Walking Workouts for Your Horse

full riding schedule in the spring when the good riding weather arrives your horse will recover this fitness within three weeks. On the other hand the postural muscles will take upwards of three months to recover fitness if allowed to lose strength. The following workouts at the walk will help the horse maintain the strength of those postural muscles. 
Below are suggestions and brief descriptions for exercise routines to fill a 25minute session for the average horse. As a general rule spend about two minutes on each exercise before moving to the next and then repeat the list again from top to bot
Workout One Focus on Symmetry
Poll Flexion unmounted Using your hands slowly and gently swivel the horses head not neck from side to side to loosen his poll. Use small motions of about onehalf inch using your hand on the bridge of his nose.
Polish your Turns Interspersed with intervals of active groundcovering walking practice several turnon forehands and then turnonhaunches in each direction. Between each turn walk forward energetically for at least 20 steps.
Workout Two Focus on Adjustability
Accordion Topline Riding around the edge of your arena in a brisk forward walk practice lengthening and shortening your reins and asking your horse to change body posture from longer to shorter. Allow your horse to travel at least 40 steps in each frame before asking for the next. Be sure to keep the rhythm of his strides consistent and steady throughout your rein adjustments.
Spiral In and Out From a 20meter circle spiral in to an 8meter circle and then maintaining inside bend legyield back out to your original 20meter circle being careful not to lose energy see Figure 2.
Snowman Ride once around a 20meter circle to the left and then at the top change bend and ride a 10meter circle to the right. Then resume your 20meter circle. Your figure should look like a snowman with a fat body and a smaller head on top.
Adjustment Poles Set up four to five ground poles in a fan shape with the ends touching on one side. Arrange the poles so that at their middles they are spaced five feet apart. Now ride a small circle that crosses over the poles. Alternate riding over the narrowest distance between poles with just a single stride between each one and riding over the wider distance with two strides between each one.
Workout Three Focus on Coordination
Speed Changes
Ride various figures in the arena while changing the speed of your walk. Aim for four distinct speeds super slow slow medium and fast spend 20 strides at each speed see Figure 3. Repeat.
Cornerstone Transitions Ride transitions to the halt every ten strides. At every other halt transition ask the horse to back up six to ten steps and then carry on.
Wavy Lines Ride a scalloped edge around the track of your arena. Maintaining a brisk lively walk tempo ride a wavy serpentine with approximately threemeter loops back and forth from left to right to left to right and so on.