7 Surprising Health Benefits of Horse Riding
Recognise any of these health benefits when it comes to time spent with our equine friends?
Equetech | July 31 20251. Improves Your Core Strength and Balance
Horse riding requires constant micro-adjustments to maintain balance. Your core muscles, especially the abdominals and lower back, are continuously working to help you stay upright and aligned in the saddle and with the horse's movements. Over time, this improves your posture, stability, and muscle tone.
In fact, a 2015 study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science found that regular horseback riding increased trunk strength and balance in adults. So whether you're trotting in a riding school, riding dressage movements or galloping against the clock in a show jumping class, your body is essentially doing a full-body stability workout.
2. Enhances Mental Health and Reduces Stress
Spending time with horses and riding outdoors in nature is proven to have excellent mental health benefits. Horse riding can help you manage stress by reducing your cortisol levels (the primary stress hormone). Riding also boosts your serotonin. This combination leads to a better mood and emotional balance.
Equine-assisted therapy is a popular treatment for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more. The rhythm of riding, combined with the bond you form with the horse, creates mindfulness and a calming mental state. It's not just exercise, horse riding is therapy on horseback!
3. Boosts Cardiovascular Fitness
Although it may not seem obvious, horse riding offers a distinctly different cardiovascular workout from the gym, especially during faster-paced activities such as cantering, jumping, or trail riding over uneven terrain. Riding for 45 minutes can elevate your heart rate, improve your physical fitness and help burn calories.
For anyone seeking a low-impact cardio activity, horseback riding is a fantastic way to boost your mood and your stamina without the harsh joint strain generally associated with running or other high-impact sports.
4. Strengthens Muscles and Improves Coordination
Horse riding is a full-body workout. It builds strength in the thighs, glutes, arms, and back. Reins require elbow stability and hand coordination, while your legs and seat control direction, speed, and balance.
Regular riding improves your mental clarity, decision-making skills, reflexes, and hand-eye coordination. It's also especially beneficial for people recovering from injuries or with neurological conditions.
5. Encourages Better Posture and Flexibility
Posture is everything when you are riding horses. Maintaining the correct riding form helps align the spine and trains the body to stay upright and flexible under dynamic conditions.
Horse riding improves the range of motion over time within your hips, pelvis, and spine and helps riders adapt to the horse's gait. This flexibility can lead to improved posture in daily life, reduced back pain, and increased joint mobility.
6. Increases Confidence and Emotional Intelligence
Handling a 500kg animal teaches you assertiveness, patience, and emotional regulation. Horse riders must be aware of both their own body language and that of the horse. These skills develop greater emotional intelligence and confidence.
Horses are regularly used in therapy and are now also considered a valuable asset in corporate activities, helping co-workers problem-solve and build trust, responsibility, and self-esteem. The learning curve can often be steep, but the personal growth from these sessions is significant.
7. Promotes Social Interaction and Outdoor Engagement
For equestrians, our equine friends provide social interaction like no other activity. The beauty of horse riding is that you can enjoy lessons with instructors, take trail rides with friends, or attend competitions, which bring a diverse mix of people together. The equestrian community is unique in that it provides a sense of belonging and unified passion that we can all relate to.
With most activities taking place outdoors, breathing fresh air and engaging with animals helps combat modern life stress and return to a more balanced life-work existence. For those of us fortunate enough to experience the countryside on horseback, the experience offers both social and environmental enrichment.
We know horses make us feel good, but now you know it's in more than one way!
Ready for a ride?
You'll need to ensure you're suitably dressed, as Liz Hayman, our equestrian designer, explains;
"Comfort and performance are paramount for reaping the health benefits of riding. The basic attire you need is a quality riding hat to a current safety standard, riding tops with good moisture-wicking properties, a pair of riding gloves for good grip and feel on the reins, a comfortable pair of breeches or riding tights, riding socks for comfort and a pair of short or long riding boots with an appropriate heel. As a rider, you will be outside in the elements, so choose waterproof riding coats and jackets that help protect you from the weather and are designed to be safe to wear in the saddle."
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