Riding a horse burns a surprising number of calories, making it a great form of exercise. The exact number depends on many factors, like the rider’s weight, the horse’s gait (speed), and how much effort the rider puts in. Generally, you can expect to burn anywhere from 180 to 650 calories per hour while horseback riding.
Deciphering Horse Riding Calorie Expenditure
Many people think riding a horse is a gentle, relaxing activity. While it can be relaxing, it is also a physical workout. Riding engages your core, legs, and arms constantly. This constant subtle movement adds up to significant horse riding calorie expenditure.
Factors That Shape Your Burn Rate
The number of calories in horse riding per hour is not fixed. Several key elements change how much energy you use. Think of it like walking—a brisk walk burns more than a slow stroll.
Rider Weight Matters
Body weight is a major factor in any calorie burn calculation. A heavier person needs more energy to move their body and maintain balance against the horse’s movement. This is true for almost all physical activities. If you weigh more, you will naturally burn more calories doing the same task.
The Horse’s Speed and Gait
The speed of the horse greatly affects the workout intensity. Different gaits require different levels of muscular effort from the rider.
- Walking (Slow Pace): This is the least strenuous. It burns fewer calories, similar to a slow walk on the ground.
- Trot (Medium Pace): This requires more work from your core and legs to absorb the bounce. This increases the energy burned horseback riding.
- Canter or Gallop (Fast Pace): These faster gaits demand significant engagement to stay balanced and absorb the motion. This provides the highest equestrian exercise calorie count.
Rider Involvement: Active vs. Passive Horse Riding Calories
This is a crucial distinction for horse riding calorie expenditure.
- Passive Riding: This means you are just sitting, perhaps walking or standing on the stirrups, letting the horse do all the work. This burns the lowest number of calories.
- Active Riding (or “Working the Horse”): This involves actively using your seat, legs, and reins to guide the horse, asking for changes in speed or direction. This uses many muscles and significantly boosts the calories in horse riding per hour. If you are riding without a saddle (bareback), the calorie burn goes up even more because you have to work harder to stay on and balance.
Energy Burned Horseback Riding: A Comparative Look
To see the fitness impact of horse riding, it helps to compare horse riding to walking calories.
| Activity | Duration | Estimated Calories Burned (155 lb person) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow Walk (3 mph) | 1 Hour | ~250 calories | Similar to walking pace. |
| Horseback Riding (Walk) | 1 Hour | ~250 – 300 calories | Slightly higher due to balancing needs. |
| Horseback Riding (Trot) | 1 Hour | ~350 – 450 calories | Requires core engagement. |
| Brisk Walk/Light Jog (4 mph) | 1 Hour | ~350 calories | Faster ground movement. |
| Horseback Riding (Canter) | 1 Hour | ~450 – 600+ calories | High intensity, high engagement. |
| Jogging/Running (5 mph) | 1 Hour | ~550 – 650 calories | High cardiovascular effort. |
As the table shows, an active trot or a steady canter can match or even surpass the calorie burn of a brisk jog. This proves that horse riding is a legitimate form of exercise.
Detailed Calorie Counts for Horseback Riding Per Hour
We can get more specific about the calories in horse riding per hour based on published exercise data. Remember, these are estimates.
H4: Walking Gaits
When riding at a walk, the primary muscle effort is maintaining posture and staying balanced.
- Casual Walk (150 lbs rider): Burns around 200 to 250 calories per hour.
- Working Walk (Asking for collection or specific transitions): Burns closer to 275 to 325 calories per hour.
H4: Trotting Gaits
The trot introduces a rhythmic bouncing motion. Your leg and core muscles must work constantly to absorb the shock and maintain stability.
- Easy/Posting Trot (Rider periodically stands in the stirrups): Burns about 350 to 400 calories per hour for a 155 lb rider. Posting uses leg muscles intensely.
- Sitting Trot (Rider remains seated, absorbing the motion): This can be harder on the core and lower back, often resulting in a similar or slightly higher burn than the posting trot.
H4: Faster Gaits (Canter and Gallop)
These faster speeds require the most physical input from the rider to control the horse and absorb the increased momentum.
- Canter (Medium speed, three-beat gait): A steady canter can lead to 450 to 550 calories burned per hour.
- Gallop (Fastest speed, four-beat gait): If maintained for a solid period, this is the most demanding, pushing calorie burn past 600 calories for heavier riders actively controlling the horse.
The Fitness Impact of Horse Riding
Riding is more than just burning calories; it offers specific physical advantages that other exercises might miss. The fitness impact of horse riding centers on balance, core strength, and posture.
H5: Core Strength Development
Every time the horse moves—stepping, turning, or changing pace—the rider’s core must stabilize the trunk. This constant, low-level isometric contraction builds excellent core strength. This is vital for good posture both on and off the horse.
H5: Leg and Hip Flexibility
Maintaining the correct leg position and applying aids (cues) requires using inner thigh muscles and hip flexors. Over time, this improves hip mobility.
