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!
Mounting your horse, with the thought of "throwing" your leg over, sends you into fits of pain just thinking about it. It really could be any stiffness or pain. Think about it from your horses perspective. Horses rely on healthy, strong, horses to be their leaders. The ones that are weaker or not up to the job, get pushed to the bottom. It is the survival of a prey animal, to make sure the weak are not amongst them.
So, do you need to be fit to horse ride? No, but it helps tremendously with the trust of your horse. Also, if you are stiff and/or sore, you are not going to react to situations as fast as possible to keep yourself safe. This can compound anxiety and fear. Also, I know for me, when I am stiff, I tend to slouch and ball up. I don't have the tall, looking to where I want to ride, poise, not sure what you call it, but I don't have it when I am stiff.
Think about the amazing riders, you see dancing with their horses in the dressage ring, or the jockeys, riding the horses flying down the track. The jumper riders and cutting horse riders that have to be nimble and have reflexes that rival the best in the world. Those riders are not going to perform to their best and their horses will also be challenged if the riders aren't fit.
In a related way, fitness also gives us the energy to ride and care for our horses. It takes strength to groom, tack up and ride. It takes strength to dance with your horse as you ride and not just be a passenger. Fitness is so key in my opinion to the relationship with your horse in all of these ways.
If you would like some ideas on getting fit, get my free guide - 5 ways to feel like a kid again! Click Here!
I would have said NO WAY. I had tried everything.
When I was 5, I wanted my aunts to sit on the floor and play a board game with me. They declined and said they would be in too much pain. I remember I was shocked. I vowed right then and there; I would NOT be that person that couldn't sit and play a board game with the kids.
Fast forward 50 years and guess what, I was that person. Not only could I not sit on the floor to play a board game, but my horse riding had suffered since I just had lost my flexibility and was so stiff and sore. Even putting on my socks was a challenge.
I tried this and that and there was improvement but not a complete solution. I tried yoga but hated it. I tried exercising but I already get enough of that with the farm. I tried eating different but that was just a challenge to know what to eat, what not to eat, I just didn't have directions. What happened to our owner's manual? Life would be so much easier.
Well, the wonderful Marth Krejci, gave me the owners manual. It came in the form of an 11-day jumpstart that I did the beginning of January. It has the food to eat. When to eat it. The Water to remove the toxins. The supplements to latch on to toxins and allow the water to remove them. It was easy. Step by step. For the first time in years, I am looking forward to spring riding! I am looking forward to the grandkids visiting.
I feel GREAT! The flexibility and balance I have gained reduced my anxiety getting on my horses!
If you would like to check out the 11-day program (and the bonus stuff I am throwing in for horse people!), just click here!
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!
I used to think that riding, was a great way to tone my body and get my exercise, but then I realized that getting in shape, especially balance and flexibility would help my riding and my courage!
Riding does help keep my body toned and in shape. People say the horse does all the work and I just offer to let them take a horse around a course of jumps. It is a lot more strength than anyone really thinks about. Riders are athletes just as much as their horses, except maybe those that just relax on easy trail rides (which I used to do).
Let's take it a step further. If we can improve our balance and our flexibility, we can be better riders and then gain even more strength and benefit from the riding. I recently did an 11-day jumpstart program to reduce inflammation and I was shocked at how much better I felt overall. My wedding ring fit over my knuckles, which it hadn't done in three years! I could touch the ground at my feet, which I am not sure I have ever been able to do.
This newfound flexibility is a breath of fresh air. I can't wait to get riding this spring now that I feel GREAT, my body feels better, and even though I didn't want to, I lost weight. Most of all, with reduced inflammation, my energy levels are through the roof! That means cleaning the tack room, cleaning tack, mucking stalls, and all the other chores are so much easier.
So, back to the question, how does horse riding affect your body? Well, the riding improves how my body is toned but all the other things I can improve about my health, improve my riding and that to me is everything! Bring on SPRING!
If you want in the next 11-day jumpstart for riders, Click here!
