Re: riding and calories...

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

FWIW, some years ago when Cal Poly was working the bugs out of the high
speed treadmill system, we measured O2/CO2 exchange on a human
(specifically, me), which is a direct measurement of calories burned.  I was
riding a horse that was trotting about 8 mph, no incline.  The footing on a
treadmill is a little different than it is on real ground, but that affected
his output, not mine.  If memory serves, I burned 75 calories in 20 minutes
of trotting, or about 225 calories an hour.  I was actively posting, and was
reasonably fit at the time, or at least was finishing 50s on a semi-regular
basis without undue agony<g>.  Another rider who was NOT used to riding on a
regular basis got on the same horse and his oxygen consumption put him at
375 calories per hour (and had the horse pretty upset as well, as he was
pretty unbalanced).  So I think it makes a big difference how efficiently
the rider is used to riding.  I would expect thatthe average fit endurance
rider consumes considerably fewer caloties than a rider not used to riding
consistently for hours at a time.

Susan G




> Hi Mike,
> Do you know if this is the horse trotting and or cantering at a constant
> speed during this hour? I do think that is does matter how the person
rides
> also. A rider who is a "passenger" is using a lot less energy than a rider
> that strives to ride correctly and support their own body weight. It takes
an
> incredible amount of muscle tone to support your own body weight and
truely
> help the horse out. The information that you  stated above would
definately
> be correct if the rider IS really supporting their own body weight at
least
> most of the time.
>
>
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