H5: Upper Body Engagement
While the lower body does much of the stabilizing, the arms and back are engaged to hold the reins, manage steering, and communicate with the horse. This builds muscle endurance in the arms, shoulders, and upper back.
H5: Cardiovascular Health
Sustained trotting and cantering elevate the heart rate significantly. This aerobic activity strengthens the heart and lungs, offering measurable cardio benefits of horse riding for fitness.
Fathoming the Calorie Burn: Individual Considerations
To truly know your energy burned horseback riding, you must consider individual variables beyond just weight and speed.
H4: Skill Level
A beginner rider is often tense. They grip tightly with their knees and use their reins constantly to feel secure. This tension burns more energy than skilled riding, where movement is fluid and economical. An advanced rider uses subtle muscle shifts, while a novice uses large, exhausting movements. Therefore, beginners often have higher active vs passive horse riding calories.
H4: Tack and Equipment
What you ride in also plays a part.
- Saddle vs. Bareback: Riding bareback forces your thighs and core to work much harder to stay balanced. This dramatically increases the calorie count compared to riding in a standard English or Western saddle.
- Riding Gear: Heavy winter coats or heavy riding boots can add slight resistance, slightly increasing the energy needed.
H4: The Horse Itself
Not all horses move the same way. A large, warmblood horse with a very ground-covering, rhythmic trot will challenge the rider differently than a short-backed pony. If you are trying to gauge how much does horseback riding weigh in terms of effort, consider the horse’s natural movement style.
Therapeutic Riding Calorie Burn
Therapeutic riding is a specialized field where the physical and emotional benefits of horse riding for fitness are used to help people with disabilities. Even in a therapeutic setting, calorie expenditure occurs.
In therapeutic riding, the focus is less on speed and more on controlled movement. The therapist often encourages the rider to move with the horse’s gait, performing gentle exercises like reaching or raising arms.
While the goal is rehabilitation, the gentle, rhythmic motion of the horse’s walk still stimulates core muscles and improves balance. The therapeutic riding calorie burn is usually lower than competitive riding, often matching a slow, relaxed walk, but the functional fitness gains are immense.
Comparing Horse Riding to Walking Calories and Other Activities
When considering exercise options, it’s helpful to place riding in context. If you are asking, “Can I get a good workout riding horses?” the answer is yes, especially at faster gaits.
Consider a 170 lb person exercising for one hour:
| Activity | Estimated Calories Burned | Intensity Level |
|---|---|---|
| Slow Horseback Ride (Walk) | 280 calories | Low to Moderate |
| Brisk Walking (4 mph) | 340 calories | Moderate |
| Horseback Riding (Trot) | 450 calories | Moderate to High |
| Power Yoga | 400 calories | Moderate to High |
| Stationary Cycling (Light) | 420 calories | Moderate |
| Jogging (5 mph) | 595 calories | High |
This comparison shows that actively engaged riding (trotting or cantering) is comparable to moderate intensity cardio activities you might do in a gym.
Practical Tips to Maximize Your Calorie Burn While Riding
If you want to increase your equestrian exercise calorie count, focus on increasing intensity and engagement.
H5: Focus on Transitions
The moment you ask your horse to change from a walk to a trot, or a trot to a canter, you engage major muscle groups suddenly. Practice these transitions frequently throughout your ride. Each successful transition is a small burst of extra effort.
H5: Ride Uphill
Riding uphill is the equestrian equivalent of taking the stairs. Your horse has to work harder, and you must use your leg and core muscles more to maintain your seat and balance against gravity. This increases the overall load.
H5: Practice Rising/Posting the Trot
If your horse allows it, riding a posting trot (rising out of the saddle rhythmically) requires constant leg and glute work. This keeps the muscles firing harder than a relaxed sitting trot.
H5: Ride Without Stirrups (Under Supervision)
For experienced riders, occasionally removing the stirrups for short periods while walking or lightly trotting forces the inner thighs, hips, and core to engage fully to keep the leg long and stable. This is an advanced way to boost active vs passive horse riding calories.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
H3: What is the average calorie burn for an average-sized person horseback riding for one hour?
For a person weighing around 150 pounds, an average hour combining walking and light trotting usually results in burning between 300 and 400 calories. If the ride is faster (cantering), this number easily climbs toward 500 calories.
H3: Does how much does horseback riding weigh on my body matter for calorie burn?
Yes, the rider’s weight significantly impacts the calorie burn. Heavier riders expend more energy to move their mass and maintain balance compared to lighter riders performing the exact same maneuvers.
H3: Is therapeutic riding an effective way to burn calories?
Therapeutic riding burns fewer calories than high-intensity riding because the focus is on controlled, gentle movement beneficial for physical therapy, rather than speed. However, it still burns more than sitting still, often matching a very gentle walk (around 250 calories for an hour).
H3: How does the fitness impact of horse riding compare to swimming?
Swimming is generally a superior cardiovascular workout because it uses the entire body against water resistance. However, horse riding excels at building deep core stability and balance in a unique way that swimming does not. A hard canter session can burn calories similar to moderate swimming laps.