I’m a young adult rider who is back after a years-long break from serious riding. Back at it a bit but still not getting the saddle time I know I need to be effective, competitive, etc. I live in a major city, have lots of non-horsey things in my life, but am now working part time as an instructor/rider at a program about an hour from me. Recently learned about the existence of riding simulators like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neQdzF6kQ1E and am wondering if anyone on here has used them/what has been your experience? They don’t seem to be very popular in the US but am curious what people think as it seems like it could be a really exciting tool for people like me who can’t be at the barn/in the saddle as much as we’d like.
Another question is I’m a former jumper rider who would ultimately like to get back to that, some dressage background but really a hunter/jumper education. Do we think this would work for more of the American forward riding style? Could it work as part of an equitation program for juniors etc? The same manufacturer makes an “eventing” simulator that can even jump to 1.20m and I am curious about the potential this could offer
I’ve done quite a lot of simulator riding. It is very useful if there is a specific thing you want to work on. For me it was engagement of my core and glutes when jumping.
I’m in South Africa though, and here it is quite popular, because the simulator instructor is often also a biokineticist.
I tried one in Wellington once and it was interesting, but to me didn’t feel that much like riding a real horse, either biomechanically or in how I use my aids (very rigid and formulaic, with no room for feel). It does allow you to practice isolating your aids. One of the people I was with really struggled with cuing the “horse” for different movements and I think it was eye-opening for her. Even if I wouldn’t normally use my aids that way, I could see it being useful for learning better body control.
The jumping felt wildly unrealistic, but this was in 2018 so they may have improved that.
@Curly_Feather, that’s so cool and interesting! My experience felt more like a novelty and sales pitch than a training session.
OP, have you looked into the Home Horse? There’s a thread on here about it and people seem to find it useful for rider fitness and balance.
It isn’t the same as riding a horse: it is a machine, after all. However, for working on one’s position, application of aids, for building muscle strength and memory, for biokinetics it is really useful. I ride with a lot more body/self awareness and a stronger position after a biokinetics session. It is also surprisingly hard work because a machine doesn’t require breaks or a change of pace.
I’m contemplating having a few sessions as chronic illness has prevented me from riding for five years and as my health improves I want to get back into the saddle. A mechanical horse seems to be the most efficient way.
Since there is no way I could afford to buy one of these riding simulators, afford lessons on one, or even find one near enough to me so I would not be totally exhausted by the car ride to get there I looked for other solutions, one I could afford.
I bought a Home Horse.
Riding a Home Horse is not a replacement for riding a real live horse. It does not react to my aids like the above simulator. However it does point out vividly problems with my balance on the horse as it lurches around when my balance is bad. With the bridle extension I can practice holding my reins but it is my fingers that tell me how much pressure I put on the “bit”.
I have MS, bad balance and no energy. The longest ride I can manage is 30 minutes on a real horse, on the Home Horse my rides vary from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on how tired I get. It takes more energy to ride a Home Horse since I have to move it myself instead of the horse moving itself. I use my ancient Crosby PDN on it, my seat bones complain if I do not have the saddle on it.
The Home Horse is very sensitive to the rider’s balance. If I lean too far forward I end up feeling like I am going down a very steel slope. If I put too much weight in one foot the Home Horse immediately lurches to that side. Since my proprioception is very, very bad I ended up putting a long bubble balance on the front of the platform so whoever helps me ride the HH can tell me right away if I get off balance a little bit (if I am off balance a good bit the trusty HH immediately lurches to that side.)
To be balanced side-to-side and front-to-back on the HH I end up in an extremely Forward seat with my weight more on my pubic bone than on my seat bones. If my weight is mostly on my seat bones the HH lurches back which is very evident with the bubble balance.
I can get up into two-point (and the HH lurches forward) and I can post some (one day I posted 30 strides on it, yet to be repeated.) I have difficulties getting my seat bones completely out of the saddle so my posts are me rocking forward and back on my thigh bones. A few times I have sort of replicated a canter (leading with one seat bone).
The HH does NOT have any up and down motion. This makes posting a lot of work for me.
