Found an...unusual...HIIT cardio workout the other day...

Supplies needed:

1 pair riding boots--no padding or arch support because that would be cheating

1 round pen with 6-8 inches loose sand

1 lunge whip

5 crazy colts

Technique:

Turn first horse loose in round pen, turn to retrieve lunge whip, turn back in time to watch horse try to kick your teeth out. Send him on his way with a good smack for being an idiot and mirror him in the center of the pen, walking a small circle.

Decide it's time for him to turn, step back several feet to cut off his forward motion. Run forward a few feet to cut him off before he finishes turning his back end towards you, sending him back the first direction. Repeat 5 to 10 times until he figures out he's supposed to turn towards you. Then try it the other direction another 5-10 times.

Have horse decide he's tired of loping and wants to trot. Indicate politely he's supposed to lope until he figures this out, have him try to kick your head in. Smack him with the lunge whip, have him try to kick your head in again as he lopes off. Leave him alone (he's loping, after all) and go back to trying to get a turn to the inside, with much running around, backing up quickly then darting forward, and occasionally jumping out of  the way when he decides to cut across the middle of the pen when changing directions and doesn't realize that two objects can't occupy the same point in space and time (or maybe he does...he snickered as he passed). Finally succeed in getting a reasonably consistent turn to the inside after your heart is trying to escape through your rib cage, stop and let "the horse" rest (yeah right...the horse).

Decide this horse has had it, tie him up outside the pen, and bring in the next one. Turn colt loose, have him turn and try to kick your head in...etc.

Rinse and repeat for the rest of the colts.

Once done with the last one, collapse on the grass and decide that you're insane for thinking you enjoy working with colts, but at least you got a decent work out. You must have, because your lungs hurt, your legs hurt, and your arm decided halfway through the last one that it didn't want to lift that whip again. Plan to do it again the next day--if anyone asks, it's because colts need to be worked regularly to learn anything.

*Lol* This wasn't nearly so humorous a couple days ago when I was ready to smack a couple of equine heads together, but I started thinking about posting it and couldn't help a grin. So here it is. Enjoy.

This is so funny.  My workout today was laughing at your post.  I'm going to tag it for future workouts.  Good luck with the brats.

funny!    I too have had the joys of working stupid horses in the round pen until the "horse" is too tired.    Awesome workout!

I need to print this out for my sis.  She just bought a couple of miniature horses.  Babies still really just a couple of months old.... so I know she's going to have a lot of fun training them....  lol.

lol!  This was hilarious!    

And my PE teacher in high school tried to tell me that horse training wasn't exercise... yeah, right.

And this is exactly why I work with older horses.  I've broke colts for a few years, but have always preferred already started horses, or the "problem" horses.  So much easier to correct other people's mistakes than my own   

You have my highest respect for taking on 5 colts in one day!

Thanks. They went through our colt class here at the university, and the ranch sent them back over the summer so our TA's could get them ready for the sale. One's gotten so bad, though, that she bucked off the girl, and the guy had a hard time staying on. They don't have time to ground work them properly and ride, so I volunteered to do the ground work, along with adding in a bunch of training on the "outlaw", a little filly named Poe (aka Poelicious or H*** B**** depending on who you ask *lol*). If I didn't have 4 horses already, I'd take her in a heartbeat, odd as it sounds. She learns so fast...two days of work and today I had her as quiet as I possibly could. She's a sweetie when she's learning the right stuff.

I worked Poe yesterday for 2 1/2 hours on sensitizing/desensitizing exercises, trying to calm her down--she gets so uptight and panicky when you work her because she spent a lot of time feeling 'trapped'. I got through all five again today, and Cody managed to ride 3 before we had to go to class. We're working them again tomorrow, and have all afternoon and evening--which is nice, because I need some time to work my 4 year old in all thiscolt training!

Talk about getting your exercise though...workout, I don't need no stinking workout, I'm training colts! ^_^