@heyjoe415 Thanks, Joe. Riding is fun and I forget that it is exercise and it reinforces good communication and the relationship between me and my horse. I’ve done more riding in the pasture lately because the friend I ride with has been recovering from a hip replacement and just got cleared to ride her horse. I don’t want to ride trails alone for safety just yet and I avoid multi use trails because my horse is afraid of bicycles coming up on him. I’ve worked with him on this, but don’t know if he’ll react as every new trail is a different experience. I also work on fine tuning his training in the pasture and always reinforce and praise for a halt because that is safety training. Horses are herd animals and more confident in groups with other horses on the trail.

I can see how spinning would be great for core strength. I use to ride my 10 speed bike a lot when I was younger. It’s great that you do that! Great for cardiovascular health too. I need more of that and I’m fighting allergies and asthma that can limit how much I can exert myself.

The other thing that can simulate riding a horse at a walk would be sitting on a big therapy ball and rocking like a walking movement sitting up with good posture of course. I get a bit of a workout with grooming the horse and lifting to saddle up to his back.

Jennifer