I'd be fat if it wasn't for horses.

I'd just like to make two points;
1. I put on weight as a schooling strategy; my last horse was a rearer
2. When the next ice age comes, there will be only a few forms of life left on the planet. These few, well insulated life forms will include me, my Shire x and a few walruses.
S :D
 
Looking after horses certainly keeps you active but the activity is not that aerobic unless you are doing serious riding or mucking out loads of horses. I've actually found I put on weight since I have the horses at home and am no longer going to the gym. Wish it was true though. Although I have lowish blood pressure and heart rate so it does certainly help keep a reasonable level of fitness just need to stop eating as much!
 
SusieT said:
I have to say, to muck out several stables and ride a couple of horses.plus do yard maintenance-doesn't do much for your fitness to be honest. It's all low impact work tbh!
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You'd be surprised. I used to have one horse - on full livery which I rode about three times a week - and not hard work either.
I was a gym bunny - at least five times a week followed by swimming about a mile. I also used to do a lot of cycling.

When I ended up with two horses I had to put them on DIY and money nor time allowed me to go to the gym, so the membership was cancelled. My big mare has been out of work since September and my other is a youngster, so I don't get exercise by riding them.

But about three weeks ago, my OH suggested we go out cycling - now I haven't cycled for ages, and we did a really hilly route ( well there are hills everywhere round here in reality!). We only did about 18 miles, so not far, but I didn't even get out of breath and nothing ached the next day. I can only put this down to doing the horses as I do bugger all else now!
 
I know a fair few people who muck out and look after several horses a day and they're still fat, so it can't do that much for you.
 
Defo,I'm quite fond of creme eggs ( have been known to eat 3 in one day) so if I didn't ride and walk to and from work which is prob 1 mile and 1/2 each way I'd prob look like a creme egg! :D
 
I have an easy way to be fat and have horses...get pregnant lol. I'm 33 weeks now and have had hip/pelvis problems as well as a clotting disorder and anemia which has meant I can't ride, as well as not being able to do much with the horses.

I have ballooned! Will be so happy when I've popped him out and can get on with things, normally I am quite physically fit as I work on my feet all day too but I am so hideously unfit at the moment it's not true.

Hubby on the other hand is looking extra muscular from lugging the bales of hay and buckets of water that I normally do! ;)
 
JFTD said:
Haha no I meant the one you took the table from - have you got the title / authors? :)

Yes, definitely know from practice that it's aerobic :D
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The Heart rate one is Energy Expenditure in horse riding by Marie-Fracoise Devienne and Charles-yannick Guezennec published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and the table one is http://www.arkagency-naha.com/naha/pdf/energy_cost.pdf found the website, though it isn't in a journal its for Equestrian athlete.... dun.dun.dun...... you'll say it isn't reliable :p though it is a study she has carried out and she has some master degree in PE basically xD
 
Amy567 said:
The Heart rate one is Energy Expenditure in horse riding by Marie-Fracoise Devienne and Charles-yannick Guezennec published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and the table one is http://www.arkagency-naha.com/naha/pdf/energy_cost.pdf found the website, though it isn't in a journal its for Equestrian athlete.... dun.dun.dun...... you'll say it isn't reliable :p though it is a study she has carried out and she has some master degree in PE basically xD
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Haha no it's not my field and I'm too lazy to care right now, I'm just curious :) thanks for the refs! :D
 
JFTD said:
Haha no it's not my field and I'm too lazy to care right now, I'm just curious :) thanks for the refs! :D
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I'm doing sports therapy, so have to do a 12 week plan for a horse rider hoping to go to burghley horse trial in 12 weeks... though I know it isn't actually in 12 weeks... fun times! haha. Thank god Biomechanics is over though! haha... now that is a field I never want to even glance at ever again! haha
 
I eat well and as a consequence would put weight on easily if I only had my horse as exercise...it is not enough for me for the food I eat...not bad food but plenty of carbs, pasta sauces and home cooked food/baking.
I supplement my horse exercise with running and training for half marathons and cycling too.
I guess that may make me look greedy but I would have to seriously cut back my food if I stopped the running...and to be frank...I don't want to!
I will be running home from work tomorrow night - 12 miles with hills...will be burning up to 2000 calories...so will be eating well tomorrow in advance!!
 
I am definitely thinner as well as fitter since I have had my own horses on DIY livery. In the summer I lose even more weight because rather than sit on my bottom of an evening stuffing chocolate and drinking wine I am either riding my horse, poo picking or ragworting until 9.30 at night :)
 
I have put on weight since I got my horse, because I spend all the time I used to spend walking, rushing in the car to get to the stables to hurry to groom etc and get out riding. There may be a little bit of physical activity but it is nothing like the energy I expended when I had the time to walk everywhere!
 
I don't eat cake, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, crisps or snacks of any variety, I rarely drink, I don't have sugar, don't eat bread or pasta, don't eat fruit, don't have puddings, don't eat fast food or any ready meals. Everything is cooked fresh at home. I have five horses living in at home. I am overweight.
 
Shilasdair said:
I think I'd correct your title to be:
I'd be fatTER if it wasn't for horses.

