Hello! I am Chika, and I teach horseback riding at Horse Camp Mongolia.
“Won’t my body be stiff all over the day after riding a horse?” “Can I enjoy a horseback riding tour even if I lack exercise?” We frequently receive questions about muscle pain.
Though it looks like you are just sitting, horseback riding is actually a great aerobic exercise where you maintain your entire body’s balance while softly absorbing the horse’s sway. Because you use many muscles that you don’t normally use, getting a pleasant (and sometimes intense!) muscle pain the next day is completely natural.
This time, we will introduce the top 3 muscle pain-prone areas for beginners, simple stretches you can quickly do before and after the tour, and tips for staying comfortable even during long-distance riding.
The Top 3 Muscle Pain-Prone Areas in Horseback Riding
Here is a summary of the areas where beginners are especially prone to muscle pain, and why.
1st Place: Inner Thighs (Adductors)
This is the area where the most people experience pain the next day.
- Cause: Unconsciously squeezing the horse’s belly tightly with your legs so you won’t fall off. Originally, there is no need to keep squeezing, but tension at the beginning makes it easy to tense up.
2nd Place: Calves and Ankles
These parts act as the lower body’s cushion.
- Cause: Because you place your feet in the stirrups and use your ankles flexibly to support your weight, your calf muscles are constantly working. Strain is also applied when bracing your feet for the stopping cue.
3rd Place: Lower Back and Hip Area
This is the core area that directly absorbs the horse’s motion.
- Cause: You need to move your pelvis flexibly back and forth and side to side to match the rhythm of the horse’s walk. If you stiffen your back too much, or conversely hunch your shoulders and take the vibrations directly into your lower back, fatigue accumulates in the deep muscles of your hips and lower back.
Directly from Chika! Simple Stretches Before and After Riding
Just loosening your body before riding and thoroughly stretching afterward will make the next day’s muscle pain surprisingly light.
1. Before Riding: Hip-Opening “Squat-Style Stretch”
- Open your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width and point your toes outward.
- Keeping your back straight, slowly lower your hips.
- Place both hands on the insides of your knees, gently push them outward, and slowly sway your weight from side to side (for 20 seconds while taking deep breaths).
- Effect: Softens the hip joints and inner thighs, allowing you to comfortably lower your legs over the saddle.
2. After Riding: Calf and Achilles Tendon Stretch
- Stand on flat ground and step one foot far back.
- Bend your front knee and firmly press your back heel to the ground to comfortably stretch your calf (20 seconds for each leg).
- Effect: Relieves tension in the calves from pressing down on the stirrups and prevents leg fatigue.
3. After Riding: Deep Hip “Chair-Sitting Stretch”
- Sit shallowly on a ger bed or chair.
- Place your right ankle on top of your left knee to form a “4” shape.
- Keeping your back straight, slowly lean your upper body forward (20 seconds for each side).
- Effect: Relaxes tension around the sit bones and deep hips (such as the piriformis muscle), preventing lower back pain.
Safe Even During Long Rides! Our Camp’s “Hip Cushions (Protectors)”
Alongside muscle pain, a common concern for beginners is, “Won’t my hips or tailbone hurt from sitting in the saddle for a long time?”
Especially on courses that traverse the steppe for hours or long-distance rides lasting a day and a half or more, pressure on the sit bones gradually accumulates.
That is why Horse Camp Mongolia provides “special hip cushions (saddle protectors)” for guests participating in long-distance or long-hour horseback riding.
- By attaching them on top of Western saddles, they soften the hardness of the seat and thoroughly absorb impacts to the hips.
- Because they prevent you from adopting strange postures to endure pain, they result in releasing excess tension in your lower back and legs, allowing you to continue riding in a relaxed manner.
If you feel anxious about “stamina or hip pain…”, please feel free to speak to our staff without holding back.
Relax Your Body and Enjoy the Breeze of the Vast Steppe!
Muscle pain after riding is also proof that you actively moved your body together with your horse.
Let’s enjoy steppe horseback riding comfortably by skillfully incorporating equipment and pre- and post-stretches. We will firmly support you so that everyone can enjoy their journey in comfort!
