Sports simulators can help you practice your game, but a high-tech horse that just arrived in Ocean City, New Jersey has become a game changer especially amongst people with special needs.
For 35 years, Chariot Riders - a therapeutic riding facility in Manchester Township - has used horses to help people with cognitive and physical challenges.
Horses can be unpredictable so now the company has a new life-size interactive device called Synergy - an equine simulator - which uses pre-programmed training exercises to help riders feel more comfortable and confident.
If a rider's balance is off, the display on the simulator shows them where adjustments are needed.
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On a live horse, rider Alexa Bussey has to be strapped in and her mobility is limited since she is prone to epileptic seizures. However on the equine simulator Bussey says she feels much safer.
“I just feel safe on this horse," said Bussey. “It's more freedom for me.”
Members of the non-profit celebrated Synergy's recent arrival with local leaders earlier this week. A grant from Ocean county funded most of its $67,000 cost.
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“Chariot Riders is also offering it to riders of other forums," Chariot Riders Executive Director Linda Fazio said. “It gives them a readout. They transfer that to their horse and they will feel a difference.”
Many also believe the simulator should also take some strain off the real horses.
"It's going to improve hopefully, the lifespan of a horse that we have, because we're not leaning on one side of the horse all the time," Fazio said.
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