Horseback riding?

lemonlionheart
lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
edited April 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been invited to go riding with a friend this weekend, and I was curious about whether horseback riding actually burns any significant calories? I haven't ridden since I was a teenager and really can't remember if it involved much physical effort on my part or if it was pretty much just sitting on my butt the whole time. We'll be riding for around 2 hours but I'm not sure what the trail is like and if we'll be doing much more than walking. I checked the database and 'horseback riding, walking' gave me around 150 calories per hour, which is probably around what I would log for an hour of walking with my own legs so not sure if it is legit! Any riders out there try this with heart rate monitors? Do you find it's worth logging? (bear in mind I'm out of practice so probably won't be using great technique or attempting anything fancy!)

Replies

  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    If it's a pleasure ride, then it's probably not too many more than walking or yoga... I'd still log it. Horseback riding, even if hardcore, really isn't steady-state cardio in the same way as running or cycling, so an HRM probably isn't suitable to estimate the calories burned.

    I recently got back into riding after several years away, and even though I am pretty fit (and flexible), riding has reminded me that there are muscles that I haven't used in that way in a very long time--I was sore for a good 4 or 5 days after my first WTC (not even jumping) lesson!

    Have fun! Horses are still my favorite animal!
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    edited April 2016
    I don't think it's worth logging. There isn't much involved in sitting on a horse while it's just walking around. Maybe there might be if you were going at a faster speed or jumping where you would need to shift your weight. Sore muscles doesn't mean there was a significant calorie burn either. There may be a small number of extra calories burnt but I can't imagine it would be much more than you would burn driving a car. I would just write it off rather than worrying about the calories.
  • jsecret
    jsecret Posts: 606 Member
    If you're a beginner rider on an easy trail I would only log it as a slow walk, not as horseback riding. Even though it's not burning the calories I would also expect to be sore the next two days lol. "Just sitting there" as most people refer to it is going to use more muscle than you'd think. But it really doesn't do much for calorie burn.
  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
    You will feel muscles you never knew you had ! And will probably wish you didn't have.

    Worth it though. I wish I could afford lessons again.
  • Bluepegasus
    Bluepegasus Posts: 333 Member
    I ride the horse regularly and I don't log it. Just a leisurely hack isn't going to significantly burn calories, it would be different if you were jumping.
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    i ride dirtbikes and my Fitbit Surge calls it biking and logs it. I delete it. while there is some level of strenuous effort involved and my heartrate does increase i'd still rather choose to just consider it bonus becuase i really have no way of knowing if it anywhere near accurate.
  • kathryn671
    kathryn671 Posts: 6 Member
    KateTii wrote: »
    I don't think it's worth logging. There isn't much involved in sitting on a horse while it's just walking around.Beg to differ you are using core muscles and a lot of strength holding muscles in place for a period time if you didn't you would just fall off!'
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    if it's a leisurely ride, then probably not
    a more strenuous class/ride i might log it. Riding without saddle, reins, and stirrups, yah you work some muscles, and the posting can be aerobic
  • freddythefluffy
    freddythefluffy Posts: 13 Member
    I agree that if you're just walking on a trail, you're burning about as many calories as sitting on your couch.

    Really serious riding, however, is a VERY different story -- I was a competitive horseback rider for years, and my physician (who was also the physician for a lot of pro football & basketball players in my city) used to say I was more in shape than half of the guys on the pro basketball team, and had better muscle tone - lol. I did no other exercise, and ate all kinds of junk (soda, ice cream, you name it) to keep weight ON. That's a fun problem to have.

    Using a heart rate monitor, I often logged 600 cal/hr burn for serious rides (jumping, no stirrups for the full hour), and frequently would get up to ~400/hr for the peripheral stuff like tacking up and barn work. 3 hours of barn chores + 1 hour of intense riding = 1800 cal burnt in one exercise session. That means that for someone my height & weight (5'1", ~107lbs, ~17% bf at the time), my workouts were more than doubling my "calories out" every day.

