Horseback riding is a great way to get exercise, but if you’re not in shape, it can be a painful experience for you. The best bet to get in shape for the long horseback ride is to focus on the muscle groups needed to ride a horse. This includes the inner thighs, abdomen, back and lower legs. The following steps should help you get in shape for that long ride. Make plans to give yourself a few weeks to tone the muscles, so start early so that you’ll be ready in time.

Things You'll Need:

• Exercise ball

One suggestion for inner thigh work is to use an exercise ball. You should be able to find one at a sporting goods store and ask the staff for help in determining what size you will need (most people think one size fits all). The size of the ball you need is based roughly on your height. You should be comfortable when you are sitting on the ball, in the same manner as sitting in a chair. A good exercise to do with the ball is to lie on your back and hold the ball up in the air between your legs by squeezing the ball. Do this continuously for short periods of time, gradually increasing them in length.

• Step 2

  Sit on the ball and squeeze it with your legs. Start by doing this for a few minutes and gradually work your way up to 60 minutes. If you get bored, watch TV shows while doing this exercise

• Step 3

  As for those tummy muscles, good old-fashioned sit-ups should do the trick. Sit-ups are now called crunches. You need only raise your shoulders off the ground a few inches keeping your knees bent and your hands at your sides.

• Step 4

  Since you’ll need to push your heels down when you are riding your horse to stabilize yourself, do some leg exercises to stretch your calf muscles. Walking up and down a flight of stairs will help stretch the calf muscles. Walking up and down bleachers are a good way to stretch these muscles. These exercises may lower your weight before you take the horseback trip and that would be a very good thing!