Horseback riding is an athletic endeavor, just ask anyone who has felt head-to-toe sore after a long day in the saddle. And like any other sport, the more physically fit you are when you ride, the better you'll perform. Not only that, but you'll be less likely to suffer a riding-related injury.
The bad news: You're not going to get in shape from riding alone. Horseback riding is great for building balance and working specific muscles, but additional exercise, both strength training and aerobic, can have a profound positive effect on your riding, says Katie Mital, B.S., ACE, CPT/CES, a certified personal trainer in Bend, Oregon. Katie is an avid rider as well as a fitness professional. She does local and long-distance consultations for equestrians, with her clients ranging from trail riders to competitive jumpers.
The following are exercises Katie recommends for riders of all disciplines. The program focuses on a mix of core strength, balance and flexibility, all things that will make you more physically fit and improve your riding.
Core strength. Your core is your powerhouse of strength and the base of your riding seat. "It's your abdominals, lower back, hips, butt and upper legs," Katie says. Building core strength improves your riding posture and protects your back from possible injury.
Warm up for five to 10 minutes before working on core strength by taking a walk around your neighborhood or down the driveway. Or tack strength training to the end of your regular cardiovascular training. Do two to three sets of 10-15 repetitions of each core-strength exercise (not including the plank), adding reps as you get stronger.
Stretching. It's not the actual stretching that helps our riding, but rather the long-term flexibility created by including stretching in our daily routine. Long, limber muscles help prevent riding injuries such as pulled or sore muscles. Many riders develop stiffness in their hips, hamstrings, chests and shoulders due to our constant position in the saddle, says Katie.
When we're riding, our heels are down, which stretches our calves, but our knees and hips are closed in a sitting position, allowing the muscles around these major joints to become tight.
"We also tend to roll our shoulders forward and ball up," Katie says. This hunched posture also seeps into our daily lives spent over computers, she points out, which creates tightness through our chests and jeopardizes our necks and backs.
