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| THE EQUESTRIAN ATHLETE |
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The Energy Cost of Riding
by Johanna Harris
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Is riding a horse as taxing as riding a surfboard or skateboard? Do we use as much energy riding and cleaning stalls as playing tennis and mowing the lawn? Well, it depends. We can make the energy cost, or energy demand, of riding as high or as low as we want, to a certain extent.
All good discussions about energy begin with food. The energy you need to groom, ride, and clean stalls comes from food and it's right there on the box--350 calories per serving. The caloric content, or energy value, of food is determined by measuring the amount of heat generated when it's burned in a calorimeter. Each kilocalorie, or calorie, equals the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.
Since measuring the heat riders generate is out of the question, researchers measure the amount of oxygen they consume to find out how much energy is being used--or as we say, how many calories are being burned. This works because we use oxygen at a fairly constant rate to convert food into usable energy. It takes roughly one liter of oxygen to burn five calories.
This relationship between using oxygen and burning calories makes it possible to estimate the energy costs of trotting and galloping--and it makes it possible for us to compare these energy costs to that of mowing the lawn. The amount of energy we use can be classified according to the number of METs, or Metabolic EquivalenTs, required--a system based on the amount of oxygen needed for energy per minute while resting quietly. (One MET equals three-and-a-half milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute.) A physical activity that is 6 METs means that we'll use six times more oxygen doing it than while resting quietly on the couch. METs give us a convenient way of measuring and comparing the energy costs of physical activities as well as the amount of physical exertion or effort required (see chart).
The problem is that the amount of energy you use to catch Sunny, tack him up and gallop off into the sunset is a very personal figure. It depends on your body weight, the smoothness and efficiency of your movements, how hard you work to control your horse's movements, and, of course, what you're doing at the time. Heavy-set equestrians expend more energy catching their horses than slender equestrians do; novices expend more energy balancing themselves at the sitting trot than Olympians; trainers expend more energy cantering green horses than nonchalant pleasure riders on well-schooled mounts; and quick-maneuvering polo players expend more energy than sight-seeing trail riders. Even with this personal stuff aside, we can still come close to determining the energy costs of riding by using a caloric expenditure chart and making adjustments for body weight (see chart).
To find out how many calories you burn, add 10% for every 15 pounds you weigh over 150 pounds or subtract 10% for every 15 pounds you weigh less than 150 pounds. For example, a 135-pound woman burns roughly 405 calories an hour at the sitting trot [450 - (450 X .10) = 405].
So how much energy does it take to ride and take care of horses? After all of this, we can still say that it depends. We can also say that the energy we expend riding and doing barn work is rarely more than an optimal amount. |
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A few years ago, most equestrian activities fell far short of providing the exercise needed for health and fitness according to the American College of Sports Medicine or the American Heart Association. For years, these organizations demanded that we need 20 to 60 minutes of vigorous exercise, three to five days a week, to keep the heart, lungs, and blood vessels in good working order. Recently, however, the Surgeon General released a report on physical activity and health that suggests equestrians might be on course after all.
The report challenged the health industry by stating that we can stay fit by moving around less vigorously, yet more frequently. It says that we should perform at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, seven days a week--exercising for a longer period of time if the activity is less vigorous and a shorter period of time if it's more vigorous. The report has a long list of suitable activities, but cleaning stalls, grooming, and riding aren't on it. I'd say that an hour a day of shoveling, grooming, and riding should keep us quite fit!
© 1998 by Johanna L. Harris. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Johanna L. Harris has an M.A. degree in Physical Education, Exercise and Sports Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the editor/publisher of The Equestrian Athlete, a monthly newsletter providing equestrians with exercise and sport science information. You can also reach her at (800) 404-8514.
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