That is so cool! I’m so happy for you! I have really enjoyed following your journey with the HH!
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That is real progress, good for you and yes, thanks for letting us know. 
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That is AWESOME!!! How do you post? Do you move the HH or just post up and down as though you were trotting?
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So happy to read these posts.
I am sure the maker of the home horse would love a testimonial from you.
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I “post” from my feet flat on the platform, weight in my heels, weight on the base of my big toe, (trying to replicate the Forward Seat foot alignment), and barely rising above the saddle. Without the push from the horse’s hind legs I cannot get very far up.
While I do this my aim is to keep the HH platform as stable as possible. This requires me to “rise” more vertically than my usual on a moving horse.
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Today I “rode” my HH for 20 minutes. I ended up tired, of course.
I changed my saddle, from my Crosby “Prix de World” Lynn Palm saddle, Medium wide, 17", to my truly ancient “Crosby Wide Front” Prix de Nations saddle that was in the tack shop in 1975, I bought it new in 1977. My stirrups are still the Prussian Sided Eldonian regular type stirrups. My Crosby Prix de World, medium wide tree, is MUCH wider than my ancient Crosby Wide Front, made in the days of TB/part TB hunters and dressage horses many years before the Warmblood takeover of these phases of English riding. This means my “Wide Front” saddle ends up a little bit higher off the “back” of the HH. (I am beginning to suspect that, if living, the HH would need a hoop tree.)
The huge difference between these two Crosby saddles is how they feel between my calves, especially when I pick up the stirrups. With the newer Crosby I feel like there is nothing substantial between my lower thighs, knees and upper calves, with my legs floating with no support. With my ancient Crosby I felt like there was SOMETHING between my middle and lower thighs, knees and upper calves. I had a reference point down there for the first time since I started riding my HH. Right now it seems to me that different saddles can give one different “riding” experiences on the HH. The two saddles also have different “balance points” which I had to adjust to.
I mostly “walked” or stayed still in the saddle. When I picked up my stirrups the wild swaying in all directions started up again. If I tried to rise in my stirrups the HH quickly swayed forward with a definite side to side wobble thrown in. It was much harder to find “center” and I felt like I was teetering even at center. Due to feeling like there was “something” between my legs my body did not freak out as badly (my husband’s reaction was worse as he spotted me.)
Putting my feet flat on the platform, weight to the inside and back to the heel, I stabilized. I could easily find center and stay there when I needed to rest. Feeling the saddle between my legs as a stable reference point added to my feelings of stability when I did more than just sit in the saddle or move my pelvis as if I was on a horse at the walk. I picked up the “snaffle” rein and I don’t think that a live horse would have liked my contact today. Luckily the HH lacks pain nerves.
I “posted” twice, and both times I managed to keep the platform of the HH sort of stable. If I ever managed so low a post on a real live horse my riding teacher would burst out in paeans of praise. Posting is different without the pushes from the horse’s front and hind legs.
When I got into the crotch seat the HH swayed forward. Since one of the big uses of the crotch seat is to remove weight from the middle of the horse’s back this is to be expected. It will be interesting to see what happens if I ever manage to do a crotch seat without the HH immediately swaying WAY forward (though not as way forward as it could have gone.)
This morning I woke up with my top gripping muscles a little sore. Since I did not ride a horse yesterday it must be from “riding” my HH.
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Another ride on my HH, again I made it 20 minutes.
It was 9 F outside when I “rode” this morning. There was not a real horse to cuss me out and ask me if I was really still mentally capable or if I had lost all ability to think logically. No rock hard footing to bruise a horse’s feet, no slippery patches of ice, and no bitterly cold wind blowing through my cozy (sort of) living room. This is the type of morning I got the HH for, nobody who does not have to would have wanted to ride a horse before dawn this morning.
My “riding” was definitely worse this morning but the HH did not care, it just swayed around under me. I used the stirrups for 5 minutes with some really exciting swings to the front, thankfully the HH is made to not tip over or I would have face planted. I managed to do sort of a crotch seat without the HH swaying to the front completely, but when I tried two-point the pommel quickly went DOWN.
When I put my feet on the platform I was a lot more stable EXCEPT that it seems that my modest improvements with balance did not operate at all going back. I was sitting there and felt the back of the platform hit the floor and I did not realize that I was going back, I just felt like I had found a really stable point. This is typical for MS, the exciting times when an improvement on one day can completely disappear the next day without notice or reason, and I don’t really feel that the improvement has disappeared completely.
I managed to “post” twice again, and I kept reasonably stable doing the crotch seat. I even got my seat bones out of the saddle though I swayed forward quite a bit. Other than that I “walked” and “halted”, not as good as yesterday but again the HH did not care.
I was TIRED when I got ready to ride, but this happens every time I ride a horse so I got on anyway with my husband’s help. Being tired really affected how well I “rode” today.
Both today and yesterday I forgot to put on my Q30 neck collar. I think that I do better when I have it on, I really have to remember to put it on tomorrow (“riding” on Christmas Day, YEAH!)
It is not supposed to get above freezing today here in NC, but it starts to warm up tomorrow. Next weekend is supposed to be much better with lows in the 50s, but first we will have some bitterly cold mornings, I won’t get my homework ride in, and the predicted temperature for my lesson day keeps on going down, down, down. No matter, I can at least ride my HH and get my riding muscles exercised somewhat. It is much better than not being able to ride anything at all.
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I did not “ride” my HH today. I looked at the calendar and I’ve ridden it 7 days, one after the other.
It has been almost 40 years since I sat in a saddle 7 days in a row. Up until now the most I’ve done, once or twice, was riding a horse 2 days in a row.
I LOVE having my HH. Not a real horse but at least I can ride something in my saddle.
