Physical Fitness
Riding horses is a strenuous physical activity that requires some fitness and flexibility on the part of both horse and rider. Anyone who thinks the horse does all the work and doesn't understand how riding can be good exercise has either never been on a horse or has merely been a passenger on a horse instead of a true rider.
Prepare and condition your horse for the level of riding you plan to use her for. If you take her out just on weekends for trail rides a mile or two long, being a little overweight and out of shape probably won't hurt her.
Don't expect a horse you normally take on two-mile trails to go out on a twenty-five-mile trail ride without coming home sore or lame. It just isn't fair to the animal. If you want to do that twenty-five-mile ride, plan months ahead for it, and condition your horse gradually by riding her consistently on longer and longer rides.
If you live in the northern states where winter is mostly down time, gradually build your horse up for the riding season. Take him to an indoor arena a couple of times a week if you can and keep him in some level of shape over the winter. Increase your conditioning as warmer weather approaches.
Keeping horses provides you some strength training just by doing day-to-day chores such as lifting water buckets, hay bales, grain bags, bags of shavings, and so on. But there are some things to add to your overall fitness regimen that can be helpful, specifically for riding.
As with any physical activity, you should do some warm-up stretches before you get on your horse. Yoga is especially beneficial to riders because of the increased stretching and flexibility it gives you. When your body is more supple, you can move with the horse better and liven up the energy level that needs to transfer from you to the horse.
Your lower back absorbs a lot of the shock of the motion of riding. A strong back and corresponding strong abdominal muscles will help keep this shock absorption from making your back hurt. Strong abdominal muscles will also help your posture in the saddle. Adding stomach crunches to your exercise program can help.
