We all get sidelined from riding, from time to time.
Whether it’s because our horse is on the DL, or life happenings coming to bear, we all have those times when we are unable to ride due to circumstances beyond our control. During one such layup, I remember thinking that if I just had 2 horses, then I could ride one when the other one got sick or lame… until I had 2 horses, and they were both out of commission at the same time. It can be so frustrating and discouraging to be sidelined from riding, especially if you have made great progress and you are facing a sudden step backwards due to unforeseen challenges.
Whatever your reason for not being able to ride right now, you do NOT have to lose your forward momentum. By incorporating the right exercises into your daily non-riding routine, you can ensure that your body will be balanced, coordinated, stable and appropriately relaxed and mobile when you get back in the saddle.
How is this possible?
There are exercises that move your body in similar ways to how it 
moves on the horse, creating and maintaining muscle memory and neuro-muscular pathways that your body uses for riding. By doing these exercises, you can keep your body primed for riding activities, even though you aren’t currently riding. Balance training will maintain or even improve your inherent sense of balance when you’re back on the horse. Coordination training will improve your ability to multitask when you are finally able to mount up again. Stability training will keep your core muscles toned and ready to go when you get back in the saddle, and Mobility training will prevent your joints from tightening up so that when you are back in the stirrups, you can feel relaxed, confident, and move easily with the horse.
Not only can you maintain your riding ability off the horse, you can also improve on it! Everybody can improve their riding, and these same exercises that maintain balance, coordination, stability and mobility, challenge your body to become even more proficient at these things… likely resulting in you coming back to riding after your time off an even better rider than you were before! What could be better than that??
Tell me more…
It doesn’t take hours, and it doesn’t even have to be every day. Using the unique, sport-specific exercises created just for equestrians, in the Ridefit program, you can maintain and improve your riding no matter how long you or your horse are sidelined. Don’t waste that time, get started with one of our completely FREE exercise guides, which you can learn more about here. Or, we can create a personalized program just for you, with 90 days of exercises and accountability, if you seriously want to keep yourself riding fit! Choose from a self-directed program or a Ridefit Instructor-led program, and not only maintain your riding fitness, but take advantage of your time off to make a big change in your riding.
So, sidelined or not, don’t worry, we’ve got what you need to ride fit!
~Tammy
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