Can horse riding help you lose weight? How often and for how long should you do horse riding to lose weight?

Horse riding: How many times per week and for how long should we do horse riding to lose weight?

Find out more about horse riding for weight loss!

Regular exercise combined with a healthy diet can help you slim and tone your body, but some disciplines are more effective than others at helping you lose weight. What about horse riding and its calorie burn? How much walking should you do per week to lose weight and get results from horse riding? Here are some answers.

Calories burned through horse riding!

While the horse may appear to be the only athlete in riding, driving a horse mobilises the rider’s physical and mental faculties. Leg pressure, pelvic movements, mastery of balance, concentration and vigilance in the face of obstacles are all tests that require constant energy. Riding generates a calorie expenditure of between 150 and 600 calories per hour of practice. An interesting energy expenditure, especially as horse riding significantly strengthens the lower body. Finally, as well as adopting a healthy diet, horse riding can be complemented by another physical activity to boost the weight loss process.

What is the metabolic equivalence of horse riding?

The metabolic equivalent of a physical activity is a statistical unit(MET Metabolic Equivalent of Task) used to express the ratio between the energy expenditure of a physical activity during exercise and the energy expenditure of an individual at rest. Trotting and galloping horse riding, for example, is a medium-intensity activity with a MET value of 6, which means that it burns 6 times more energy than when at rest, in the same way as hiking and recreational basketball.

Horse riding: Which plan should you follow and how often should you do it to lose weight?

Estimates, calculations and weight-loss results from several examples of horse-riding training plans.

Do you know how much weight you lose by riding for 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours? How often should you train to lose weight and burn fat? The tables below will give you an idea of your weight loss as a function of weight, duration and number of training sessions per week.

Performance, effects and impact ‘before/after’: Walk-on riding

Performance, effects and impact “before/after”: Gallop and trot riding

In addition to practicing horse riding, it is important to pay attention to your diet!

To maximize the benefits of horse riding, it is crucial to adopt a balanced diet. A diet rich in macronutrients, micronutrients, and various other essential nutrients helps maintain an optimal energy balance. The energy balance, which is the difference between calories consumed and calories expended, plays a key role in weight management. If you are wondering “why did I gain weight“, it may be that your energy balance is off. By combining horse riding with proper nutrition, you can achieve your health and wellness goals more effectively.