I have heard so many people ask, what are the risks of horse riding, or isn't it risky or dangerous to ride a horse?
The answer is yes, it is risky. I think most people fear getting hurt and that is the risk that can hold them back.
When I look back at the 1000's of hours, I have spent riding, I have had a few injuries while actually riding them, a few more being around them, and thankfully, none of them, for me, were serious physically. There have been a few that impacted my anxiety and fear more than the physical injury. But then I look back at all the things I do that are risky, and not involving horses, and really, they don't bring me the joy that riding does so there are tradeoffs.
I have been kicked. I have been bitten. I have been bucked off, I quit counting at 483 because it was too depressing. I have had a mountain lion jump on the butt of my pony and we both lived to tell about it. I have been jumped out of the saddle over a 4' oxer and knocked myself out on the withers coming back down and fallen off (in front of Bill Gates!). I have had a horse run backwards and flip over on top of me. It took me a while to think of all of this, but I did want you to see that there is risk.
Now for the flipside. I have ridden to the tops of mountains for a BBQ lunch and spectacular views. I have spent countless hours, training and jumping, to compete in 100's of horse shows. I have won medals, ribbons, coolers, flowers, and an assortment of other trinkets. I have enjoyed many hours of trails and incredible sights. I swam with the horses all summer in the heat. I have learned how to have a partnership with another being. I have felt the wind in my hair (before helmets were a safety net) while galloping on any areas that were straight and flat. I have ridden in a mounted drill team. The hours of joy far outweigh any risks for me. The feeling of being one with the horse and flying over the ground are the most rewarding things ever.
As my mom would say, horses are in my blood, might as well enjoy them!
If you want to tame your anxiety, and would like some help, I wrote a book about my journey back from fear to courage that has the process I used to enjoy riding again. Just click here!
I have a small community that supports those of us wanting to conquer our fear, would love to have you join us! Free Courage Group!
This is so filled with controversy! I am going to try and share all sides of this. So, I guess I am saying, it depends.
From my experience, there are so many areas of "horses" that tones my stomach and riding is only one of them. Did you see the movie Karate Kid? Wax on, wax off? Well, when I groom my horses, it works and tones all the stomach muscles. My horses are 16'2, 1300 pounds, and they lean into grooming. That means I lean back. I use two brushes or two mitts at the same time so I get double the workout. I would definitely say that if you want grooming to tone your stomach, than yes, it can.
The second area that tones my stomach is mucking, or any chores. I really focus on my core lifting the fork and then lifting and carrying the muck bucket. Carrying bales of hay and feed buckets. Pulling weeds in the pasture (bonus 100's of squats on this one). All are great for working on your core, if you focus on those muscles as you do the work.
Now for the original question, does horse riding tone your stomach?
Well, this depends. I have been on both sides of this. Ok, there are probably many sides to this but here are my two. Riding jumpers uses the abs. I definitely tone my stomach training and showing jumpers. When I don't ride for a bit, boy, I feel my abs after I ride again. The other end of the spectrum is a lovely relaxing trail ride. I think I still used my abs some, since when I did most of my trail riding, it was bareback. But nothing like jumping. I think there are ways to use and tone the core no matter what riding you do if you place focus on it. Even trail riding, if you do lateral work on the trail, moving the horse to the right and then to the left, you could engage your core.
I think a lot of it is what you are focusing on while riding and if you are trying to tone your stomach.
If you would like some ideas on grooming (#2 is what I do for my core and my horses coat), just click here to get my free guide, 3 Ways to Keep Your Horses Coat and Skin Healthy!
That feeling of just keeping our head above water, like we are going to sink at any moment, can be worse for those of us with horses. They are an expensive passion. The fear of vet bills to care for our furry friends. The anxiety of maybe having our job go away. All of this stress and anxiety can affect our horses.
We may not realize it, but when we go see our horses, if we take that financial anxiety with us, they can feel it. They don't understand it. They understand that it is anxiety and we are stressed and their life depends on recognizing stress. I think anxiety could be one of the reasons horses shut down, to protect themselves from all the anxiety that is overwhelming to them. The opposite ones are the ones that get really spooky, looking for what the heck we are afraid of. Where is it? They don't see it.
So, how do I deal with anxiety over finances?
First and foremost, I know in my heart that God will provide. I have always believed this. It is how I got my first pony when I was five, that my family didn't have the money for. I believed God would provide a pony and I had a pony. During times of trouble, where I didn't have the money to make it to the end of the month, I trusted. A random check would show up in the mail that perfectly covered the rest of the months bills, or I would get a job offer that was just perfect.
