Most of us ride because they we a true passion for horses, but there are many other reasons and benefits too. I personally love riding because, as well as following my interest, I get to reap many physical and mental health rewards.
Riding is a unique and exciting sport, but for a lot of non-horsey people, it is often viewed as a hobby, rather than as a sport at all. The reason often given is apparently ‘the horse does all the work’. Sound familiar?
As riders, we know this is far from the truth, as riding is a physically demanding sport. It may not be as exhausting as going for a run or an uphill mountain bike, but when we ride, we utilise many components of fitness, including balance, coordination, strength, flexibility and endurance.
Although I encourage riders to try and improve their fitness off their horses, this should not detract from the fact that riding will also increase fitness. I became very aware of the fitness benefits of riding recently, after my eldest son and his horse fell over whilst jumping. This resulted in my son not being able to ride for a while, so since the accident, I have been exercising three ponies a day. The extra time required to work the ponies has cut into my personal training time for an upcoming adventure race that I have entered. Riding may not be specific training for my race, but I believe it still has a positive cross-over for the type of fitness required for the race, and for many other fitness pursuits and mainstream sports.
Here are seven physical benefits of horse riding:
1. Improves balance and co-ordination
Good co-ordination means having the ability to use different parts of the body together, smoothly and efficiently. This requires a combination of balance, timing and agility which is important for riding, as well as most mainstream sports. When riding, co-ordination skills are required to adapt your body movement in order to help your horse stay balanced. Jockeys, eventers or show jump riders will have excellent co-ordination and balance, as the faster a horse moves, the more balance is required from the rider.
2. Strengthens your core
When sitting straight and balanced in the saddle you are using your core. The muscles and thought processes required to balance on the horse as you ride have been proven to significantly improve core strength and stability. Your core is incorporated in every riding movement that you do, and acts as a stabiliser. When riding, your core performs an isometric exercise, which requires targeting specific muscles to help you stay stable in certain positions. Your core is the bridge that links your legs to your upper body. So, no matter what sport or physical activity you do, having a strong and stable core is essential.
3. Promotes good posture
A number of commondaily activities – especially sitting at a computer desk – create poor posture, which adversely affects physical health. Most people don’t understand what correct posture is; however, riders practice having good posture every time we are in the saddle. I often find that if I cycle or run for long periods of time, I end up curving my spine, which results in a sore back or neck. When riding a horse, you must sit up straight and push your shoulders back, with no slouching or hunching. If you sit in good posture to keep balanced when riding, it’s likely your posture out of the saddle will improve, the more you ride.
4. Stronger muscles and bones
Strength is required to stay balanced in the saddle and to communicate with the horse. In addition to the core, when you ride you’ll get a good resistance workout of your upper body, legs and even pelvic floor muscles. Riding strengthens your muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, and bones and can even slow down the effects of ageing by reducing the loss of muscle and bone density. It can also prevent injuries, falls and even fractures that are often caused by osteoporosis.
5. Increases flexibility
Flexibility is important for a greater quality of life and to avoid injury. Inactivity causes a loss of extensibility in muscles; however, riding improves flexibility because you are required to move your joints regularly. Mounting a horse requires flexibility, and once in the saddle, a rider with supple thighs will be able to wrap their legs around their horse whilst still having the ability to independently apply leg aids. The more you ride, the more your flexibility levels will improve, as your muscles get stretched.
6. Creates a toned body
While you may not burn as many calories riding as you do running, you can still burn a decent amount. Activities like galloping and jumping get your adrenaline pumping, your pulse raised and improve your metabolism, and so will burn fat. The number of calories burned often depends on the gait and intensity you’re riding at, with some researchers suggesting that an hour of faster-paced riding (note, this is not an hour of walking and trotting!) can burn several hundred calories, depending on your own body weight.
When riding, a rider’s muscles relax and contract according to the horse’s movement, which is why full-time riders often have toned abs, legs, and back muscles. Your glutes will be in shape too, due to the constant flexing and tightening action to control the horse’s movement. Even the chores required to look after your horse, such as mucking out, grooming, lifting hay bales, pushing wheelbarrows and carrying buckets burn body fat and will naturally tone your body.
7. Improves endurance
Riding is not just sitting on a horse – your complete body and mind are at work at the same time. With regular riding, you will have better endurance and be resistant to fatigue. Depending on the type of riding and the speed and agility of the horse; riding requires effort, energy, and cardiovascular capacity, because of the length of time the muscles are engaged. Even a steady trot requires enough energy to qualify as moderate intensity exercise. Also, the many jobs associated with horse ownership will increase cardiovascular capacity and therefore build endurance.
If you haven’t been riding as much as you would like, I hope the warmer spring weather, combined with reading about these physical benefits will encourage you to get back on your horse!
