Horseback Riding for Cardiovascular Health and Well-being
Harness the health benefits
Horse riding for cardiovascular health and well-being.
Spending time around animals forms a Healthy Bond for LifeTM. And horse riding in particular promotes your health and well-being. Check out all these reasons to get in the saddle!
Horse riding helps with:
- Cardiovascular health - Horseback riding has been shown to be good aerobic exercise.
- Core strength - Maintaining good posture in the saddle ignites your core muscles.
- Muscle strength - Riding requires strength – so does saddling a horse, and carrying buckets of hay and water.
- Burning calories - A 45-minute ride at a walk, trot and canter can burn up to 200 calories.
- Lowering blood pressure - Exercise (like horse riding) lowers your BP, and so does spending time with animals.
- Relaxing and well-being - Riding, and being out in nature, helps many people melt away stress and find calm.
Horse Sense: Recreational horseback riders report a significantly higher sense of physical and emotional well-being and happiness than people who don’t enjoy the companionship of animals.
Rein In Stress: More than 80% of riders claim that horseback riding created feelings of relaxation and happiness.
“Nothing is so good for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.” This quote has been variously attributed to Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill, but it traces back further than that. Whoever said it was onto something!
Horses Have Heart: Animals bring out the best in us. And that’s especially true for horses. That’s why the American Heart Association has launched Horses Have Heart – a nationwide community celebrating the love of horses for good health and well-being.
Learn more about Horses Have Heart and healthy bonds with other animals at heart.org/pets.