    Bottom line, though, is that it varies hugely -- I'd probably still log a slow walking trail ride, but only at a rate equal to me doing a veeery slow walk on my own two feet.
  • KiraCharman
    KiraCharman Posts: 90 Member
    I cant understand some of the comments on this page and to be quite be honest a tad offended!!, and hate the opinion that horse riding is just sitting on a horse!!!! It actually involves and helps with co ordination, muscle strength, posture, works the core muscles, increases flexibility and there are many mental benefits also!
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,511 Member
    KiraCharman wrote: »
    I cant understand some of the comments on this page and to be quite be honest a tad offended!!, and hate the opinion that horse riding is just sitting on a horse!!!! It actually involves and helps with co ordination, muscle strength, posture, works the core muscles, increases flexibility and there are many mental benefits also!

    Sitting a walk on a docile trail horse isn't going to give her much of a workout. Now, if she wants pizza and beer calories, I have an OTTB she is welcome to hack around on. ;)
  • jsecret
    jsecret Posts: 606 Member
    KiraCharman wrote: »
    I cant understand some of the comments on this page and to be quite be honest a tad offended!!, and hate the opinion that horse riding is just sitting on a horse!!!! It actually involves and helps with co ordination, muscle strength, posture, works the core muscles, increases flexibility and there are many mental benefits also!

    As someone who has been riding for 25 years I can agree that horse back riding is more than just sitting on a horse... however unless you are doing some intense riding you aren't burning calories. A leisurely ride on a quiet trail mount is not worth logging. That's just reality.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    KiraCharman wrote: »
    I cant understand some of the comments on this page and to be quite be honest a tad offended!!, and hate the opinion that horse riding is just sitting on a horse!!!! It actually involves and helps with co ordination, muscle strength, posture, works the core muscles, increases flexibility and there are many mental benefits also!

    Reading "War and Peace" also has mental benefits, but I'm not logging the time I spent this weekend reading it. Just because an activity is valuable (or even healthful) doesn't automatically mean we should be logging it for the purposes of adding calories to our diet.
  • jessica22222
    jessica22222 Posts: 374 Member
    If you were posting then you'd get a burn. If you properly know how to ride a horse it's exercise for sure. Depending on the horses gate youll be burning calories. If your just sitting there at a walk it'd probably be similar to sitting on a couch lol.
  • Equus5374
    Equus5374 Posts: 462 Member
    I ride dressage and never feel as though my heart rate gets elevated. It's great for leg strength and core stability, but I never log it as a workout. Think about it, who's sweating after the ride? Right, the horse. Riding is a lot of work, but nothing similar to a cardio or strength training session.
  • Equus5374
    Equus5374 Posts: 462 Member
    edited April 2016
    "Reading "War and Peace" also has mental benefits, but I'm not logging the time I spent this weekend reading it. Just because an activity is valuable (or even healthful) doesn't automatically mean we should be logging it for the purposes of adding calories to our diet."[/quote]

    BOOM! :smiley:
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    Shame on you, stealing that poor horse's hard-earned calories!

    JK. Serious answer - nope, don't bother logging any calories. :smiley:
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited April 2016
    I log my rides. I did compare once day between walking and riding(general) the same amount of time. There is a fairly significant difference in the calories burned at least according to the app. Riding horses is more than just sitting there on your couch, even at a walk. Your couch is not constantly in motion requiring your core muscles to make constant fine adjustments to maintain your balance. You don't sit on the couch holding the remote slightly above your lap with extension in your arms. Those muscles are doing work when you are holding and using the reins. YOur legs are not hugging the footstool and from time to time tightening against it to guide it in another direction. There is a lot more to it than just sitting there watching the scenery go by.

    Have a great time! I can't imagine my life without horses in it.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    KiraCharman wrote: »
    I cant understand some of the comments on this page and to be quite be honest a tad offended!!, and hate the opinion that horse riding is just sitting on a horse!!!! It actually involves and helps with co ordination, muscle strength, posture, works the core muscles, increases flexibility and there are many mental benefits also!

    If this thread offends you, you may wish to avoid the MFP boards.
    BTW none of those things you mentioned burns any significant amount of calories, which was the OPs question...

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