The purpose of this study was to examine the intensity of horseback riding as exercise (heart rate, oxygen intake, respiration exchange ratio, metabolism, energy expenditure) according to the tread of a horse such as walking, rising trotting, sitting trotting, and cantering. In this study, the subjects were 15 amateur horse riders. They participated in a 4-stage process(riding while the horse was walking, rising trotting, sitting trotting, and cantering) while wearing gas masks and heart rate belts for 5 minutes during each stage. Through this study, the average of heart rate, oxygen intake, respiration exchange ratio, metabolism, and energy expenditure in each stage of riding was attained and compared. The result of this study can be summarized as follows. First, the intensity of exercise by horse riding is significantly different depending on the tread of a horse. The intensity of exercise is increased as the speed of the horse's movements increased. Trotting and cantering show higher intensity than walking. Among the different treads of a horse, walking can be categorized as having an intermediate intensity of exercise, whereas trotting and cantering are categorized into a higher intensity. However, there are no significant differences in intensity between trotting and cantering. Second, there are no significant differences between male female participants in terms of intensity of exercise, but there are differences in the energy consumption per minute. The weight differences between male and female participants may be what cause this difference.
