Rider Energy Expenditure During High Intensity Horse Activity.

This study quantifies the energy usage of horseback riders during three different activities. It finds that certain types of riding can be equivalent to other, more recognized forms of rigorous physical activity like jogging or playing soccer.

Objective of the Study

• The study was designed to capture and quantify how much energy is expended by horseback riders. This was in response to a notorious lack of information correlating horseback riding to other forms of physical activity.

Methodology

• Twenty horse riders took part in the study, wearing a telemetric gas analyzer during three different riding tests: a 45-minute walk-trot-canter ride (WTC), a reining pattern ride and a cutting simulation ride.
• Total energy expenditure (tEE), mean and peak metabolic equivalents of task (MET), heart rate (HR), respiratory frequency (RF), relative oxygen consumption (relVO), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were assessed during these tests.

Results

• The study found increased mean MET and HR responses during the long trot portion of the WTC and the cutting activity in comparison to the overall WTC.
• The study presented evidence that mean MET elevates as gait speed increases. For instance, METs were higher during long trot and canter compared to the walk or regular trot.
• As well, the research suggested equivalent levels of MET between all three horse riding activities tested and activities like jogging, playing soccer, and rugby. This finding implies that horse riding is a comparably intense physical activity, despite conventional implications and knowledge.
• Though cutting and reining exercises resulted in more intense exercise in shorter durations, WTC provided a greater total energy expenditure on the basis of activity duration.

Conclusion

• The study concluded that horseback riding could provide significant health benefits, particularly when undertaking more intense gaits. The findings emphasized that horseback riding is a physical activity that can be comparable in physical intensity and energy expenditure to other more well-known forms of physical activities, like soccer and rugby.