Physically Challenged by Horseback Riding

Canada has never looked so good!

That said, I've got to agree with Joe, get yourself a Walking horse and never look back.

By the way, while doing some work at one of the local cardiologist office, the subject of horse riding came up.

He told me horseback riding was wonderful exercise.

A chair seat is fine for many things.

If someone has tight hips - and that is common if you take up riding as an adult - then a chair seat allows one to ride with a relaxed leg. I think a relaxed leg is more helpful than heels under hip.

It also allows a person with tight legs to ride with heels down. It offers a very slight disadvantage if the horse spins around, but is more stable if the horse suddenly stops. I find it easier to sit the trot in a chair seat, although that may be related to my tight hips.

It was the normal way of western riding (and English outside of dressage and jumping) until around the 60s.

Drawbacks are that it makes posting awkward, and it doesn't give you their best speed.

It is still pretty normal for cutting cattle, roping, reining and trail riding. If you expect sudden stops, then a chair seat gives better balance.

It isn't always right, but it certainly is not always wrong, either. I like English 1" leathers on my Aussie-style saddle in part because it makes it easy for me to switch from chair seat to forward seat, or to heels under hip, depending on what I want to do in the immediate future.

Riding is great for your core muscles and posture. Good posture is great for better breathing. The chores associated with riding are wonderful for bone density, preventing or slowing the development of osteoporosis.

Sure it's normal to be sore at first. You may feel uncoordinated, too. And people who ride western do post, also.

I would recommend that you give western a try. I think a western saddle is more comfortable (only my opinion)...
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I graduated yesterday to my "new" lesson-horse from my first lesson horse, whom I rode for the first two months...boy...I kept thinking (yes, well, I told my trainer I was ready for "forward", tired of working SO HARD to get anything from my trainer's babysitter beginner horse--who actually is quite ADVANCED, JUST has an amazingly patient, calm and forgiving disposition).

Wow! I didn't realize I could be THIS SORE! I worked about a hundred times harder on her forward horse than I ever did for all of my initial lessons on her "babysitter" horse!

I say this to commisurate, and to add that on top of feeling your literal pain, (when I stand today, the first few steps are all hunched over and I gradually rise up, like man rising from the ape in some Darwinian movie scene...2nd day onset muscle pain is sooo much worse than first day, I learned this years ago when I THOUGHT I had begun working out...that was nothing compared to this....anyway, when I sat to write this post, my thoughts HAD BEEN ALREADY ON THIS SUBJECT ALL NIGHT, in that I can't WAIT until that FIRST ride where everything CLICKS!

Brain, body,all of in working in tandem with horse. I WILL CELEBRATE! It very easily could be months, and I accept that, just so long as ONE DAY IT HAPPENS. AND, hallelujah! What a day that will be! ; 0)

I am 38, in what most would and do consider darned great shape, and I FEEL DAILY the not having ridden for 15 years before two months ago...I applaud you at 59 for doing same. You have great inner and outer strength for taking this on...if you are in good health confirmed by a doctor, sweat and tough it out...it will pay off and get easier (@ least, that's what I keep telling myself!)... :0)

All off us newbies and returning newbies can help hold each other up until we're all asking, "What was the big deal; this riding thing is a piece of cake!!??" :0)
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LMAO, I loooove you guys That made my night/day

I'm 21 and only overweight by 10lbs. After my lessons are done I'm pretty sore, I never realized riding was such a workout when you're correctly riding. It definitely targets my core muscles and inner thigh muscles as well. On the plus side, its a lot more fun and rewarding than pilates!
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Admittedly, the only reason I ride is because my daughter needs someone to trail ride with and when that happens she canters off and I walk while she's doing this. Instead, I'm getting my daughter's POV for this (the rest that is written is from her) I am training to event doing mostly dressage in my lessons with jumping once a week. Every time I ride I have to stop three to four times for a water break in their shade. I simply cannot go riding straight for a strenuous hour, I'd kill me. Either discipline, I wake up the next morning with sore legs and arms. I find soreness and pain part of riding. Eventually riding will get easier but first you have to let your body learn to bend the way you want in the saddle. Also, with you being older it will take a longer time to adjust and then you may have "older" soreness. But try not to put pain in your way, there are many 50 year old mothers at my barn doing the exact same thing as my fourteen year old body.

To add a quick side note;

My trainer is 50. She has been riding 45 years, 20 of which under the training of a very well-respected instructor in Chicago, who according to her, REALLY pushed her daily. That was in her 20's & 30's. She is an amazing rider, rides nearly completely through her seat, as most are trained to do nowadays. She works six horses a day, in addition to running her very active stables (50+ horses, most are high-end dressage horses and prospects, some Hunters, etc...plus, she boards at present two ex-Olympic participants), plus teaching approx.one lesson daily = 6/week.

There have been two instances when I have gone to the barn or emailed with her, where she describes having ridden this or that horse to help a boarder/client/outside professional rider and states she is so sore she can barely walk, due to having had to change something in her riding to accommodate the training of said new horse...

This reassures me that riding is a "forever body challenge", regardless of one's age, methods, or discipline!

Just another aside;
I am going to start a thread under general riding when I have more time later today or tonight requesting some much needed advice/help with my position and issues I have which may be hindering my riding. I will go more into MY frustrations with my body and brain doing SEPARATE THINGS in said upcoming posting :0)... Perhaps there will be something in the (hopefully lots of) advice I will get from the HF folks to help others, including you, with integrating what we want our bodies to do and what they do instead! :0) I'll keep an eye out for ya there!

Best of luck!!!!!
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Humans can be gaited too? I never knew that.