One Step at a Time
- Thread starter AnnSparks
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AnnSparks
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Well, today has been pretty good for exercise. I actually ended up riding 2 horses today. The first is Chester, the horse I ride for lessons. Then when I got home, I hopped on Sam and went for a ride on him as well. Between the two rides, I burnt over 300 calories in exercise, potentially even at the 400 mark so I think that's pretty decent.
The lessons are going well and my instructor says I'm one of the most experienced students she has so she's using me as a bit of a guinea pig to test out Chester and see what he'd be able to do with other students that are lower level. But by having me test him out, then if he freaks out, I at least know how to handle the situation and then the instructor would know that a different student shouldn't do that with him. Or would know he could do something for others if he did it well for me. So it's cool to know that she believes I'm a good enough rider to run tests on him with. These lessons are definitely helping to build up my confidence again which is something I despertly needed.
With this confidence boost, it also makes it easier for me to want to do stuff with Sam when we ride. Like today, I felt confident enough to actually canter him for the first time so that was pretty exciting. He didn't do too bad except he started to get excited after a few strides and wanted to do a little buck and prance cause he was feeling so good lol. So then I had to work on settling him down and getting him to behave again but by the end of our ride, he was a well behaved and calm horse again who remembered how to use his brain.
And the filly is continuing to do well too. I can go in and catch her with the lead rope and halter now. Her leading skills are improving as well. So I think pretty soon I'll be able to start going for walks with her which is really exciting.
We had a rainstorm and as you can see, Sam enjoyed rolling in the mud lol.
The lessons are going well and my instructor says I'm one of the most experienced students she has so she's using me as a bit of a guinea pig to test out Chester and see what he'd be able to do with other students that are lower level. But by having me test him out, then if he freaks out, I at least know how to handle the situation and then the instructor would know that a different student shouldn't do that with him. Or would know he could do something for others if he did it well for me. So it's cool to know that she believes I'm a good enough rider to run tests on him with. These lessons are definitely helping to build up my confidence again which is something I despertly needed.
With this confidence boost, it also makes it easier for me to want to do stuff with Sam when we ride. Like today, I felt confident enough to actually canter him for the first time so that was pretty exciting. He didn't do too bad except he started to get excited after a few strides and wanted to do a little buck and prance cause he was feeling so good lol. So then I had to work on settling him down and getting him to behave again but by the end of our ride, he was a well behaved and calm horse again who remembered how to use his brain.
And the filly is continuing to do well too. I can go in and catch her with the lead rope and halter now. Her leading skills are improving as well. So I think pretty soon I'll be able to start going for walks with her which is really exciting.
Great to hear about your progress with the riding--that must feel great to get that confidence boost.
I never realized before reading your diary that riding horses actually burns calories--i always imagined it was just a matter of sitting there and letting the horse burn all the calories--maybe i should get a horse--fun way to stay fit!
I never realized before reading your diary that riding horses actually burns calories--i always imagined it was just a matter of sitting there and letting the horse burn all the calories--maybe i should get a horse--fun way to stay fit!
AnnSparks
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@Cate
Ya, I definitely can feel my leg muscles getting used a lot more lol. And there's nothing overly risky about the "tests" we're doing.
@LaMaria
I'm glad that his picture could make you smile. He definitely loves rolling in the mud haha.
@liza
You're not the only one to assume that lol. But horseback riding is considered an actual sport. If you think about it, we ride ride 800+ pound animals that have a mind of their own (unlike a ball or stick of any kind for other sports). When they move, even at a walk, you use your core muscles to stay balanced. If you ride the trot, you use your core muscles plus the muscles in your legs since you're moving up and down with the beat of their steps. At the canter/lope, you have to use your core for balance, but again, you have to use other muscles since you have to rock your hips in time with their steps in order to be able to stay on and have a comfortable ride.
If you were to literally just sit there, you'd fall off as soon as the horse turned while riding at a walk lol. If you used your muscles to stay balanced, then you'd be fine. And as soon as you use your muscles for balance and whatnot, then you burn calories.
But yes, it's a very fun way to stay fit and use as a motivator to keep going with getting fit.
Ya, I definitely can feel my leg muscles getting used a lot more lol. And there's nothing overly risky about the "tests" we're doing.
@LaMaria
I'm glad that his picture could make you smile. He definitely loves rolling in the mud haha.
@liza
You're not the only one to assume that lol. But horseback riding is considered an actual sport. If you think about it, we ride ride 800+ pound animals that have a mind of their own (unlike a ball or stick of any kind for other sports). When they move, even at a walk, you use your core muscles to stay balanced. If you ride the trot, you use your core muscles plus the muscles in your legs since you're moving up and down with the beat of their steps. At the canter/lope, you have to use your core for balance, but again, you have to use other muscles since you have to rock your hips in time with their steps in order to be able to stay on and have a comfortable ride.
