I cannot use the pad that comes with the Home Horse because I am very allergic to neoprene (my skin looked like a swarm of mosquitos feasted upon me.)
Instead I put one of my Rider Grips on the Home Horse. My saddle does not move and my skin does not look like I rolled around in a patch of poison ivy.
Is it perfect? No, but my saddle stays in place.
I try to imitate the canter by moving the HH diagonally. I put one foot on the base in a forward position and the other foot on the base in a backward position from the center. I then rock forward using the leading leg back and forth.
Then I switch leads😀. I hope this makes sense.
Yes, it makes sense.
I’ve just been trying to move the HH into the canter by swinging one hip in front of the other, switching “leads” every few strides. I find that tiring, maybe I’ll try your method.
I was able to purchase a HH from a kind CotHer, and have used it for a few days. I really like it, though I’m taking a break since I tweaked my back this weekend. I happen to have a Saddle Right half pad and it works great, with the HH pad over the top to add a bit of width. I recently ordered a suede bareback pad that will probably really work well. Otherwise, one thing I’m finding interesting is that it’s challenging to really put my heel down flat and my foot under me on the platform. This is surprising because I don’t struggle with keeping my heels down in the saddle. I think over time it will improve my ability to keep my thigh flat and my hip mobile. It came with the extension for reins, but I haven’t tried those yet.
Just yesterday the lady who helps me ride my Home Horse came with some scraps she got from her job.
She told me it was “floor decal vinyl with anti-slip laminate”. She told me that any commercial decal place will have it. She also said it is what they put down in basketball courts when the court needs a decal on its floor.
She put them where I tend to put my feet on the HH platform and trimmed it around the edges so there was no overhang of the vinyl, so I have, on each side, an area of about 16" by 8" where I can put my feet without them slipping around at all.
I started off as usual, with my feet flat on the platform. After 10 minutes I put my feet in the stirrups and rode for another 20 minutes, so 30 minutes total.
The longest I had been able to ride my HH before this material was put on was 17 minutes, and I was always really tired after 10 minutes, I just picked up my stirrups after around 7 minutes and made myself to keep going. I had sort of a hard time getting off (I could not get my right leg to clear the cantle without help.)
Yesterday I did not notice I was tired until I had ridden 27 minutes when I got tired. I sort of sat on the HH balancing for the remaining 3 minutes just so I would get a half hour of exercise in (my riding lessons are 30 minutes.) I also did not need any help getting off the HH.
I had not realized how much energy I was wasting by trying to keep my feet in their proper place on the slick plywood of the HH platform. Without the laminate I was getting really tired quickly, with it I rode for almost twice as long as before.
I did feel tired last night, but I was triumphant. I had seen no way that I would ever have enough energy to ride my HH for 30 minutes at a time.
Plus, when I first started riding my HH a while ago it was very hard for me to get balanced from right to left and from front to back. For the last month or so the lady who spots me told me every
time I asked that I was balanced even when I was “walking”, doing 2-point and posting both with my feet flat on the platform and with my feet in the stirrups. I find that it is much easier for my spotter to tell if I am truly in balance when I have a long bubble balance across the front part of the platform. With the long bubble balance even my husband can tell me if I am in balance.
I love having my HH. With it I can still get in a saddle and ride something the days it is raining, or below 25 F, or my riding teacher is sick, or if a human infection is running through her rather large stable. Having that sticky vinyl on the platform means that I can use it more to keep my riding muscles fitter.
The saddle I am using is a 46 year old Crosby PDN Wide Front jumping saddle. I also have the double bridle rein attachment with reins, which helps me practice opening and closing my elbows when I am “walking” or posting.
I hope this will help you enjoy your HH even more. It sure helps me keep some riding muscles when I cannot ride for weeks on end (pandemic, winter weather, etc., etc., etc…)
Have fun with yours!
Thanks Jackie, that is interesting. I could probably cut a piece of yoga mat to go on the base, or maybe just wear running shoes that might have a little more grab than socks and see if it feels different. Howe great that you are able to do 30 minutes now!
I got on mine today.
I need to do it more often because when I do it loosens things up and my spine cracks which I think is good…maybe haha. I need to attach the bridle and reins, just haven’t done that yet.
I do not wear socks with mine, I either go barefoot or wear my sneakers 
Socks make it hard to get off the dang thing.
I haven’t put a saddle on it yet as I am still struggling with mounting. Some muscle that I need to activate isn’t activating and it’s good for me to not be able to cheat like I can with the actual horse.
Roughly how much does it cost?
Thanks. Somehow I missed that on the website
It is pricey, but I bought mine because I could help others with it. I’m not sure I would have bought it just for me.
None of the shoes I wore–running shoes, Ariat zip up paddock boots or Ariat Terrain paddock boots, kept my feet from slipping.
I also do not know if a yoga mat would help unless it was somehow glued down on the platform.
I am just thrilled with my new alteration of the HH. My dream had been to get my body strong enough so I could ride a horse for over 30 minutes. Since it takes so much more energy for me to ride my HH than to ride a horse maybe, just maybe, someday I will be able to ride a horse for a longer period of time than 30 minutes.
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