If You’ve Heard of Goat Yoga, It’s Time to Level up and Try Horseback Yoga

Yoga's cool and all, but imagine doing it on top of a horse.

If you're thinking, 'Huh?' rest assured that horseback yoga is indeed a thing (as it goat yoga and puppy yoga, ICYMI). Think of it as a mix between the two wellness modalities of yoga and equine therapy (aka hanging with horses), joined together to create a truly otherworldly mind-body experience. And Ella Dove, our director of creative development, is trying it out in Well+Good's latest episode of What the Wellness, a series in which we investigate all of the most out-there wellness treatments.

During a visit with Shakti Ranch in Malibu, California, Dove gets bendy right on top of Sophie, a (very cute) horse. "Horses have this really beautiful way of energetically showing the inner psyche of someone," says Natalie Riggs, equine therapist at the ranch. So, sure—horses are grounding creatures, but Dove has to actually practice yoga on the horse's back... which requires a lot of balance (ahem: this one goes out to anyone who's ever toppled in tree pose). That means that Dove has to use every single muscle in her body to help gain balance so that she doesn't go ker-plunk on the ground mid-yoga pose.

Once Dove moves through some simple breathing exercises and spinal twists, she gets into some impressive downward dogs and camel poses, all with Sophie as her dutiful #yogabuddy. Just how does she fare out with the hour-long practice? Is Dove still friends with Sophie at the end of the sesh? Is horseback yoga weird or worth it? Find out everything in the video above, and stay tuned for our next episode for more wellness intel.

For more What the Wellness, find out the truth behind acupuncture-adjacent ear seeds. And this is what biohacking fitness looks like, AKA getting an entire week's worth of fitness training within one 40-minute sesh (really).