I remember the Suzanne Sommers commercials advertising the Thighmaster, the ultimate home workout for women to tighten up their thighs and buttocks. The Thighmaster was a focusing tool, designed to help you concentrate on isolating those muscles and using them against specific tension or resistance. The ultimate Thighmaster, however, is not a piece of equipment but rather an equine.
I am an admitted equestrian with a particular fondness for horses in general and Saddlebreds in particular along with Mustangs and Tennessee Walkers. Anyway, the point is, humans have been riding horses since around 4000 B.C. that we know of. The horse is among one of the more intelligent creatures and they put up with a great deal from us.
Long before going to the gym became a part of our lifestyles – horseback riding was a matter of day to day living and they didn’t ride to exercise, they rode to live. They rode to work. They rode to get back and forth from town or to follow game across the landscape.
While we have been riding horses for millennia, it was part of an active, physical lifestyle. No matter what type of riding you enjoy whether it is Western style pleasure, English pleasure, hunter, jumper, roping, rodeo or just general pleasure – it’s a great way to get physical activity and uses a lot of muscles that most other physical activities don’t require.
Good Shape Doesn’t Define Equestrian Success
You might be in great physical shape and you might work out regularly, but just because you do doesn’t mean you are going to find horseback riding easy. In fact, riding uses dormant muscles in your back, thighs, buttocks and calves. As good a shape as I have been in, any time I have stopped riding for any length of time and gone back to it – I’ve rediscovered a whole new meaning for pain and suffering.
Just kidding.
Still, for all those people who tell you that in horseback riding the horse does all the work, I doubt any of them have never actually actively ridden a horse. You need your back muscles to hold yourself erect. Posting (the rise and fall in rhythm to a horse’s trot) requires strong use of inner and outer thigh as well as your buttocks. Asking for turns and sitting correctly means keeping your heels down and using your calf muscles extensively.
Ride, I guarantee you after thirty minutes, you’ll feel all those muscles in intimate detail. If you enjoy riding or think you will, remember that you need strength, endurance and flexibility. Stretching before and after you ride will help cut back on the amount of soreness you will feel.
Horseback riding is not just good for your body, it’s good for your mind and your soul. I love riding, but I love working with horses even more. There is something about grooming them, working them (from the ground or the saddle) and just spending time with them that is soothing to the soul and to the stress levels.
Some of histories greatest equestrian lovers include:
- Jaclyn Kennedy Onassis
- Queen Elizabeth I & II
- Winston Churchill
- Napoleon
- Many, Many More
When was the last time you went for a ride on a horse?
Related Articles:
Kentucky Horse Park: A Horse-Lover’s Dream Come True
Adventures in Horseraising – Kali the Rocking Horse
Adventures in Horseraising – Lessons Learned