Wonderful benefits of horses

I started my love of horses 20years ago and up until 2years ago I didn't realize how many benefits from ridding there are.  I always thought horses were beautiful and loved ridding, I had an abusive past and whenever I wanted to escape and clear my head and really feel like I belonged somewhere I'd go brush my horse, go for a ride, or sometimes just sit there with him and calm down.  Horses are strong, powerful, beautiful creatures that brings me a peace of mind whenever I'm with them  there for I knew that when my husband asked me to marry him I wanted to ride off on horse back.  Below is one of our wedding photos.

Three years ago I was blessed to have a beautiful daughter enter my life.  I was very lucky that I lost a lot of my baby weight through breastfeeding but I didn't get any muscle back.  My daughter was born in February and I was back in the saddle by August and the following spring I became a trail guide, that is when I noticed how much of a work out horses are.  Just from ridding I now have more muscle than ever before.   

Here's a photo I took of one of the best places to feel connected to nature

Ridding isn't just sitting on the back of a horse and the horse doing all the work you use a lot of muscles to keep your balance and stay in your seat especially your inner thigh, abs, legs, shoulder, and back.  The great thing about horse back riding as a form of exercise for me is that you don't notice you're working out!  It's relaxing, and fun.  I encourage everyone to take a trail with a friend and just chat, the next day you will notice the burn in your muscles, this is a nice casual way to try out horse back ridding and get in a small work out.  To really build muscles and get a good work out in take ridding lessons or see if a barn near you will offer trails one on one with a guide.


Here are some photos of me ridding some of the horses from the barn  this fall/winter:

As I said earlier I've been ridding for 20years now and have a lot of practice.  I can ride backwards, bareback, and stand up on a still horse....please DO NOT TRY ON YOUR OWN, I've been practicing this for a few years and always have people around if anything goes wrong.

How many calories can you burn from riding a horse?

Well that depends on the weather you're going to burn more when it's hot out and you're sweating a lot or when it's cold and you're body is trying to keep you warm but according to exercise.com I burn about 113 calories on a 30minute trail/exercise.  I find that most people go out for an hour tail so you're on the horse for an estimated 70minutes and someone who weights the same as me at 125 will burn 268 calories.  To find out how much you can burn fill out your weight and how long you want to ride for here 

I usually ride a lot more than just 30minutes.  When I go to the barn I'm usually there all day.  And can spend anywhere from an hour to five on the back of a horse.

 

There's a lot more to getting exercise and a clear head than just riding.  Horses need to be taken care of, they need to be groomed, stalls need to be cleaned, feed, hay, and even the horses need a work out and bonding exercises.  All of these are also great work outs and wonderful ways to bond with your horse.

Here is a photo of me round-penning a beautiful rocky mountain horse that we rescued from slaughter

I have gone through a lot that really broke down my self confidence and left me feeling insecure.  Working with these horses has really brought me a lot of my confidence and strength back.  I love how great I feel when I get a horse to do what I want him to.  Sometimes it's getting a horse to cross a stream that he's afraid of or something it's an inner strength like when I learned how to stand up on a horse.  These little things have a large impact on our lives.


For more info about working out with horses check this out