If you’re looking for good exercise to help you get into shape this season, riding may be the ideal solution.
Horseback riding has been shown in numerous studies to provide significant health advantages, as well as a day full of enjoyment. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a newbie, riding horses benefits your body and mind equally, so here are six reasons why you should participate in this activity over the fall.
1.) Exercising Those Calories
A horse can help you get in some cardiovascular exercise. Research showed that simply half an hour of horse-related activity, such as mucking out, is moderate exercise, while trotting may burn up to 600 calories each journey!
Even when you’re back in the yard, whether grooming, moving hay bales, lifting saddles onto a horse’s back, or carrying buckets, you burn calories. This has been proved to decrease the chance of cardiovascular disease by 35%.
2.) Get Physical
To stay in shape, maintain a constant position while riding to prevent you from bobbling about in the saddle; your core muscles will be primarily utilized.
You’ll also get a strong work-out in your inner thighs and pelvic muscles, in addition to the core.
The goal of this is to help you and your horse maintain a correct equilibrium by maintaining a good posture and position, correcting the horse’s gait, and adjusting to the gait.
This stance also helps improve your balance and coordination, as well as your muscle tone and flexibility.
3. State of Mind
According to the BBC, mental health disorders have risen by more than 200% in the last two years. According to research, about 1 in 4 individuals in the United Kingdom will be afflicted with a mental illness at some point during their lives, and roughly 1 in 6 people will suffer from a common mental illness (such as anxiety or depression) every week.
In addition to promoting our physical health and providing us with more energy, being active may improve our mood, reduce anxiety and stress, and enhance our quality of life.
Horseback riding has been found to improve self-esteem and self-image in riders. The research discovered that horseback riding increased positive psychological feelings by 30%, as well as lowered the risk of dementia by 30%.
4. Socialising
The equestrian world is a sociable environment with people who will assist and care for one another’s horses, forming lifelong connections. Riding is such a social occasion. We spend so much time at the yard, whether looking after your own horse or caring for a friend’s; then there are the shows, trail rides, riding lessons, and local organizations. Riding is a way of life that soon engulfs you in the world of the equine industry.
Horses are known for being excellent therapy animals. This has improved riders’ interpersonal and social interaction skills.
5.) Connection
Horses are popular among equestrians since they are fantastic friends. Communication and interaction with animals have already been proven to benefit people, and it is frequently utilized in therapeutic riding programs. The primary reason for wanting to go horseback riding is that riders want to interact with horses, as they have been shown to be very sociable.
6.) New Challenges
Horses are full of surprises and constantly offer us new challenges. There are always more difficulties to face, whether you’re a seasoned rider or a novice just starting to learn how to ride. Learning new skills such as Dressage or Showjumping, as well as riding a horse with a distinct personality, can always put your knowledge and expertise to the test.
Use these health advantages to your advantage by increasing the amount you ride. Challenge yourself to travel 70 kilometres, or meet new people and explore a new area.
