Learn how to strengthen your core to improve your back and leg endurance while riding.

By Emily J. Harrington

My last entry addressed endurance and stamina as part of your workout plan to stay in shape for riding.

Next, I’ll look at what you, as a rider, can do out of the saddle if your back and/or legs get tired while you are riding.

I can’t say it enough:  Core, core, core! We are talking abdominals, chest and back muscles. Think of it like posture maintenance. How many of you slouch around at work and home, until you find yourself in the saddle miraculously sitting up straight like you are dining with the Queen of England? Are you slowly raising your arm?

Most of us have an imbalance of back strength to abdominal strength. Think of the front to the back of your upper body staying in constant communication. If your ab muscles are not talking, then your back is going to be doing all the work it can to keep good posture in the saddle.

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Accomplished horsewoman and fitness expert Emily Harrington offers stretching advice for equestrians.

Have an equestrian fitness question? Comment below, and we'll work hard to find you an answer!

By Emily J. Harrington

Question:

Is it important for riders to stretch before or after a ride?

Answer:

How many of us have seen one of those good ol’ cowboys?

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Accomplished horsewoman and fitness expert Emily Harrington offers advice on dealing with an injury and getting back in the saddle.

Have an equestrian fitness question? Comment below, and we'll work hard to find you an answer!

By: Emily J. Harrington

Question:

I recently had foot surgery, which involved inserting a rod and screws. I really need to work out, but I’m not sure where to start.

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Learn to control and recognize changes in your horse’s gait through controlling your breathing.

Have an equestrian fitness question? Comment below, and we'll work hard to find you an answer!

Question:

I have trouble keeping my gelding going at a consistent speed. What can I do to help keep him at a steady pace?

Answer:

From Linda Benedic, co-writer of “Yoga for Equestrians“

While you cannot control your horse’s sudden bursts of energy, you can control your rhythm as a rider and how you let your seat effect your horse. To have this control, you must be able to control your breathing and, in consequence, your body.

Controlling the rhythm of your breathing can improve the consistency and cadence of your riding performance.

Riding is like a dance, and rhythm is fundamental. Moving in rhythm with the horse can become simple and natural once you become capable of orchestrating rhythm through the use of your breath.

Practice your rhythmic breathing at the walk first, then move into quicker tempo’d gaits. Inhale and exhale in counts of four – breath in for four counts, then breath out for four counts. Practice this at the walk first; it seems difficult in the beginning because your focus is on yourself and the horse. Once you have it mastered at the walk, move on to the trot and canter.

Counting your breaths improves your focus as a rider and increases your sensitivity to the movements of your horse. As you build your sensitivity to the movements of your horse, you’ll know how to feel if the horse gets ahead or behind you. Soon, you’ll recognize when your rhythm is off and be able to appropriately bring your horse back to the rhythm you determine, as opposed to following the horse’s irregularities or allowing the gait to become inconsistent.

Learn to relax and calm your showing nerves with yoga breathing exercises.

Are you a nervous rider? Try this four-step yoga breathing exercise from your saddle.

Question:

I get really nervous before I show, which makes my horse tense up, too. What are some exercises I can do to help me relax?
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Accomplished horsewoman and fitness expert Emily Harrington offers advice for staying in shape even when you can’t get to the barn.

Have an equestrian fitness question? Comment below, and we'll work hard to find you an answer!

By Emily J. Harrington

Question:

If I can’t make it to the barn to ride, what can I do at the gym to stay in shape for riding?

Answer:

As a rider, you are an athlete. Although nothing can replace riding for perfecting your ability in the saddle, there is a lot you can accomplish without your four-legged friend.

Ask yourself what your weaknesses are in the saddle. Is it your overall endurance or stamina? Do your legs or back become tired while you are riding? How is your balance? Are you riding centered?

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Try this easy exercise specifically designed for equestrians.

Have an equestrian fitness question? Comment below, and we'll work hard to find you an answer!

Question:

I’ve been trying to work on strength exercises so that I’m stronger in horsemanship and hunt seat equitation classes, but I still don’t feel as strong in the saddle as I could. Are there special exercises for equestrians?

For our answer, we turned to “Fit to Ride” in the February issue of The American Quarter Horse Journal, where Michael C. Meyers, a senior research scientist in health at Montana State University in Bozeman, lent his sports physiology knowledge. Michael has worked extensively with equestrian and rodeo athletes on and off the horse.

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Help for a rider with painful knees after practicing with heel-down stirrups.

Question:

Are your stirrups causing you knee pain?

Has anyone ever heard of heel-down stirrups  (a special stirrup you can buy for English saddles that is contoured to enforce proper foot positioning) causing or contributing to knee? problems in riders. I’m trying to figure out if the stirrups are causing me problems, or is it that I’m just getting longer in the tooth.? I can’t remember having this issue before I switched to heel downs. I’ve been riding them for six, maybe as long as 10 years.

Thank you.

Greg Gaston

Answer:

Greg,

Knees can take such a beating from riding, even if you aren’t ‘long in the tooth!’

Here is what is happening.  Imagine yourself just standing — feet parallel, knees over feet, right below hips, and so on. This is considered neutral for the joints in your body. When you mount up, take notice in the change of your alignment. Your hips are open (abducted), the knee, slightly bent in flexion, is wrapped around your horse, and your ankles are hanging below your knees. Even though it seems like the knees are not that compromised, that “wrapped” feeling around the horse translates to stress around the joint. Now add to that the motion of posting. The knee cap is now tracking up and down to the posting rhythm, but since you are no longer in neutral, it is forced to take a different track that over time causes some wear and tear. If you place your hand on top of your knee while seated in a chair and ask for the leg to extend out you might feel, or even hear, some crunchiness in the joint. Condromalatia is the result of the patella (knee cap) forced out of neutral glide as the knee goes from flexion to extension.

So, Greg, it could be that the stirrups are contributing to the increased knee pain, but since I have never had an experience with them, I cannot say for sure. I would suggest going back to your old stirrups and doing a little experiment. Meanwhile, ice those knees just like you would do for your four-legged friend and get a little recovery time before you try your experiment.

Good Luck!

– Emily J. Harrington, CPT, Equestrienne Fitness Trainer

Got an equestrian fitness question for Emily? Comment below, and your question could be featured on this blog.