![The author and her horse, Bleriot, compete the 94th Annual Flintridge Horse Show in April 2015. [Deb Dawson Photography]](http://www.jstudentboard.com/reporter/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Screen-Shot-2015-09-02-at-6.38.08-PM.png)
According to a 1999 study by the National Institutes of Health, more than 300,000 people die in the United States each year due to being overweight. All around the world, there are 610,000 annual deaths from heart disease and 7.6 million deaths from cancer. Maintaining healthy lifestyles can help us delay and prevent the risks of these and other illnesses.
By riding horses, we can build abs, leg/arm muscles, and develop a stronger sense of balance. Being able to control the horse includes using arm strength causes the triceps brachii, which is the major muscle of the upper arm, to get more in shape. In order to stay on the horse, the rider needs to use more than an extreme amount of both leg strength and support. They are required to squeeze with enough pressure, so that the horse understands what the commands are. The use of legs in horseback riding builds leg muscles and enhances the rider’s sense of balance. Overall, the extra strength in the arms and legs allow the important source of calcium to form easily, and can prevent rheumatism, which is the inflammation and pain in the joints, muscles, or fibrous tissue.
As interviewee Giana Giacopuzzi, who has been riding since she was three-years-old and whose mother is a professionally-trained trainer, said, “By being an equestrian, my body has definitely gotten more fit. I have more upper core strength and can hold my balance more easily.”
There are drawbacks. With equestrianism there are many accidents, both small and large. Some can seriously injure the horse and rider while others leave nothing but a small bruise. Many wonder whether it’s worth risking so much just for the sake of riding an animal, while others believe the benefits of riding outweigh the risk.
