Why do I want to build an open-source horse riding simulator?

I want to build a horse riding simulator.  Yes, I know that there are already good ones on the market, like those from https://racewood.com. But those cost close to AU$100,000, and are really optimised for professional racing jockeys, rather than more casual horse riding, from what I can tell.  While they can do a great job at helping you drill to get your balance and aids (i.e., the ways you tell the horse what you want to do) right, from what I have seen they don't really focus on providing a simulated trail ride, or other recreational activity.  And besides, they still cost more than a decent car (and almost as much as running a real horse ;), thus pricing them out of feasibility for most individuals, and indeed, for many hippotherapy (i.e., horses and horse riding as therapy) providers, which is another area I would like my simulator to help.

So my primary goals are:

1. It should be affordable.

2. It should excel at providing a recreational riding experience.

3. It should be high-fidelity, not just to support suspension-of-disbelief (but that's a good goal), but also so that it can still be used as a horse riding training tool.

As with much of what I do, I think the best way to achieve this, and for it to have the maximum positive impact in the world, it should be designed as an open-source / open-hardware project.

This is going to require the development of a lot of different systems, and possibly a few new cost-reduced alternatives to common sensing or actuating technologies along the way, along with a healthy dose of pragmatic materials choice, e.g., "up-cycling" materials otherwise destined for the rubbish dump.

Doing it open-source will also enable much faster development and refinement, and inclusion of features that make the system much more compelling / effective for its intended roles. For example, adding in additional media modes, such as fans to simulate the wind in your face.  Alone I won't be able to do it all, but I won't have to do it alone, and certainly don't intend to do it alone. So if you have an interest in contributing, almost no matter what your technical (or horsey) background, there is probably something you can do to contribute. 

This blog will document our adventures down this path, until we can all go for a virtual ride down the trail together, on our networked horse riding simulators.

In fact, I've already made a start, which I'll describe in future posts, but for now, I will leave you with this sneak-peek of the work in progress in it's "stable".