If you were to literally just sit there, you'd fall off as soon as the horse turned while riding at a walk lol. If you used your muscles to stay balanced, then you'd be fine. And as soon as you use your muscles for balance and whatnot, then you burn calories.
But yes, it's a very fun way to stay fit and use as a motivator to keep going with getting fit.
AnnSparks
New member
Very true. Though absolute beginners don't need to worry about that right off the bat. But ya, watching dressage riders is definitely the way to go to realize just how many subtle cues can be between horse and rider to get movement right to make it look like nothing is happen at all on the riders end.
AnnSparks
New member
Had a pretty awesome day. Went out and groomed Sadie for the first with the brush, plus led her around a bit more. She's progressing well. Then went out and showed my step-mom my little foal. She loved getting scratched and it was really cute just how much enjoyed it.
Also rode Sam around like usual. He's starting to settle down and get quieter which is nice. But I'm starting to feel the ache in my muscles for riding so much lol. But it's good since it means I'm actually using them and getting some kind of workout in.
Got lots of pics of all the horses today as well so there's probably going to be more posted this time than usual.
Also rode Sam around like usual. He's starting to settle down and get quieter which is nice. But I'm starting to feel the ache in my muscles for riding so much lol. But it's good since it means I'm actually using them and getting some kind of workout in.
Got lots of pics of all the horses today as well so there's probably going to be more posted this time than usual.
Beautiful pictures and yes, sounds like a lovely day! So happy for you that Sadie is feeling so comfy with you
lol that would be me!
AnnSparks
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You mean the dark spot? It's just mud from when she playing around lol
AnnSparks
New member
Today has been good so far. Spent time with the filly in the morning like usual and we're making good progress. Then moved onto working with Sam. He was lazy at first but once I got him going, well, he got a huge burst of energy and really started to just run around and have a blast lol. By the end of our ride, I was actually sweating pretty good and even Sam had started to sweat a bit too.
Oh, and yesterday I went for a bit of a walk in the evening with my stepmom as well. I never got sore or tired during it which felt nice. Felt like I could go double the distance.
Got a pic of Sam being lazy this morning, one of Sadie with the 3 swirls on her forehead, plus pics from my walk yesterday.
Oh, and apparently, having 3 swirls isn't overly common and tends to mean that the horse is insanely smart and very challenging/needs the right kind of training or else you'll just end up with trouble. So that was kind of interesting to find out.
Oh, and yesterday I went for a bit of a walk in the evening with my stepmom as well. I never got sore or tired during it which felt nice. Felt like I could go double the distance.
Got a pic of Sam being lazy this morning, one of Sadie with the 3 swirls on her forehead, plus pics from my walk yesterday.
Oh, and apparently, having 3 swirls isn't overly common and tends to mean that the horse is insanely smart and very challenging/needs the right kind of training or else you'll just end up with trouble. So that was kind of interesting to find out.
AnnSparks
New member
Today went differently than expected. Basically, what was intended to be a 30 minute walk turned into a 4 hour walk lol.
My mom invited me out on a hike with her, her coworker, and her coworkers kids. Well, they decided against my suggestion of going straight to get to our destination and opted for a different trail instead since they figured it was a shortcut. Turns out it wasn't a short cut but took us past where we wanted to go and all the way to the other side of the huge forest park we were in. And none of this trail was flat either. It was constantly up and down hills but a good chunk of those hills were steep.
Turns out, we walked a little over 9 kilometres and we took over 18,000 steps. So can't say I didn't get my exercise in today lol. Feeling very sore in my shins now plus I think I have blisters on my feet now. Oh, and the whole time I was packing a backpack with a couple of bottles of water and a little bit of food in it. So that added to it too. Should be interesting to see how sore I am tomorrow.
A few pics from our walk
My mom invited me out on a hike with her, her coworker, and her coworkers kids. Well, they decided against my suggestion of going straight to get to our destination and opted for a different trail instead since they figured it was a shortcut. Turns out it wasn't a short cut but took us past where we wanted to go and all the way to the other side of the huge forest park we were in. And none of this trail was flat either. It was constantly up and down hills but a good chunk of those hills were steep.
Turns out, we walked a little over 9 kilometres and we took over 18,000 steps. So can't say I didn't get my exercise in today lol. Feeling very sore in my shins now plus I think I have blisters on my feet now. Oh, and the whole time I was packing a backpack with a couple of bottles of water and a little bit of food in it. So that added to it too. Should be interesting to see how sore I am tomorrow.
A few pics from our walk