The HH was the only horseback riding replicator I could afford at less than $1,000 USD. If I was much more wealthy I would invest in an EQUICIZER, but that is around $4,000 USD with the stuff I would need on it. I have never gotten to ride an Equicizer but from watching the videos the rider can get up and down motion. I truly wish I could afford one, but I am retired and on SS so there is no way I could really save up for one. Maybe one day my husband will buy me a state run gambling game ticket that would get me enough money but I am not expecting that at all since for state run gambling games I am a perennial loser.
The last time I looked at the price on the one in the video it was over $40,000 USD, and I would have to get both the dressage one and the jumping one to get total replication of how I ride (I no longer do the sitting trot since I have MS on top of several concussions over the years, my brain is delicate!!!)
In the Riders with Health Issues section I have a thread on “Trying to Get Riding Fit at the Speed of a Snail”. Due to the weather and scheduling a lot of the entries are about my adventures at home on my Home Horse.
What I do like about the riding simulator is for calling out asymmetry. I realized how differently I was applying my left and right calf aid or tipping in the walk to trot transition. The trainer who had it says that people (even pros) would often get frustrated by a lack of response to something that they give a frustrated kick or thump and had a “aha” moment that it was a completely agnostic tool but how often they might struggle with frustration about the lack of response in a horse that’s actually their imbalance. I don’t think it was a substitute for riding but I enjoyed my two lessons. I also struggle with a lower back brace in the canter so it was awesome to have complete safety and freedom to flop and wiggle and try to figure things out without being unsafe or annoying a saintly school horse on a lunge line.
Someone I know owned an Equicizer (https://equicizer.com/) and my equestrian club used it once with a sidesaddle. It isn’t electric, rather you create the motion with your own seat/body. Looks like it would fall somewhere in between the home horse and the fancy simulator shown in OP’s video. I think it would be good for fitness, balance, position, etc. but not really for higher level stuff.
I rode one once as part of a research study…it was an interesting experience. As a PT, I can see how it might have some benefit for biomechanics training - working on some balance, strength, and symmetry. That said, I did not find it to be like riding a horse at all! It was way less challenging…yes, it took me a few attempts to figure out the cues and locations for timing the cues…but then the simulator was 100% consistent. It did not react the way a normal horse would…and I tend to influence a lot with my seat and knee/leg pressure and the simulator did not react in the same way. I noticed that it didn’t have the same lateral and bending reaction that a horse would have. I rode the “extended trot” on the simulator (which the research team told me challenged some people)…I could have sat that all day it was so easy to catch the rhythm and just sit to it. It did not have the back breaking snap that my gelding has in his extended trot! LOL
So it has some really good benefits…but it is not an exact replacement for real saddle time.
Semi-poaching this thread in case anyone is interested in trying to make their own simulator! I have a cwd with a broken tree that would make a great (never to be used on a horse unless fixed) seat for one of these for cheap! 
How cool! That makes a lot of sense that it would be a moment to soley focus on body mechanics
Thank you all for sharing your experiences! Still curious to try one but can’t find any obvious spots to try one in the Northeast. I will def also look into that home horse, would prefer that to a desk chair any day 
Asymmetry is major. I know I struggle with that in my own riding but it can be so tricky to continuously pinpoint and correct.
And that’s exactly why I was interested - especially when I teach I see poor school horse after poor school horse have to deal with all this rider BS and an alternative place to practice with the robot horse not having discomfort is intriguing.
There is a simulator in Ontario, about 90 minutes north of Toronto. I found the lesson super interesting and a bit more work than actual riding (the sim doesn’t need breaks lol) It was super helpful with making for a more balanced ride and working on a more precise position and use of aids. I was also able to translate some of the exercises to actual riding.
It was a definitely a worthwhile experience.
I think any model of those can save school horses when beginners learn the basics on other, even just a barrel with four legs.
How to get on and off, how to sit, basic rein handling, all and any such can be started on other than a real horse, then get on a real one on the longe line, use what was learned first on other, school horse much happier. 
