Health & Environment

Study Examines Health Benefits Of Horseback Riding

A study revealed many benefits for those engaging in horseback riding activities.
By Blair Fannin, Texas A&M College of Agriculture & Life Sciences June 18, 2015

a horse and rider

(Shutterstock)

A study revealed many benefits for those engaging in horseback riding activities and for the first time, attempted to define the amount of energy expended in several common riding events.

Dr. Dennis Sigler, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horse specialist and professor in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University in College Station, and graduate student Colleen O’Reilly, teamed with three other researchers to explore the amount of energy expended during high-intensity horse riding activity.

The research is published in the International Journal of Exercise Science.

“We all know riding horses is good exercise,” Sigler said. “Riding a horse for 45 minutes at a walk, trot and canter can burn up to 200 calories. It you do something a bit more strenuous such as cutting or reining, that can come out to nearly seven calories per minute for the entire length of the riding period.”

Continue reading on AgriLife Today.

This article by Blair Fannin originally appeared in AgriLife Today.

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