them along under saddle. If you’ve read my blog of any account by now, you probably have figured out I’m not afraid to go against the norms. But exactly what age you start your horse is your choice.

Back to the topic at hand, though, a horse that has never lunged before or a horse that has been taught to lunge improperly is more prone to pulling on the lunge line. Obviously, pulling on the bit is bad, and we want to avoid that. So, starting with a cavesson is a good place to start, or restart, for these horses. What do I mean by “taught to lunge improperly?” Some people view lunging as a tool to burn off energy from a horse before riding. Fortunately, this view is becoming less common in recent years, but it still exists, and it most often crops up in older horses who may have been trained before it was more common knowledge that lunging to burn energy is a bad idea. The other reason a horse may have been taught to charge around on the lunge line is if they had the misfortune of falling into the hands of a student of one of the infamous “natural horsemanship” trainers who shall not be named because I don’t want to risk having said individual sending a witch hunt after me for offending their fragile ego. But, if you know anything about natural horsemanship, you know exactly who I’m talking about. It’s the one who is all over youtube and thinks chasing horses in circles counts as “training.”

Pros of Using a Cavesson

1. Aids in proper lateral flexion of the poll

2. Encourages better self-carriage by creating balanced bend through the body

3. Serves as a great intro to lunging for an inexperienced horse or rider

4. Prevents a horse from leaning on the lunge line

5. Appropriate for most ages and all training levels of horses

Cons of Using a Cavesson

1. It doesn’t allow finer control of the horse’s movement

2. It constricts the horse’s jaw and doesn’t allow the horse to fully relax

What Type Should You Use?

Good fit and sturdy construction are the most important factors, function over form. I use a simple nylon cavesson that I bought off amazon. I’ve included the link (not sponsored) but be warned that it has some wonky proportions. The crown piece will fit most horses, but the throat latch is tiny. Moose is a 14.1 hh quarter horse, and I had to punch 4 extra holes in the crown piece, but it’s still a little bit longer than I would like. However, the throat latch fits her in the loosest notch. I would love to have a fancy leather one, but that would likely cost a few hundred dollars, and I can’t justify the expense given how rarely I use it. My nice, sturdy, hideously turquoise monstrosity works quite well. (Ok, I’ll admit, the color might be growing on me a bit. It could be worse.) If you want to use side reins with the cavesson, you will need a more refined version than I have, in addition to a slip bridle to go over the top. I don’t have a setup like this because I was taught to use side reins by lunging off the bridle, which is my preferred method. However, if you are uncomfortable lunging off the bridle, using a slip bridle over a lunging cavesson is a perfectly valid method.

How to Fit a Lunging Cavesson

Conventional wisdom says that you should only be able to fit one finger under the nose band of the lunging cavesson. I disagree with this. I know I’m going to take a lot of flak for this, but hear me out. Lunging is about getting the horse to stretch over their back and move freely in the early stages of collection. In order to do this, the horse must be relaxed. I have done a lot of experimenting with getting a horse to relax on the lunge line. A truly relaxed horse will be licking, chewing, and, occasionally, yawning. They cannot do this with the cavesson as tight as many people say it should be. Every time I fit the cavesson that tight, the horse gets tense. It doesn’t matter what horse. I loosen the cavesson to three fingers, and suddenly, they relax. Loosening the cavesson to the point where you can fit three fingers between the nose band and the horse’s nose is the only way I can achieve relaxation in the horse because only once I loosen the nose band are they able to relax their jaw. Relaxing their jaw is the first step to releasing their poll. Releasing their poll is required for stretching over the topline. This is why I prefer to forego the cavesson altogether and lunge off the bit using a bridle without a noseband. Only once they have the full range of motion of their jaw will they achieve ultimate relaxation.

Only once a horse has full range of motion in their jaw will they achieve ultimate relaxation.

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Is a Cavesson Right for You?

I can’t answer this question because I don’t know you or your horse. Lunging with a cavesson is still the best option for someone who is new to classical lunging and for horses who tend to pull on the lunge line. If you are uncomfortable lunging off the bit but still want to use side reins, you can invest in a special lunging cavesson and slip bridle setup that combines the two methods. Just be aware that you will pay a pretty penny for that setup, but it may be worth it for some people.

Don’t just go blindly following my opinions without considering the circumstances surrounding you and your horse. Every horse and rider pair is different, and not every training method is right for every single horse or rider out there. Any trainer who tells you that their method works 100% of the time for every horse and rider on the face of the planet is an idiot and should be ignored. What is right for me may not be right for you.

If you watch my Youtube video at the top of the page, my mare Moose is the horse I use to demonstrate these techniques. To other people, she looks to be performing well. However, I know her well enough to know that if I switch her over to lunging off the bridle with side reins and no nose band she is a completely different horse, stretching down over her topline, licking, chewing, and yawning all over the place exactly like she needs to in order to release tension in her jaw, poll, and topline. If you watch the extended cut of the video on Ko-fi, you will see that one of the other horses I use is far more enthusiastic about the cavesson even though it’s their first time using it. It’s all about knowing your horse and yourself.

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