Calories for horsey activities?

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missfancy1980
missfancy1980 Posts: 326
in Health and Weight Loss
I lunge my horse 5/6 x per week for 20 mins. ride ( low - medium level schooling) 3 x per week for 30 - 45 mins, and the occasional hack for an hour+. In between times I'm tacking up/ untacking, grooming, walking to and from the field, poo picking (she's out 24/7), putting on/ taking off rugs, sweeping the yard etc.

Any idea how many cals roughly various horsey activities like these burn?

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  • mountainmare
    mountainmare Posts: 294 Member
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    According to my HRM grooming for 30 min about 120 cal. Dressage schooling (alot of forward trot work) 50 min about 430 cal. Of course spooking and other horsey behavior has in the past sort of increased the output--due to in increase in my heartrate--but this is usual for a normal session. For me trotting uses the most cals either sitting or rising. I do lunge but it doesn't use much, my mare is a lunging pro so I really don't have to do much when I lunge her to warm up.
  • Sullivanwilson
    Sullivanwilson Posts: 30 Member
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    I think you need a HRM to log any barn time. I keep telling myself I'm going to buy one but it has yet to happen.

    MFP has calorie counts for walk, trot and general and I use them as rough guidelines because I have no idea if they're actually accurate. And if I canter/jump etc. I have zero clue how many calories I've used. Same thing for mucking stalls, grooming etc.

    You could just log your barn time (out of the saddle) as walking, that way you're getting something on the books! And bonus points if you're walking while pushing a wheelbarrow with 50 lbs of manure, through mud, and uphill.
  • missfancy1980
    missfancy1980 Posts: 326
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    Lol I love the bonus points idea - that's exactly what i WAS doing until a week or so ago when the weather changed to something a little better :D

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