Experts estimate that horseback riding burns between 250 and 400 calories per hour when we're riding at a walk. The estimate for calories burned horseback riding when actively riding at a
For a person weighing 150 lbs, riding at a walk burns approximately 136 calories in a 30 minute session. If you increased the horse's speed to a trot, that same person would expend 72 additional calories over that same 30 minute period of time (208 calories). Galloping a horse burns 261 calories per half hour.
30 minutes of Horseback Riding burns 137 kcal.
“Riding a horse for 45 minutes at a walk, trot and canter can burn up to 200 calories. It you do something a bit more strenuous such as cutting or reining, that can come out to nearly seven calories per minute for the entire length of the riding period.”
For an average woman of 150 lbs, cantering a horse can burn up to 93 calories in 10 minutes. If you ride at the trot, you can burn up to 74 calories in 10 minutes. If you ride at the walk, you can burn 57 calories in 10 minutes. Remember that even if you're riding that stubborn mare, you can still burn more calories.
"Riding is a total body workout. Your legs, arms and core work together to control and communicate with the horses. Really, riding is a partnership sport; the rider and the horse support and guide each other.
However, riding a horse is a form of cardiovascular exercise, which means it can help you increase your heart rate and burn fat from all over your body. It also helps to tone the muscles in your legs, core, and arms, which can help you lose inches from your waist.
Horseback Riding Improves Muscle Tone
Horseback riding is the way to go if you're looking for a fun way to get in shape. It's a low-impact exercise that can improve your muscle tone and posture. If you want to take up horseback riding as a hobby, it might be best not to start by going too fast or too far.
Horseback riding works important core muscles: abs, back, pelvis, and thighs. These stabilize the torso while fortifying coordination, stability, balance, and flexibility. This activity is isometric, which means the muscles contract against something that does not move.
“Anything where you are keeping yourself from being bounced off is going to primarily use your core and your legs,” explained Kelly Turner, an ACE certified personal trainer and fitness journalist. That's right, riding a horse supports core strength, which includes your abs, lower back, and obliques.
It can be tiring
A lot of physical and emotional strength is required to ride a horse and it will wear you out, especially if you are dedicating a lot of your time to the sport. If you lead a busy lifestyle, then you will need to take this into consideration before taking up horse riding properly.
While your friends will work their butt off in the gym, as a horse rider you'll undoubtedly already have beautifully toned legs and glutes; great for those fitted jeans and no need to dread 'leg day'. Toning and muscle building while having fun.
Horse riding is a great exercise that strengthens your core muscles, improves heart health, and works your leg and arm muscles. Riding a horse is one of the most efficient ways to get exercise, be productive, and have fun. Most people run or work out in a gym to get exercise.
Experts estimate that horseback riding burns between 250 and 400 calories per hour when we're riding at a walk. The estimate for calories burned horseback riding when actively riding at a trot, canter, or gallop can exceed 550-700 calories! That's a lot of energy!
As you're riding, you'll burn as many calories as you would by going to the gym or playing certain team sports (think football or netball). Even at walking speed, you can burn over 200 calories per hour on a horse, while if you get up to galloping you can burn up to 650 per hour.
"Bouncing stresses our joints and actually takes away from the calorie burn," says Flywheel cofounder and creative director Ruth Zukerman. "When riding out of the saddle, hovering closer to the saddle relies on the use of your muscles more, resulting in more calories burned."
The Workout Exercise Routine: Horses that are pastured and free to move around most or all of the day will benefit from a 15 to 20 minute workout each day. Horses that are stabled most of the time will require at least a 30 minute workout each day and will benefit most from an hour or more of exercise activity.
A common exercise plan starts with a 30-minute combination of walking and slow trotting two or three times weekly. Work up to light work or visible sweat three to five days weekly for ½ to 1 hour a day. The exercise intensity, duration and frequency can increase as the horse loses body weight and gains fitness.
On average, cycling burns over 50% more calories than walking, minute for minute... For an average woman*, just a 30 minute moderate cycling session will burn 202 calories, an average man* will burn 225 calories. Increase this to an hour and women will burn 404 cals, while men will burn 450.
Horses need 20 minutes of movement every day so that's a good initial goal and can be increased from there. More intense programs for competition conditioning can build up to two hours daily. Always begin and end with a 5-minute warm-up. You can ride or lead your horse and vary training activities accordingly.
Loosing weight is a process that takes several months, not weeks. It is a fact that a fat horse will increase it's fitness quickly with one hour of work each day.
For a horse and rider who require a moderate level of fitness, The horse should be ridden four days a week. At least two of the days should include a more intense workout while the other days could result in a slightly easier and less strenuous ride.
Sports such as horse riding, aerobics, brisk walking and cycling are particularly good ways of tackling cellulite. This is because they increase respiration and the heart rate, which has a highly beneficial effect on blood flow.
Dr. Deb Bennett, PhD, founder of the Equine Studies Institute and an expert in the biomechanics of horses, has advised that the “Total weight of rider plus tack must not exceed 250 lbs.
Horseback riding requires the use of muscles that do not typically get worked while performing everyday tasks. This is a big reason muscle soreness happens in new riders, since these muscles need to be built up through use.