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Today I was just too tired to try and ride my HH early this morning. So I rode it an hour ago.
I tried it without the bridle extension hoping for more stability. This did not work, it swayed more with my feet on the platform though I was able to be a tiny bit more venturesome when my feet were in the stirrups. I need to shorten my stirrup leathers a hole since my right heel ends up hitting the platform.
Today I wore my Q30 neck collar. When I look down I can feel the ends of the collar dig into my neck a little bit. Could wearing this collar help people realize when they are looking down?
With my feet in the stirrups I was able to 3-point and my 2-point was a tiny bit better, maybe when I shorten my stirrups I will be able to get my butt entirely out of the saddle.
I rode 20 minutes. After I got off my waist, 2-3 inches above my waist and 2-3 inches below my waist felt EXERCISED!
My saddle also moved more on the HH than when I use the reins. I just could not keep my saddle in one place as it moved back under me. I also had more problems than usual getting off.
I think I will try to shim underneath center front and center back of the HH base. Maybe that will help me some again.
Without the double bridle extension and the reins I felt like I was going all over the place. I tried to keep my hands like I do riding a horse on loose reins, still moving them back and forth when “walking” and trying to keep my hands from going up.
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I bit the bullet and bought it today.
I have very bad not so good hips after double surgeries for labral tear repairs and osteoplasty to remove excess bone. It’s hard for me to get into the saddle and takes forever for me to loosen up enough to actually move with my horses (thank god they seem to understand this and are kind as we mince around until I can).
My hope is that I’ll be able to use this enough this winter to really open up since the cold weather makes it harder still. Between this, “Activate Your Seat”, Yoga, and Dressurfit…I ought to have the best darned seat and flexible hips in the business 
Here’s hoping anyway.
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It really has helped me open my hips … I hope you have the same positive results.
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Many times I have written that I probably have the weakest seat of any long term rider here.
My HH is changing that. I can work on just one aspect, or two aspects, up to however many aspects that go into having a secure seat at my leisure. Now I am using it to also work on coordinating my aids to the movements of my seat, hand, leg, seat. I think that some coordination is sneaking in there.
Today my husband told me that my side-to-side balance is working better.
20 minutes a day, I get tired, rest a little, and go back to 2 or 3-point while moving my hips as if I was on a horse that is walking, and I am up to 10 posts!
Off of the HH my balance is better. I no longer NEED to use my hands on the furniture or walls to walk through my house without canes.
My HH is worth every penny.
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That is really great!
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That’s amazing Jackie!! Best news ever!
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Considering I had a tooth extracted and had continued “riding” my HH gradually increasing my workload, I ended up doing too much.
I was chugging along fine on my HH, then I finally got on a horse after 10 days of not riding a horse. I just walked (very sloppy riding ring) and I got totally exhausted. My mouth pain got worse, I’ve had to sleep reclining on pillows for weeks, eating was an adventure in mouth pain, and it just all caught up with me.
So I have been resting lately. This experience has given me more sympathy for horses’ mouth woes. I went to the dentist yesterday, he got out his jaw model and explained that getting my tooth extracted with the additional digging out of the last piece of the root of that tooth had obviously gotten my jaw joints out of alignment. The good news is that time heals all wounds, that this will probably improve, and that nothing was wrong with my other teeth in spite of the pain. This misalignment of my jaw joints has been giving me problems with balance, my mood has not been good, and I just do not have the energy I had just 2 months ago.
When I get back to being able to sleep on my sides my sleep should improve and my insomnia should improve as my mouth stops hurting.
Maybe next week I will get back to riding my HH, when I can work on getting my now departed sense of balance back.
The dentist said getting my tooth dug out was about the equivalent of my mouth being hit by an air bag in a car wreck of somebody hitting me hard in the mouth. All I know is that it has really messed up my riding temporarily.
If you get hit hard in the jaw expect it to mess up your riding some.
If your horse’s jaw gets wrenched expect it to affect their performance and be patient with your horse until everything resets back to normal which can take a little time.
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Aside from trying to get fitter for riding my life improves. I can sleep on my side which helps (except my neck hurts in the morning), I can eat steak again (!!!), I can eat salads, and I don’t get as tired during the day.
I am limiting myself right now to 2 minutes just sitting on the HH and 2 minutes just sitting on my Anywhere Saddle Chair (ASC) some days. And that little tiny bit gets me tired so I am trying to increase my activity level my nano-meters. I am NOT doing this the day before I ride a horse, I have a riding lesson tomorrow and I do not want to be totally exhausted before I even mount the horse.
I introduced my Sunday ride lady to the HH and the ASC on Sunday. On Sundays when the weather is bad or the grass ring is still sloppy she is all for coming over and us spotting each other on the HH so we can both “ride”. She said her house was too small and too crammed with furniture to fit a HH inside.
She LOVED the ASC. After six months of complications from a botched gall bladder out-patient surgery her core muscles need work. She sat on it, got to looking happy and smiling, started gushing over how it will help her, and noted that she has a folding chair she can use and the ASC comes with its own bag and that she can put it away when she does not use it, unlike the HH.
I really wish I was physically capable of doing an exercise routine without ending up in complete exhaustion. My body was getting stronger using the HH, and that was especially noticeable in my thighs. Being in a saddle for 20 minutes a day did wonders for my mental cheerfulness. But, as always when I try to exercise, exhaustion happened and was not going away for a while.
At least tomorrow I get to ride a real live horse AND get a lesson. YooHoo!!!
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Home Horse just got here! Haven’t built it yet because I was exhausted just getting all the packing materials off of it 
Looking forward to my first rides!
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Congratulations.
I have mine in my house. To protect the floor I flattened the cardboard box it came in and put the HH on top of it.
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