Someone who is around horses most of the time would agree that horses are more than just animals. They have been our loyal companions for thousands of years, and it is safe to say that we wouldn’t be able to make this progress throughout history without them.
Now we live in times when horse carriages are gone and we have modern cars, but this didn’t stop people from enjoying some horse rides in the countryside.
But did you know that going on a horse ride is not only fun but also therapeutic and comes with many health benefits?
Yes, this is true. In fact, horse riding can improve your cardiovascular system, which can drastically improve your health.
When we talk about horses, we usually think about horse racing. However, you don’t have to become a professional jockey in order to get the health benefits from being around horses. Even casual rides can improve your cardiovascular system.
Even if you are someone without any experience around horses, don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it really quickly, and it is not as dangerous as it seems. Learning to ride a horse is as easy as learning how to bet on horse racing, as you can see here: twinspires.com/betting-guides/beginners-guide-betting-horse-racing/
But, before you go on a horse ride, let’s find out all the cardiovascular benefits that come from riding these amazing creatures.
What Exactly is Cardiovascular Fitness?
Cardiovascular fitness is the capacity of your body to take in and use oxygen when exercising. It is also known as aerobic fitness. When exercising to improve cardiac fitness, the average person utilizes 70% of their maximal heart rate. So, if your maximal heart rate is 220 beats per minute, a cardio workout will lower your heart rate to roughly 155 beats per minute.
Cardio is inextricably tied to your entire health. Your heart grows slimmer as your aerobic fitness increases, and the muscles that assist you in breathing, such as the diaphragm, become stronger and more efficient. Cardio assists you in transitioning from couch potato to lean mean fighting machine.
Weight lifting may help you bulk up, but it will not lower your blood pressure, lessen your risk of stroke, or boost your oxygen intake in the same way that cardiovascular fitness would.
Cardiovascular Benefits of Horse Riding
Riding a horse gives beneficial cardiovascular activity. The British Horse Society commissioned research that discovered that simply half an hour of horse-related activities, such as mucking out, counts as moderate exercise, but trotting may burn up to 600 calories every ride!
Even when you’re back in the yard, whether you’re grooming, moving hay bales, lifting saddles onto the back of a horse, or carrying buckets, you’re burning calories. According to studies, this can cut the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 35%!
Another research, commissioned by the British Horse Society, discovered that horseback riding is a beneficial cardiovascular workout. Even a half-hour ride is deemed “moderate exercise,” according to BHS PR officer Megan Hawkins, “while trotting exerts more energy than playing badminton.”
Riding, in addition to strengthening and toning, provides a cardiovascular exercise. The more your horse works, the faster your heart rate and blood oxygen levels rise. You have to fight harder to keep your seat when your horse travels quicker or performs a difficult pattern. The thrill of competition generates an even higher spike in heart rate if you are competing, as many individuals in horseback riding groups do.
Improved physical strength and cardiovascular health are just two of the numerous benefits of spending time with your horse.
Other Health Benefits of Horse Riding
People who have never ridden a horse are prone to stating things like, “The horse is doing all the work.” For those of us who live in equestrian riding communities, this couldn’t be further from the reality.
Core Stability
Sitting tall and pressing your legs into your horse’s body activates the core muscles, which are essential for balance and posture.
Calorie Burn
Researchers at Texas A&M University focused on the quantity of energy used during high-intensity horseback riding in a study.
Dr. Dennis Sigler, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horse specialist and professor in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University in College Station, noted that riding a horse for 45 minutes at a walk, trot, and canter can burn up to 200 calories.
Lifting a saddle onto and off the horse’s back, lugging buckets of feed and water to the horse’s stall, and grooming all burn a lot of calories.
Lowering Blood Pressure
Lowering blood pressure is one of the advantages of horseback riding is exercise. This is really important since lowering blood pressure can lower the chance of developing heart disease. Being among animals has also been demonstrated to have this effect.
So, if you have a chance to go on a casual horse ride, make sure to do it. It will bring many health benefits, and on top of that, it is quite relaxing and positive for your mental health.
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.