S :D
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I agree with shils, I am still fat and own a horse on DIY but I still need to watch what I eat and do other forms of exercise to maintain my level of fatness. If I attempt to lose weight (which I have been doing on and off forever) then I need to really restrict my diet and do cardio activity daily on top of riding, mucking out and poo picking. Some say I should be a size zero for all the poo picking I do and for riding such a lazy beast but sadly this is not the case.

Think it just depends on the person.
 
Dee O'Dorant said:
I don't eat cake, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, crisps or snacks of any variety, I rarely drink, I don't have sugar, don't eat bread or pasta, don't eat fruit, don't have puddings, don't eat fast food or any ready meals. Everything is cooked fresh at home. I have five horses living in at home. I am overweight.
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Blimey! Now that isn't fair!
 
I actually think its the riding rather than the dirty work that keeps you thin or maybe it's just that it keeps you toned?

I would love to get rid of my muscles arms from dragging hay bales around though :(
 
I work with horses, teach swimming, go to the gym and have my own on DIY but am overweight and kept gaining weight even when dieting....... Went to the doctors, had an MRI on my pituitary gland and found I have cushings.... You can google the effects on humans but I feel that is a pretty bloody good excuse!
 
Im now riding 5 times a week, but I just cant lose any weight at all!
even when I wasnt riding I didnt put weight on, but even now it wont come off.
I proved it to my OH who didnt believe me, has a month on 800 calories a day and a month on 1800 calories a day.... not sure why but weight doesnt move
 
The people who are overweight even though they don't eat too much and have plenty of exercise, are you on any medicines? I was put on a drug for my morning sickness (not pregnant!). I was horrified to see that other people had gained between two and four stone on it. It has made me ravenously hungry (certainly cured my morning sickness) and I eat loads of chocolate. For the first time in my life I know what it's like to be someone who loves food. I have put on half a stone in six months and I know it is because I am eating too much at the mo. But don't want to come off them and suffer from lack of energy caused by being unable to eat most of the day!
 
I agree with Susie T - its not that hard work and you become conditioned to it if you've done it for years... A gym session or an aerobic class would wipe me out, but riding and mucking out doesn't. The only time that I was seriously slim from horse work was when eventing and teaching in Italy - I think the heat helped too!

Another problem I have is that all the fresh air and cold gives me a huge appetite!

The slimmest times of my life have been when I was single! Being loved up makes me fat and content (probably cook and eat bigger meals when living with someone..!)
 
Hormones have a big part to play in it too. After having my first I was going to the gym 5 times a week and on 1200 caolries for 6 whole months before I even shifted one single lb then it suddenly started to come off and I lost over a stone in a month and I hadn't changed a single thing.

I'd been to the doctor and had every single blood test done possible from allergies to metabolism and they all came back clear. My body was still producing milk even though I had stopped feeding but it took until it finally all dried up for my body to realise it wasn't actually feeding a baby any more. It was most odd!

Funnily enough it didn't happen like that with my baby girl, but then I had another son and it was the exact same problem!

Needless to say I'm done with having babies now!!
 
I heard on the TV that a person can burn upto 450 calories riding a horse for an hour. I think that's pretty good! I doubt I would be fat if I didn't have a horse but I would definitly be a bit heavier and flabbier i'm sure :).
 
Dee O'Dorant said:
I don't eat cake, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, crisps or snacks of any variety, I rarely drink, I don't have sugar, don't eat bread or pasta, don't eat fruit, don't have puddings, don't eat fast food or any ready meals. Everything is cooked fresh at home. I have five horses living in at home. I am overweight.
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Crikey! Your poor body is probably hanging on to every little calorie it gets, are you sure you're actually consuming ENOUGH? You mustnt fall too low in calorie intake or you'll send your body into starvation mode where it absorbs up everything it can and hangs on to it for dear life for fear of not being fed again for days! :D

I shan't comment on the weighty issue as currently a big fat pregnant person and heavier than I've ever been (I'm prob what you'd call a MW cob type normally so no skinny minny for the record) I genuinely can't get my head around how people who are overweight can just accept it and carry on - I feel horrendous at the moment and everyday tasks are a real effort with this extra weight I'm carrying, I couldn't cope if this was my day to day life forever!
 
I think it's easy to maintain weight with horses, not necessarily easy to lose it though.

I was fat with horses, stayed fat. I was at uni, lost 3st (no contact with horses), came home, got the horse back and have kept the weight off (despite eating like a pig!). I can afford to eat more because I'm physically active but if I wanted to lose more weight I'd have to exercise more (unfortunately :p).
 
I have gone from riding once / twice a day with my mare on DIY livery to having her on full livery as it is all the stud offer and being unable to ride her. I ride my friends horse for her once / twice a week - in a year I have put on a stone.

I blame the fact that some days I just get home from work and have a snack as I can't ride her / muck out etc. Where as before I would go to the yard from work, ride, muck out etc then go home and have dinner.

I def think the more active you are the more energy you feel you have, therefore you are not bored and don't just eat for something to do!
 
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