Equestrian

I'm just getting back in the saddles, too! I think it depends on what kind of riding you're doing. I've definitely had my heart rate up there with sitting trot and jumping, but trail riding, not so much. Right now, my horse and I are just getting back to work and I'm trying to get control of my limbs so I don't count it. Cleaning stalls, on the other hand, IS my workout! (no, seriously!)

I'd count it similar to weight lifting, which means I'd add a calorie or two per minute. It doesn't burn all that much.

When I was riding, the real calorie burns were in cleaning and tacking horses, walking horses cool (sometimes for hours in the Texas summer heat and humidity), exercising horses with long lines (meaning I was running behind them), and jogging next to students the few times I got to teach.

I do eventing and it is excellent exercise. Doing the conditioning rides especially maintaining two point definitely gets the heart rate up and gives the core muscles an excellent workout. Dressage also a good workout especially 2nd level and above.

I ride but I don't log it as a workout. The only thing I log as actual exercise is my running, I don't log anything else, not even my kettlebell workouts. Purely because I know roughly how many calories I burn running, with anything else, no idea, so best not to log it.

AmandaDanceMore wrote: »

I don't ride as much as I used to (re-prioritized my life a bit), but I was a professional in the horse industry for well over a decade. And, yes, I was very fit (not just from riding, but everything else that comes with running farms and teaching). I could eat like a total heathen (pretty much existed on coffee and cookies). I actually did try hard to do something above and beyond the riding at that time (usually cycling) because I needed to be as fit and strong as possible for my horses (I evented). Now I DO count my riding, though I don't rely on it alone. Since leaving the industry, I have struggled with my weight...it's hard to break bad eating habits and hard to find time for the same calorie burn in a day around work and life when it used to BE work that was the calorie burn!

Here's a pic of me in my hey day-

That horse is GORGEOUS! Never got into Eventing, but certainly wished I had.



I was very fit when I rode. 7 or so years every week consistently. A LOT of barn work. I couldnt eat enough to gain weight back then. Low level dressage, jumping, etc. But unfortunately the farm owner where I rode decided that I was much better at training her horses for her and I never got to advance into what I wanted to do. Instead I paid a god awful amount of money to ride there, meanwhile training horses for her to turn around and sell and pocket 100% of the cash.

I keep saying that one of these days I will get back into it. But it is very disheartening to go from training a wild mustang from Arizona, along with many other horses, to MANY years later (with atleast a 3 yr riding hiatus in between) and being thrown off a 13.1 pony with a bad attitude 3 times mid show.. I definitely feel like I have lost my groove.

I agree with everyone saying it seems like it SHOULD "count" as exercise but as far as MFP logging goes, when I was logging riding and using it in part to stay below my calorie goal, I wasn't losing weight. At least for me, whatever MFP calorie estimates are is way off, so I stopped. I just log hiking and running now.