“Horseback
riding isn’t really exercise. The horse does all the work.”
Oh, boy. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, I
could probably cover my horse’s monthly board.
The horse definitely carries the weight, packing the rider
and the saddle and tack around. He walks and trots and canters (or walks and jogs
and lopes) circles in the arena or miles on the trail. He leaps over jumps,
zips around barrels, or stomps through streams.
But the rider gets a
workout too.
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Sure, the most advanced and polished equestrians make
horseback riding look effortless. They pilot their athletic mounts as if by
mind control alone. The cream of the crop makes it look easy.
But it’s not. If you ride horses, you know better. Those
folks are working overtime up there. It’s just imperceptible to the casual
observer.
“You’re working too hard,” my own trainer has said (more
than once). Curiously, that usually happens when I am already tired, so my
riding form and technique is sort of falling apart. At such times, I know in my
head how I should be riding, but it doesn’t seem to translate to my
extremities. (Maybe you’ve been there.)
Horseback riding does
get simpler with practice, but it still takes effort.
It’s not only a matter of improved fitness (in both horse and
human), although that’s certainly important.
Most definitely, a rank beginner displays a lot more
physical exertion atop the horse, thumping and bumping and bouncing and maybe
even hollering in the process. Don’t all of us tend to exaggerate cues when we
first practice them? Eventually, as we and our horses build stronger and more
sensitive partnerships, we find we can tone things down a bit. A slight seat
shift, a soft squeeze of the legs, a harder step in one stirrup, or a gentle
tickling of the rein can accomplish much – once we reach that point.
But the rider never
checks out.
More than a few veteran trainers have instructed mounted
students to “ride every step.” Some of us have high-energy horses that require
plenty of half-halts or lots of gait transitions and riding patterns, just to
keep their attention. Others have equines that need frequent nudges forward to maintain forward impulsion and encourage collection. It all counts.
And any seasoned equestrian keeps his or her guard up, even
during the most relaxing ride. Anything is possible. (Some of us have emergency
room bills to prove it.)
That’s why they call
it sport.
And as far as exercise is concerned, a real equestrian
exerts plenty while fetching the horse from the pasture, cleaning off all that
mud and dust, combing out his mane and tail, lifting and picking out hooves, lugging and putting on the saddle
and tack, and performing all sorts of other related tasks. That is, unless the
horse happens to reside in a fancy full-service stable, where the equestrian
simply pays the bill and rides the polished horse. (Don’t get me started on
that.)
