How "physical" is horse riding......?

Question

My new friend keeps suggesting we ride together but she's much more experienced than I am and I'm worried she'll ride me into the ground and I'll regret it the next day!

What should I do?

Any great exercises I can do to prepare? (I'm pretty much in shape anyway but should I begin to work on anything specific?)

Answer 1

Firstly make sure that she is talking about horse-riding - sound tooooooo physical and discriptive to be equestrian.  The main question to ask would be: would either of us regret it the next morning??

Answer 2

Walking on your horse is not physical, but trotting, cantering and the gallop is physical for you.

Answer 3

try riding bareback...if you can master that you will be heads above your saddle partner!

Answer 4

it is very phisical

if ur not training then dont do it cause ut inner thighs will kill for a long time

Answer 5

It depends on how much you're going to do on the horse.  If you're going to trail ride or something like that, you're mostly sitting on the horse at a walk.  In that case, it's not very physical at all... you'll feel fine the next day.

If you're riding a horse that will go forward without a lot of encouragement from your leg and you're riding in a western saddle, then even if you're trotting a lot, you shouldn't feel a lot of pain the next day.

As a true beginner, you probably won't know enough to use your legs the way that you need to, so your legs won't hurt the next day.  I mean if you were going to do a lot of posting trot or a lot of canter on a horse needs a lot of leg to go forward, then your legs would hurt the next day a lot.  But as a true beginner, you likely will not do a lot of posting trot and probably won't canter at all... and if you get a slow horse, you probably won't have the leg muscle to push it forward.

There is a good chance that if you ride for a long time at the trot and maybe a little canter, your legs will hurt the next day.  Personally, I love riding and would recommend it to anyone.  I've ridden a lot and there are still times that my legs hurt the next day (especially if I do a lot of no stirrups work).  If you do a lot of work on the horse, you'll probably feel tired after you get off... you'll want to just sit and watch tv for the rest of the day.  the next day your legs might hurt a little, but the ache should be gone by the second day after riding.  To me, that ache feels good because it means that I'm getting stronger.

If you don't want to hurt too much, then don't ride too much... do a lot of walking on the horse and take breaks if it's hard to get the horse to trot.  I love riding... i highly recommend that you do it too!

Answer 6

i've been riding for about 4 years now and let me tell you. no matter how physically fit you are, you will hurt the next day if it's your first time. ok uhm...stretch ur legs out. you want your legs to be long so don't run. when your legs are long they will help you hold on to your horse better. also, stand on the stairs with your heals hanging half way off and down. this way you will be able to keep your heals down more easily when riding, which is important for security. have fun being an equestrian!

Answer 7

I've just started learning to ride, trust me, your bum and thighs will hurt the next day!

Answer 8

Make sure you stretch well before you get up there for sure, you don't want to strain anything! It is good to have strong abs to balance yourself, rather than squeezing with your legs for balance (which can make them very sore).

Don't let anyone tell you riding is easy and the horse does all the work. If you are going for a nice walk, then it is barely any work for you, but if you are trotting (especially if you are posting - rising up and out of the saddle every other stride the horse takes). Seeing as it is your first time, I really doubt your friend is going to have you trotting already.

This site has a few really good exercises that will help you prepare:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Good luck, and have fun!

Answer 9

Riding a horse can exercise your whole body, if you are relaxed while on the horse.  The best thing to do is ride several times, and then your body will get used to it.  Whenever I tried stretching, before I rode, it didn't do any good, it was just riding, over and over again, that helped the muscles.  Good luck, and have fun.

Answer 10

It can be very physical. However, she is not tring to kill you. She could ride you into the ground, but chances are she just wants to go on an nice and easy trail ride. Don't worry and go for it.

Answer 11

very very very physical....but you can take it slow if you need to, get used to it, break yourself in......ever heard of Kegel exercises? try those.....and then practice saying YES YES YES.........

Answer 12

Very physical for the horse.....