An exercise routine to shed those winter pounds...

[lazyobie29kr]

Well first I'll share the sad part...
My horse, Obie, whom I have had and loved for 12 years, has died of a really bad colic about 3 weeks ago. I miss him terribly, but thankfully we were able to bury him on our farm in his pasture with his buddies, the sheep and llama. Although I miss him so very much, I'm happy that he is running around in heaven with new joints and no Cushing’s disease, certainly eating eating eating.
And on a happier note...
My mom and I had just bought 2 horses for a very good deal. My cousin (equine vet) told us about the whole ordeal and to make a long story short, we ended up with a great deal and a pair of very sweet 12-year-old mares. One is a dapple-gray percheron/quarter horse cross and the other is a thoroughbred/Belgian cross. I'm so excited to finally have 2 horses so that my mom and I can go riding together! Now to the question, finally...
They both need work on bomb proofing, and some ground skills, but mostly they need to get into shape! They both haven't been ridden the whole winter and have gotten a bit on the chubby side to say the least...well loved as I like to call it. So with that, what is a good exercise routine I can start them off with? I'm sure they lunge and they are broke to ride, but I would like to know how long I should work them and what kinds of things I should do with them. Keep in mind that I don't have long reins or any special lunging equipment and I really don't want to buy any of them if I can help it. I do have all the basics such as a lunge lead and whip. With that, I would appreciate any input on what I should start to do with these beautiful girls!
Thanks so much!
Kitt

[Silver1]

Speaking of the owner of the worlds most out of shape horse, I can help you a bit with that.

To start with, if they're REALLY out of shape, take it sloooow. Mear can only take 20 minutes of riding on a daily basis, with maybe an hour long ride at the walk once a week. She's been on that routine for about a month and let me tell you, she needs her days off. Be sure to watch your horses very carefully for soreness, and not just their back and legs, they can get sore in odd places. My horse for instance, is currently sore in her neck along the top muscles, presumably from carrying her neck properly instead of pushing it up with the bottom of her neck.

You might want to start with ground work, just to find out how much they know, and...let me see...I think I saw a chart in the training section that showed you how much riding to bring a horse into shape, the lowest starting point was half an hour at the walk, but Mear wasn't even able to do that much...

[Cheeky]

Missy had three weeks off and she has lost all her fitness!!

We started off with groundwork .. and not just 'head down' etc .. I worked her mind too. I started to desensitize towards plasticbags (That was fun! lol), tinsle (for Christmas lol), bells, rattling things etc .. that took up 45 mins! lol .. she can trot happily with tinsle and bells around her neck or on her halter on the lunge .. :) We then repeat this each time I see her.

We also do some lunging (free) in walk and trot .. she sometimes tests the patience and has a canter .. and wears herself out .. but after 5 mins of walking she calms down and we do some more walking :)

Just lots of walking, ground work, road walking (great for legs .. and yours lol) .. start small :)