A Horseman's Workout

 . . . by Heather Thomas
“There’s nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse,” wrote George William Erskine Russell in his Social Silhouettes, in 1885 (and later quoted by such noted individuals as Winston Churchill and Will Rogers). Indeed, working with horses is good for both body and soul. Mentally and spiritually, taking care of horses helps us keep better harmony and balance in our lives, and the physical activity of being involved with horses keeps us more fit and healthy.

Physical fitness and keeping off excess weight are part of the key to good health. I’ve always been grateful to my “life with horses” for helping me stay in shape, but now that I’m past 50 (56 to be exact) I am appreciating this fact more than ever. In my younger years I took fitness, agility and endurance for granted, since I’ve always been an athletic person. But age has a way of sneaking up on us and making it harder to keep the old body in shape and functioning smoothly. Many people my age (and even younger) are trying desperately to “hold the line” on body degeneration by taking aerobics classes, jogging, or working out on exercise machines.

But thanks to my horses, I don’t feel the need to jog or visit the health and fitness establishments. It’s not just the riding that keeps me in shape. During spring and through fall (when I’m usually training young horses, halter breaking babies, and riding almost daily in our mountains to check on the cattle), I manage to stay in good physical condition. But day in and day out, all through the year, it is the barnyard chores that keep me active.

Feeding and watering the horses morning and evening takes me about an hour each day, even longer in winter when temperatures may be sub-zero and I have to break ice out of eight rubber tubs every morning, keep a hole chopped in the ice on the creek in one pen, and drain the hose every time I water the horses in paddocks. Some people shake their heads and wonder why I don’t use automatic freeze-proof waterers to make things “easier,” but this would deprive me of some needed exercise. These past several years, as my busy writing schedule has cut into my riding and “horse working” time, the need to keep active has intensified. I’ve spent too many hours writing articles and books and not enough time with my horses; my daughter has taken on some of my range-riding obligations when deadlines press and I am chained to my keyboard. Thus my horse chores morning and evening are sacred. Some days it’s my only chance for physical activity. In a too-busy schedule, this keeps me sane, and makes sure I get enough exercise.

By the time I carry hay to all the pens (pushing a loaded wheelbarrow to some - which can be an effort when the snow or mud is deep) move heavy bales, drag the hose and drain it, and climb over a couple of gates, I have given this old body (and heart and lungs) enough workout to keep many different sets of muscles in shape.

I’m sure that the exertion of feeding and watering 10 horses in 9 pens and paddocks twice daily (the way I do it) gives my body a workout equivalent to walking several miles, or even jogging a mile or two. And the beauty of my “exercise program” is that it happens twice a day, no matter what. Not all hikers and walkers are this dedicated. Even the most fanatic joggers may occasionally take a rain check or find something else to do if there’s a blizzard outside, or it’s 30 below zero. But horses still need to be fed and watered no matter what the weather is. My horses are the perfect taskmaster in a daily fitness program.

These horses actually run my life. I’m just their servant. I will be out there at feeding time to feed and water them, whether I “feel like it” or not. The horses give my life its most rigorous commitment and purpose. And now, as a fringe benefit, I am realizing that they also give me the perfect on-going physical fitness program, at a time when it is definitely needed.

We all slow down as we age, and it becomes more difficult to keep the body in shape; but my horses make it easier. And in recent years (as I deal with an ever stiffening back from all the abuse I’ve given it over the years -  shoeing horses, throwing bales around, and lifting many things I probably shouldn’t have). I’ve added more conscious effort to my daily horse-feeding routine.

My life is too busy to waste any time with structured fitness exercises, so I’ve found ways to work some calisthenics into my horse chores. When watering and filling each tub, I take advantage of that brief waiting time to do deep knee bends, bending and stretching exercises -  the kind designed to limber all your muscles and especially your back. By the time I’ve filled 8 or 9 tubs, I’ve done all my calisthenics (30-40 deep knee bends on the first tub, stretching and bending exercises on the second, and jogging in place during all the rest! And, oh yes, I jog from pen to pen while pulling the hose. Sometimes I cheat on that part, however, if I’ve been chopping ice out of tubs and have to catch my breath as I drag the hose to the next pen.

No automatic waterers for me. I like to make sure every horse is drinking and to be able to know how much he’s drinking. (I’m a “hands on” person who likes to keep a very close feel on how each horse is doing; I’m really fussy about the feed and water since eating and drinking behavior can often give you clues as to the fitness and health of a horse and early warning signs for many illnesses.) And the spin-off benefit is that it keeps me exercised and fit, too.

I don’t want labor savers and shortcuts in my feeding and watering routine. As I get older, I appreciate my horse chores more and more, for they are the very best way I’ve found to keep this old body consistently working and relatively strong. The daily chores are the only inspiration and coercion I need, to get out there and get moving.

As a post-script - and proof that this works - I had a very thorough physical checkup this summer, by a new lady doctor who was wanting to get to the root of some chest pain I’ve had for many years. I’ve been bothered with this ever since enduring bronchitis for 3 months during calving season, 1989 (winter of the Siberian Express blizzard) when my husband and I were doing the calving while our kids were gone to college; we were outdoors constantly during severe weather conditions, and getting very little sleep.

My new doctor ordered a treadmill test to check out my heart, and insisted that I should be walking 30 minutes every day. She didn’t think that my “horse chores” could be as effective as walking, to keep my heart fit.

I was a little nervous about the treadmill test because I’d heard horror stories about how they make you keep going into total exhaustion, and I knew I wasn’t as fit this spring as I should be -  since I’d spent too much time writing and not enough time riding. But the doctor who supervised my treadmill test was totally amazed. He never even put me up to the final speed; my heart rate, breathing and blood pressure were barely elevated at the speed and incline that he said would have caused most people my age to be huffing and puffing and ready to drop. He said my heart and lungs were in excellent shape. I felt like a fit endurance horse that had just come through a very easy competition and breezed through my “vet check.” And I was very pleased to know that my horses do, indeed, keep me healthy!