You can also repeat things and concentrate on problem areas without a horse becoming frustrated or tired. There is no arena atmosphere space/distance, speed, navigation, no horse who is tired or unbalanced and no weather issues to confuse things. The lessons on the simulator for me were so very helpful since it is a “perfect” horse and all the lesson time can be focused on the rider. I’ve had a few lessons on simulator… in fact the exact one that Callie uses in the video from Roozaro Farm. I had to travel some distance for my lesson, but it was definitely worth it. I would heartily recommend trying a simulator to a rider of any level. In the end I was circling around in canter with my hands raised, with a stupid grin on my face! 🙂 My lesson culminated in a lunge lesson on one of Sue’s horses (without reins or saddle, but luckily a comfy blanket to sit on) The point of this was to really establish the canter seat, and feel what the horse is doing. What other way could there be, where an instructor can adjust your position during a fast canter? And the whole time there were camera views of all 4 sides, so that I could adjust my body to the ideal centre line. I found the simulator to be an amazing help, as it transpired that during canter I had fallen into the trap that you’ve mentioned many times (pushing the heels down – instead of letting them ‘hang’) As a result, I was bouncy due to much of my weight being through my legs instead of the seat. My instructor was the lovely Sue-Nevill Parker – who like you, is also a biomechanics / Feldenkrais practitioner. Last year, I had an amazing lesson on an identical simulator (called Blackberry!). Learn more about the Riding Simulator: Hi Callie, For example, imagine riding the canter while an instructor can stand right next to you the whole time, helping you find the best position and movement with your body!Ĭlick play below to watch the video and learn more about my lesson on the simulator. Plus I discovered there are real benefits to working on a simulator like this. Riding the simulator I learned something very interesting about my own riding…. I practiced half halts and transitions, rode in a dressage arena and went for a nice canter along a dirt path through open fields… at least was the experience created by the screen in front of me! The simulator gave me instant feedback on my balance, movement, rein pressure, even leg pressure. This is essentially a mechanical horse that walks, trots, canters, and even does flying lead changes!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to try out a “riding simulator”, and not just any simulator but a super fancy technical one – the Racewood Dressage Model.

Mechanical horse simulator near me