Benefits of horseback ridng - Part 1

I already had this post going through my head when I wrote "Why horses?".  But, being me, I wanted to find some writings that supported my beliefs.  So, 'why horses' and what are the benefits of working with and riding them?

First site I found was helium.com talking about all the benefits of riding.  One that I have always felt are it's work out of the torso, or "the dorsal and abdominal regions".  Riding horse also definitely engages muscles you 'never knew you had', which is why people are so sore after they're first couple rides.  When I was in to PT this last time I surprised them some with the stength of my addctor leg muscles (which I attribute to years of horse back riding), we also concentrated on my torso because I was literally holding myself up when I tried to ride a little - which still happens when I get fatigued, but that's only been after riding a long ways.  Yes, I use my riding as a gauge on how I am doing physically.  I was surprised to read that "A 140 pound person riding a horse that's walking will burn about 2 calories a minute. The same person on a trotting horse burns 6 calories per minute, and galloping would burn 8 calories a minute. (Incidentally, even grooming a horse helps you lose unwanted fat a 140 pound person burn 6 calories each minute tending their equestrian ride.)"... that would also explain why the majority of horseback riders I know and the ones you see in competion are thin (not meaning model thin - fit thin, I still can't seem to loose my 'baby pooch' belly! lol)  The page also mentioned lower impact exercise and diabetes, but what I found most interesting was the mention that caused "Japanese engineers in 2005 to develop fitness machines that simulate the actions and physical affects of riding a horse."  My PTs I woked with mentioned that they'd heard of such a machine when I was asking about why riding was so good for me last winter. Here's one made in China, Horse Riding Machine.

The PTs, and all the therapuetic riding instructors I've talked to figure that horses are so benefical because of the three way movement, up-down, side to side, and front to back.  I've tried finding scientific research showing the benefits, but it can be hard to find.  Resently, I found Does Horseback Riding Provide Exercise And Physical Conditioning Benefits? in an Equestrian Health article in North Americain Horseman's Association that details research carried out by Micheal C. Meyers, PhD, MS. FACSM who work with Indiana State University and Texas A&M's Equine program.  The factors Dr. Meyers found unique to riding worses is that many riding acitivities, such as to timed events, are an aerovic, though even pleasure riding fits into that category at times.  Then there is the joining of two living creatures.  This "requires that the rider has proper balance , flexibility, coordination, strength, and power skills.  In addition, the rider uses man different parts of his or her body at the same time..."(Pg 1)  Then it goes on to talk about how horseback riders do not get the recovery time of athletes in other sports because ot the care required of the horses.  Over the 14 week testing/training session of college-aged horseback riders who had an average of 40 minutes a day of structured riding instruction during the session, they found "anaerobic power or stmina, abdominal, back and hand strength" showed moderate improvement. (Pg 2) All that said, many participants were surprised to find that other exercises were required to go along with riding in order to truely get fit.  Listed and explained are; stretching exercises, rotater cuff flexibility exercises (to reduce the number of injuries riders acquire to that area), lunge exercises, lifting small handweights, abdominal and inner leg exercises, and aerobic exercises.  At a conference Dr. Meyers presented his findings at, he was asked about there having 'to be some physical benefit to riding', to which Meyers replied, "If you do not ride frequently, or have never riden a horse before, then the resistance experience in riding will improve physical response to a certain level.  For example, disabled riders can benifit greatly from the resistance of riding.  So you can develop a certain level of fitness from riding .  What we are saying is this; the training response from just riding is not high or challenging enough that we can depend upon it to keep us health into the future, to improve us and keep us riding throughout our lives.  It simply does not mee our needs.  Without progressive resistance to improve, at some point, one will plateu or level off i their fitness level and not continue to improve." (Pg 5)