Lungeing

I was recently asked about lungeing for training.
Let me first put it out there that I am a advocate of doing what is best for the horse, in the horses' best interest, and not a specific training regime or style. That being said, I have developed a type of training I find works best for most horses I deal with, and that is, being clear, firm but fair in all aspects of training with the horse, and that a mutual respect and trust reigns over all. It's very simple, you must be clear with your aids to expect a horse to understand what you ask, firm but fair in corrections (and otherwise), and both the horse and you as the rider/trainer/handler/etc. must have a mutual trust and respect for one another, which comes from the clarity of the aids and communications between the two. The horse speaks to us just as much as we do to him/her, in the horses' way of communication, therefore, we cannot expect the horse to simply understand our language. We must understand his.
Before going off any more into training concepts, back to lungeing.
I believe that you must have it 'on the ground' before you can get it undersaddle, 'in general'. I feel that lungeing to train, and done correctly, is beneficial to most horses. It is a training tool. Simply put.
Combining the art of body language to communicate to the horse what you want on the ground, as well as teaching verbal cues, as well as having the horse come into his own balance in w/t/c, using side reins to balance the horse and have them working straight on a circle correctly (minimizes/eliminates the stress on the horse's body from the lungeing regime, Monty Roberts actually had an article written about using side reins, how they aid to straighten and correct a horses' alignment on the lunge, very interesting ), lungeing is a valuable tool to be used as a training aid.
People tend to generalize too much with training techniques and certain trainers, think 'herd-mentality'. Instead, I try to learn from each trainer, applying things I agree with and see work with other 'parts' of training to combine their studies and tools to what helps the horse the best. At the end of the day, it's not the trainer, but the HORSE(S) that matter. It's all about them, and at the end of the day, it all ( from any reputable trainer, who studies the horse ) comes down to clarity in the communication, being firm but FAIR with the aids, as well as a trust and respect that must be in any relationship for the communcation to work.
-Em