Riding Fitness: What do you think?

Question

I'm a horseback rider and my brother is a soccer player. He keeps bothering me by telling me that riding doesn't take much fitness and that soccer does and that riding isn't a team sport.

What do you think?

Answer 1

you should already know the answer to this being that you are a rider yourself. riding takes a lot of talent and exercise. have him get on a horse and see how much he thinks that then

Answer 2

soccer takes altot of fitness...i'd say more than riding does (if your a recreational riderat leastt it does) but riding is a sport because you learn andpracticee to get better like any other sport. :) and its a team sport because your partner is your horse. :3

i'm in competition cheer leadin and volleyball and other odd sports it helps riding to keep strength and endurance so going so fast i don't get winded and need a break. :) maybe your brother means that? like a sport that conditions you to ride,  

Answer 3

I've heard it a million times: "Riding isn't a sport, it's not exercise. The horse does all the work and you just sit there."

I find that it's easier just to roll your eyes and change the subject. Unless you can get that person to spend a day working around a horse, they'll never understand. It's a battle that's destined to be lost.

Answer 4

hun, he couldn't be more wrong!!!! soccer really only takes a small amount of leg strength, compared to riding leg strength and hardly no arm muscle at all, where your pulling on reins and such, too.

take him riding for a few hours. if you do english, make him post, sit, 2 pnt without leaning on the horses neck. he won't last. beleive me. i've done it with my brother.

if you really hate him, take away his stirrups. haha.

Answer 5

um to ride it is really fitness to ride  

Answer 6

coool

Answer 7

It really depends on how you ride, and how you play football ( I am English), If you are only going to be doing a half hour trail ride or kicking a ball around in a park, then neither of these are going to require much fitness.

H

owever, both sports taken seriously, do require great levels of fitness I like to run, because this is good for cardio fitness, which really helps my riding.

Answer 8

I think you both have a lot to learn!

Riding is a team sport just not in the way soccer is you have to team up with your animal!  

The "fitness" of both sports is very different. I agree with the other poster, if you can't convince him otherwise have your brother ride for a few hours and see how he feels then!

Answer 9

I think he couldn't be more wrong lol. Maybe you should make him ride for a couple hours and then see what he says. Hopefully his legs will be rlly sore, then you can rub it in his face! lol As for the "team" part, you and your horse are a team, and what about polo? And more! Make him eat his words! (no offence intended to your brother!)

Good luck!

Edit* okay, who's going around "thumb down"ing evryone?

Answer 10

He is sort of right in the sense that riding doesn't have a team of humans.  (I am deliberately ignore the human/horse team since he would not understand that anyway)  However it can be a team sport when you do ride and ties or polo.

As far as fitness let me take him on a trail ride.  Lets see how he feels after ten or fifteen miles.

I can show a mean streak every once in a while.

Answer 11

Riding deffinatly takes alot more energy.

we have to muck out and we have to ride in special positions which are more strenous on your body.

Hes just jelous because horses are better than a ball.

Answer 12

yea all my sisters are cheerleaders and i hate cheerleaders. I chose the tomboy way of life with horses. And ive played soccer my whole life and i quit for horses.  Horseback riding is more a sport than soccer. you have to be able to control eleven hundred pounds of raw mucsle under your legs. make him sit in the saddle for a few hours

Answer 13

put him on a horse. my legs hurt after riding. especailly after jumping.  

Answer 14

*sighs* Brothers. Mine sounds the exact same as yours. ;)

I always just start blabbering on about, "Yeah its a sport! And its really good exercise to get you fit! And not only do you have to work hard while posting, and working on leads, and if you do roping and stuff, and blablabla... And it takes lots of physical work to even just TAKE CARE of your horse!"

Normally at that point he gets sick of my annoying sisterly blabbering and just walks away without a word. :D

Sheesh, what'll it take to get through to these non-equine boys sometimes? Lol jk