A blog that focuses on our unique program that teaches natural horsemanship, heritage breed conservation, soil and water conservation, and even folk, roots, and Americana music. This blog discusses our efforts to prevent the extinction of the Corolla Spanish Mustang. Choctaw Colonial Spanish Horse, Marsh Tacky, and the remnants of the Grand Canyon Colonial Spanish Horse strain.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Collateral Benefits
I have always been interested in the health benefits of riding but have found little solid research on the matter. I have discovered that my pulse rate while cantering on a smooth Spanish mustang is the same as it is when I jog at 5 miles per hour. This summer we trained our horses pretty hard to prepare for the big ride. Nearly every morning this summer I cantered five miles on one horse or another, and spent most of the weekend in the saddle.
Here is the bottom line. I lost 17 pounds and my core muscles are stronger than they have been since I was a teenager. This is the key point. At 217 pounds I still exceed my "ideal" weight by about 70 pounds. Even if we made the number more realistic, I am about 50 pounds over weight.
At forty nine years old and fifty pounds over weight this exercise regimen contributed to a triglyceride level of 54 and a cholesterol count of only 148.
Riding, like any other exercise, must be done consistently and at a sufficient level of difficulty in order to produce results but it can produce results even better than that found in a gym.
Keep that in mind the next time someone tells you that "the horse does all the work" and that riding is not real exercise.
(Here are a few half Corolla and one full Corolla yearlings who spend little time worrying about their cholesterol levels.)
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