Am I too old to take horseback riding lessons?

WheatenLover

WheatenLover

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
I've ridden horses several times, but never had lessons. Honestly, the people led the horses around a corral on a rope.

One thing I realized is that it is a good idea to have one's muscles in good shape to ride a horse. So I figure in a couple of years, when I am 67, I can achieve that. (Just because I figure something doesn't mean it will be able to happen.)

I will be 67 years old, and hopefully in relatively good health. This is assuming that I no longer have cancer, and that my heart/vascular problems don't act up. Or that my health doesn't decline in other significant ways that I'm not going to visualize.

I've read that horseback riding shortens those wonderful muscles, so it is a good idea to take up swimming at the same time because it lengthens the muscles.

Does anyone know about horseback riding? I don't want to have this on my list of Great Ideas if it isn't an actual Great Idea. Even though I'd rather be on a galloping horse, I guess I'll have to ride a sedate horse.
 

WheatenLover said:
I've ridden horses several times, but never had lessons. Honestly, the people led the horses around a corral on a rope.

One thing I realized is that it is a good idea to have one's muscles in good shape to ride a horse. So I figure in a couple of years, when I am 67, I can achieve that. (Just because I figure something doesn't mean it will be able to happen.)

I will be 67 years old, and hopefully in relatively good health. This is assuming that I no longer have cancer, and that my heart/vascular problems don't act up. Or that my health doesn't decline in other significant ways that I'm not going to visualize.

I've read that horseback riding shortens those wonderful muscles, so it is a good idea to take up swimming at the same time because it lengthens the muscles.

Does anyone know about horseback riding? I don't want to have this on my list of Great Ideas if it isn't an actual Great Idea. Even though I'd rather be on a galloping horse, I guess I'll have to ride a sedate horse.
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well you're such a positive person... given all you're going through healthwise currently, I'd love you to be able to do it, but I don't know if you could. I know I couldn't and I'm the same age as you.. but then I've never ridden before at all, and you have... However my friend Yvonne @Happyflowerlady who is an accomplished horseback rider may be able to help, so hopefully she'll see this and be along soon with a little advice for you ..
 
I rode all my life starting from a little child and until I become too ill or infirm will not stop. There are certain breeds of horses you can safely ride, follow all the rules and I think you may be better off with a seniors riding school where the students are all seniors, they will look after you. Put it on the list!

Riding is very therapeutic for older people and a good horse to start on is American Quarter Horse. This link is a start, they can introduce you to other places:
https://www.healingstridesofva.org/...MIn6Ot-OiZ8wIVgppmAh1-Fwr7EAAYBCAAEgIpL_D_BwE
 
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It is more logical to take risks as you get older.. This comes down to "Micromorts" which represent the risk of dying in any particular circumstance. When you're young, the chance of dying naturally is very low but this increases as you age. However activities are less age dependent, so as you age, the risk of dying naturally outweighs the risk of most activities you participate in. So, for most things, if you feel up to it, go for it. Get proper training, don't take unnecessary risks and enjoy yourself.

Better that than spend the rest of your life saying, "I wish I had ....".
 
I only rode a horse once when I was 19 & a friend took me with him. I would never do it again.
The horse's reins came off & he took off, galloping at full speed & I only had his neck hair to hold on to. Another experienced rider blocked the horse against the railing & he stopped just as I was about to fall off.
I'll pet any animal but I won't sit on him.
 
As long as your spine is in good shape, it’s a great ideal. I rode when I was younger and loved it. Can’t ride now due to my spine. But my son with Downs Syndrome rides horses when he goes to summer camp. He loves it and if he can do it, you can do it. 😍
 
Warrigal said:
I don't know anything about horse riding but if you want to have a go then perhaps you should. It's not the muscles that would worry me, it's the bones that may break when you fall off. Then again, if you don't chance your arm, figuratively and literally, then you will never know the joy that riding a horse may bring, regardless of your age.
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I’m 68. I went riding a few months ago. I didn’t gallop, but we trotted some. I love horses and used to ride all the time. I plan to go again, I’d forgotten how much i loved it!
 
I took riding lessons for a week years ago. It was a rather compressed lesson regime that took us through all the riding speeds. I found walking and full gallop the easiest on my body. Trotting & cantering were tough on my rear end but I suppose I wasn't really doing it quite right. It was fun to do though. You just need to take it easy and go at a pace that suits you. Probably not the best activity if you have lower spine or knee joint issues though. Lot's of bouncing around in the saddle at times plus you'll be putting weight and strain on your knee joints at times as well.
 
