If you’re looking for an excuse to pick up horseback riding as a hobby – how about firm abs, toned legs, and increased balance and coordination?

Fact is, going for a ride twice a week will burn an extra 1,000 or so calories for someone who weighs 160 pounds, or 1,200 for someone who weighs 200 pounds. That’s the same effect as walking briskly for 50 minutes five days a week.

Not bad, especially considering most non-riders think “the horse does all the work.”

Getting physical

The above calorie count assumes you’ll spend about 30 minutes grooming and saddling a horse (120 calories), and ride about an hour, split between walking (30 minutes / 90 calories), trotting (20 minutes / 140 calories) and cantering (10 minutes / 90 calories). Given that expert riders look like they’re just sitting pretty, why is horseback riding such great exercise?

Picture yourself standing on a boat deck when a wake comes by and gently rocks it. You have to work to keep your balance, right? Similarly, keeping in balance on the back of a horse requires the use of “isometrics,” that is, your own muscles working against each other, simply to maintain the status quo of upright, with leg and hand in the correct position. So although an experienced rider seems to be doing not much of anything, under the surface, their muscles are operating in finely tuned harmony to stay at one with their mount.

That sounds tough – can I really do that?

You bet. From a child who’s just learned to walk, to people well into their golden years, horseback riding can be scaled to suit most anyone…and all enjoy the same extraordinary physical and mental benefits that being on the back of a horse offers.

What appears to be very difficult on your first ride will become so much easier by your third. But the great secret is that it doesn’t stop there, because horseback riding is unlike any other sport. It’s a partnership you build with another living being, and the layers of silent, physical communication will give you a lifetime of learning and enjoyment.