The second thing was implementing a system for my finances. I tried a bunch of programs but the one that worked for me was T. Harv Eker. His system worked amazing, and I was able to build a cushion and pay off all my bad debt. Yes, there is good debt. It is debt that earns you money.
The third thing was talking to others, especially horse people that were making it happen and had the life I wanted. How did they do it? Having honest conversations with others that were where I wanted to be really helped.
When I go see my horses, I leave the anxieties I have behind. I don't carry them with me to the horses. It isn't fair to them.
My free guide, The Ghosts of Anxiety - Past, Present, and Future, might help a little more if this resonated with you.
This is a GREAT question. Think about it, do we ask, how do you drive a car safely? Or, how do we walk down stairs safely? Or, how do we walk through the shopping mall safely? All of these things can be dangerous but we don't ask all the time about their safety. I think because riding a horse, is an agreement and a partnership between two beings, it is a little more daunting but really, driving a car is an agreement with all the other drivers if you think about it.
So, there are things we can do to improve our safety riding. First of all, mentally, we need to be ready to ride. Think about going to the shopping mall with your friend, and the entire time, she is worried about being robbed, that person doesn't look nice, what if that person has a gun, etc. You would be a stressed mess and not enjoy it. We do this to our horses when we are not mentally in a good spot to ride. There are so many exercises we can do to get our mind right, before getting on our horses (and I love using CBD under my tongue to also help just take the edge off, to see the one I use, just click here),
We need to make sure our horses are ready to enjoy a nice ride. I have created some pre-ride checklists, like a pilot checking out a plane for flight, to make sure our horses are ready and look for signs that we may need to make a different decision. If we can have bad days, our horses can too! I also love to put a big pile of hay in front of my horses while I groom and tack up. A full stomach keeps their stomach acid from sloshing while riding so they want to be ridden the next time. If it always hurts when you are ridden, you wouldn't want to do it again.
When we go to get on our horse, are they standing quietly, waiting for us to get on? This is a big one! If they are not super quiet and relaxed, I don't get on, ever. We work through what is causing their worry and stress. It may mean I don't ride that day. I think the best thing we can do for our horses, is to always give them a choice. A partnership is about agreement of both parties and our horse deserves that respect from us.
If you enjoyed this, I did do a short video talking about it too!
There are so many things that can cause a horse to be unbalanced, just like humans that are not quite upright. Just a few of the things that come to mind right off the bat are uneven trims in feet, sore muscles, thrush, and weak abs (this sounds like riders too!).
Not only do we have to think about left right balance with a horse, but there is also the front to back balance that is an additional challenge that riders don't always think about or understand. If a horse is heavy on their forehand, they are going to want to speed up, like they do when going down a hill. Balancing them front to back can really help with maintaining speed as well and helping them to be more balanced left/right.
What I would like to talk about is us, as riders, and how we affect a horse's balance and some things we can do! My wonderful structural consultant, Anna Bergenstrahle, at Riderfitness.com said, it is like us, carrying a child around on our shoulders and having them lean all over the place. That visual made so much sense to me! Imagine how frustrated you would be if you had to carry that child for a trail ride, or a horse show, for extended periods of time and had to compensate for their leaning all over the place! You would be exhausted, sore, and probably a little frustrated or even angry. Our horses show us, what we need to learn if we listen to them.
Work on your balance. On and off the horse. My favorite things to work on balance are to stand on each leg, one at a time, with my eyes closed, and move my other leg all around. With my eyes closed, I have to really focus on the feel of my weight, my body and it helps me to know where I am in relation to gravity. I started out slow with this. I heard that most people can only stand on one leg with their eyes closed for 5 - 10 seconds. Since I have done this exercise since I was a kid, I can do minutes. I was really shocked that not everyone does this. Of course, if you are just starting out, keep something close to lean on if you need to catch yourself.
Another favorite is to put on my pants, socks, and shoes, standing on the other leg, as tall as I can. Bring the knee to the chest and put the clothes/shoes on. Again, if just starting out, you want to make sure you can catch yourself on something.
The point is, the better balanced we are, the more effective we are helping our horses and not hindering them!
Here is a link to my Balance video if you would like to check out my goofy antics! Click Here!
If you enjoyed this information, grab my free guide, 5 Ways to feel like a kid!