I have been mulling this question over, and I think that you should try one lesson and see how it goes. The instructor is going to put you on a safe, dependable horse, and you will be in an enclosed arena, and the instructor will probably also have a lead rope on the horse while you get accustomed to the feel of the horse beneath you.
You DO need muscles for riding a horse, but just walking or exercising is probably not going to help the muscles that keep you on the horse. When you are riding, you squeeze your knees in, and that helps with balance.

Naturally, the slower that the horse is going, the less grip you need to stay on, and as your riding progressed, you would develop the necessary muscles to help hold you in the saddle.
I think that you would be safe to take the first lesson, and that should tell you whether riding a horse is something that you are going to feel comfortable with or not.

When I got my first horse (actually a Welsh Pony), my teacher started me riding bareback, so that I would learn to balance and grip the horse with my knees, and all we did was walk for a long time. Once I was confident at a walk, then we tried a slow trot. I imagine that your riding instructor would do something similar (whether with a saddle or not), and would only have you getting comfortable on the horse until you felt ready to progress.

To enjoy riding, you do not need to be an expert, like a jockey or a rodeo rider would be. Walking along a trail is a wonderful experience, and very easy to do once you are comfortable with being on a horse.
I live in a city now, and have no place to keep a horse; but I really miss having one, and would definitely still be riding if I had a horse. My friends who still have horses, still ride (back in Idaho, where I grew up); so it is just a matter of training your muscles and balance to be comfortable on a horse.
I am almost 77, and would ride if I had a horse, if that helps.

Edit to add:
DO IT NOW ! !
None of us knows what our life will be like in 2 more years, or if we will even be around by then, so if this is a goal, make the reservation for that riding lesson , and then you can at least say that you tried it.
 
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WheatenLover said:
One thing I realized is that it is a good idea to have one's muscles in good shape to ride a horse.
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I'd ridden sporadically on rental horses as a kid/teen, but my first adult riding was closer to age 30 and it was so embarrassing that I needed to put my foot in the stirrup and then with the strength of that one leg lift my entire body weight up to get the other leg over the horse - and I couldn't do it! They had to put their shoulder under my butt to heave me up.
I totally think you should get lessons but my recommendations would be:
1. Go watch other people getting lessons - from a variety of stables in your area.
2. Pick a place with very very VERY calm "beginner" horses (tho they will probably also have advanced people riding around so don't give up on a place if you see an advanced student getting bucked off etc)
3. Choose a stable that lets you use a mounting block to get on.
4. Choose a stable that provides certified approved helmets and requires people to wear them.
5. Get your lessons in a place that has nice cushion-y footing. Some of the indoor arenas even have rubber bits in it (for the sake of the horses legs, not really for falling off riders).

What I'd love to do is go on a trip to Iceland and go ride the tolting Icelandic horses. I was going to buy one once long ago, I'd found one I liked owned by a woman in the mountains in Colorado, but then she couldn't bear to part with the horse. It was just as well because I went to look at some at another place and although none of them were trained enough for me, the person had a bunch of adorable little kids that she had adopted from foster care and that was when I learned that a single person could adopt a child for essentially free from foster care. So I wound up getting a daughter instead of an Icelandic horse (but I already had a Quarter Horse and an Appaloosa horse, and after getting my daughter we also got a cutie pie little Shetland pony).
I don't ride anymore because I'm old and not wanting to fall off (and also because I don't want to stand out in the miserable winter weather holding a horse for the farrier, or have to lug hay bales, or shovel manure...), but I think I would feel safe enough on the right horse in the right place.
 
I forgot to mention, but I used to ride with a protective vest, and having fallen off both wearing one and not wearing one, I highly recommend them - they make an ordinary fall a non-event because they absorb the impact. I forget what happened (probably a tragedy) to motivate the woman who had owned the local tack shop to make them a sort of crusade, but she would sell them at cost (no profit) and she got me started wearing one. Probably older riders should consider them a good idea.
 
Riding a horse for an hour will improve your life a lot more than sitting on your duff watching 12 hours of TV everyday. Think of the excitement and think of meeting other horse lovers. They say a dog is man's best friend. Perhaps! But I bet a horse could be a good friend too. You can't ride a dog but you can really go places on a good stead! Hi Yo! Silver Away!
 

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