Riding Lessons: As Healthy as a Gym Membership
Even Fort Collins’ Healthiest Fanatics Benefit from Horse and Rider Workouts
Equestrians love to talk about their horses. From riding lessons to the competitive arena, there is always an interesting story, especially for friends who have little experience with horses. Even if those friends love to hear our tales from the barn, as soon as riders mention how hard the sport can be, the frustrating remark of, “but you just sit there,” pops up in conversation. For anyone who’s ridden a horse, whether it was a single riding lesson or an everyday activity, explaining how sore your core or thighs are doesn’t seem to mean much to a friend who works out at the gym because they believe “the horse does all the work.” Despite this misconception, horseback riding provides an intense physical and mental workout for riders, including exercises that burn calories, improve back strength and posture, and strengthen a variety of muscles no gym equipment can hope to match.
Core strength is a necessity for any good rider. As soon as a rider swings into the saddle their abdominal and oblique muscles, as well as their pelvic floor and trunk flexors, need to be engaged in order for a rider to maintain balance and control of the one-ton animal beneath them. At faster gaits, the rider’s core acts as a shock absorber, preventing a rider from flopping in the saddle and providing stability and comfort for both horse and rider. At faster gaits, turns, and jumps, the core is continually flexing, twisting, and strengthening in order for a rider to stay in the saddle and maintain control. Dr. Stout, a physician for Evergreen Health, explains that riding is an isometric exercise, meaning riders use their core to stay in a position that balances them on their horse to improve postural and core strength. This constant tension builds muscle tone, which means riding is the one-stop exercise to improve tone and physique.
Horseback riding also provides a workout to the thighs. In fact, correct riding position has many similarities with yoga ball exercises. Besides the adductors, which must be engaged for a rider to even stay in the saddle, our legs are used as cues to guide and control the horse. This means that a rider’s quads and hamstrings are constantly at work during a ride, providing forward, backward, and lateral cues that direct a horse. The glutes also tighten when a horse is cued to stop, and flex to provide balance when a horse turns. The muscles of the pelvis are engaged at faster gaits, and a rider must flex them to eliminate jarring and make a ride more comfortable. For more fitness benefits at faster gaits, visit Body Building’s website.
While balance and coordination are more difficult at faster gaits or during sharp maneuvers, not even beginning riders can miss out on these exercises. Coordination skills, especially in the muscles of the seat, thighs, and arms, are developed at the most basic level in order for a rider to move with and stay on a horse. The back of a horse is an unstable surface, and even if a rider is engaging their core and thighs, they must learn to coordinate their muscle groups with their horse’s. Coordinating cues can also be a challenge for new riders, since leg pressure, rein pressure, and body position are all used in conjunction for basic cues, such as stopping or turning. This coordination creates body awareness and athletic reflexes.
Horseback riding offers a variety of other exercises that improve health, such as cardiovascular and respiratory strength, flexibility, and promotion of mental health. Higher levels of exertion during riding improve the blood flow and lung capacity of the rider, and riding in the correct position promotes circulation to the extremities. Flexibility in the hamstrings and glutes is required to swing into a saddle, but the stretch provided to the adductors and hamstrings while in the saddle improves flexibility and range of motion. Riding in the correct position, with heels down and back straight, provides a bonus stretch to the calves. Horseback riding, like any sport, also promotes confidence, ambition, and self-esteem. Horses also require a little heavy lifting before the ride begins. To find out how many calories you could burn at the barn by grooming horses, moving feed, and mucking stalls, visit Horse and Rider’s calorie counter.
Although riding is a healthy and rewarding workout, it comes with inherent risks, just like gym equipment. Knowing your equipment, the horse, and how to be safe around it is just as important to your health as the workout itself. Most equine-related injuries do not occur at high speeds, and you don’t have to be riding a horse to be injured by one. Remember to wear long pants to avoid saddle sores, and closed toed shoes to the barn, in case a horse accidentally steps on you even if you are only observing a lesson. Listen to and observe your trainer to learn how to interact safely with horses, and avoid startling or spooking them. Your trainer should also teach you how to read equine behavior in order to avoid being kicked, bitten, or caught by a frightened horse. Never wrap a lead rope around your fingers, in case a horse spooks and injures your hand, and feed treats with a flat palm. If you have allergies or asthma, bring medication or an inhaler, but even if you avoid dust and hay there may be seasons where you cannot ride at all. For more safety tips, visit Horse and Rider’s Rules for Kids.
As always, helmets are the most important safety precaution for any rider, regardless of skill. In fact, many professional and competitive organizations require all riders, from Youth Shows to the Olympics, to wear ASTM/SEI certified safety helmets. A rider’s head is, on average, 13 feet above the ground when mounted, and when that is added to a horse’s unpredictability and mass, it makes horseback riding more dangerous than riding a bicycle or motorcycle. 1 in 5 equine-related injuries are head injuries, but it only takes a falling distance of 2 feet for a head injury to occur. While many trainers provide helmets for riders, if you plan on investing in the sport, buying and maintaining your own riding helmet may be a healthy decision. To learn more about safety helmets, visit The Horse Collaborative’s page, or visit Riders4Helmets to learn more about safety standards and show rules.
Just like team sports and gym equipment, horseback riding does come with risks. Remember to listen to your trainer’s safety rules and follow barn rules while you are at a riding lesson. Talk to your trainer about any safety concerns you may have, but also talk about your ambitions. Horseback riding offers many ways to improve your health and skills, through muscle toning, balance, coordination, and other health benefits. If you wish to focus on your health on horseback, talk to your trainer about stretches and exercises that maximize the rider’s efforts, and offer to do chores around the barn. Invest in riding lessons for a healthier body and toned physique, and leave the gym equipment for your friends to “just sit on.”
