Ridecamp: Re: [RC] there is no way that young and small a body can ride astride a horse that many hours without damage

On Thu, 24 Oct 2002 19:24:36 -0600, "Heidi Smith"
<heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>> Indeed, there haven't been a lot of studies and scholarly articles
>> done on horseback riding for long distances.  However, the data on the
>> effects of long-duration stress apply quite well.
>
>All I know from personal experience is that long-distance horseback riding
>tends to be so relaxing, if I'm halfway fit, that I always gained weight
>when I campaigned very seriously.  There was "so much stress" that I just
>didn't tend to burn calories at all.  I've had a lot of other folks tell me
>the same thing.  And we adults don't tend to ride nearly as relaxed as kids
>do--our loss.  It's hard to perceive these kids as being stressed when they
>are out there spotting wild game, playing word games, singing songs, telling
>stories, and in general enjoying the heck out of themselves.  They bounce
>off their horses and trot theirs and their sponsor's too, sometimes, just
>for something to do.  And when they get back to camp, what do they do?  If
>they can't get up a touch football game or some other sort of entertainment,
>they saddle back up and go riding some more.  Dang, sure wish I could be so
>"stressed".....

C'mon, Heidi, you're talking about a different kind of stress.  The
concern isn't mental stress, as in a high-pressure job.  The stresses
involved here are the physical forces riding places on bones and
joints, and the effects of those stresses over many miles and many
hours of riding.  Mature skeletal systems can take it, immature ones
can't.  The younger the child the greater those stresses, just due to
the inability of a small child to have a proper seat.  When you and I
ride at a trot or canter, we bear the weight on our feet, in the
stirrups, distributing forces through our knees and calves.  A small
child cannot do this, his legs are spread much wider than ours and are
not vertical below the knees.  It's simple physics and physiology.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@xxxxxxxx
http://www.rnbw.com




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