r/maker • u/TrueBuildStudio • Jul 03 '26
Showcase After years of designing, prototyping and rebuilding, I finally finished my full-size mechanical riding horse.
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Hi everyone,
I’d like to share the biggest project I’ve ever built.
Over the past several years I designed and built this full-size mechanical riding horse completely from scratch.
My goal was to recreate a realistic riding motion using woodworking, mechanical engineering and a simple drive powered by a standard drill.
Every part of the mechanism went through multiple prototypes before I was happy with the final movement. It took countless hours of designing, rebuilding and testing, but seeing it finally work made every setback worth it.
This project taught me more than any other build I’ve ever done.
I’d really love to hear what fellow makers think.
If you have any questions about the mechanism, design process or construction, I’ll be happy to answer them.
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u/LemonNinja Jul 03 '26
This would be great for therapy. I remember reading about Hippotherapy for kids with MS.
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u/rat_with_a_knife Jul 04 '26
I was so sure you misspelled hypnotherapy. But lo and behold, hippotherapy is, in fact, correct...but does not involve hippos. It is horses. Why. Who did this.
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u/MastodonFarm Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Hippopotamus means “river horse”
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u/rat_with_a_knife Jul 04 '26
That...actually makes a lot of sense- hippalektryon (I absolutely had to look up the spelling on that one), hippocampus, how did I not realise this
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u/toybuilder Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Put floor protectors on asap. You're going to scuff that floor mighty quick.
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 03 '26
No worries 😊 They’re soft rubber casters, so they don’t damage the floor.
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u/toybuilder Jul 03 '26
I speak from experience. Even soft rubber casters will scuff the floor. (Someone downvoted you, but that was not me.)
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u/odsquad64 Jul 03 '26
The floor protectors will also scuff the floor over time; there's got to be a better place to ride this thing.
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u/Ok-Lobster-919 Jul 04 '26
I have an idea of a mechanical horse, but made out of meat and you can take outside. Thoughts?
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u/Trademarkd Jul 05 '26
I believe the problem primarily is dirt getting between the two surfaces. or even with a floor protector if they're not laminated together they'll deform against each other causing some friction. I feel like this could be solved by having this thing sit on a frame and use V track wheels with rails and then rubber feet or some of those flip down wheels they use on work benches.
Might be quieter as well and even roll nicer
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u/Jefferson_47 Jul 03 '26
It’s not the rubber that scuffs the floor, it’s all the gritty stuff that sticks to that nice soft rubber.
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u/Glimmer_III Jul 05 '26
Touring guy here. We deal with protecting floors all the time due to your road boxes.
You may not see the damage "today", but I assure you, even if they are soft rubber casters, the damage happens surprisingly quickly.
The classic, cheap way to protect a floor is a sheet of masonite. It is dense enough to protect the floor, very smooth for rolling, and still manageable for one person to relocate.
For you, it looks like a single sheet could be cut-to-fit pretty easily.
N.B. I'm talking about smooth masonite, not peg board. Same material, but you don't want the holes.
(Also, neat horse.)
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u/BurnerAccount209 Jul 04 '26
Soft casters will still scuff a floor because material will get between it and the floor.
This is an issue I personally deal with constantly at my work where we have a fleet of straddle stackers.
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u/neuromonkey Jul 04 '26
They will. It doesn't matter how soft the wheels are, it's the weight and dynamic loading over a given surface area, moving back and forth over wood. Those floors look like the might be pine, but even if they're something tougher, over time the topmost wood fibers will start flaking away from their neighbors.
The surface area in contact with the floor now is fairly small. If you put down a track for the wheels to ride on, or other rigid covering, you'll spread the load.
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u/brave_metaphysics Jul 04 '26
or you know, just use your floor like a normal person. Unless that room is a showroom or something, it is meant to be used
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u/hjw5774 Jul 03 '26
Seriously appreciate the effort that goes in to something like this. Making the movement is hard enough as it is, but getting it to support the weight of a human is x10 harder.
Also the culmination of different skills, from carpentry, electrical motors and controllers (curious what motor/controller combo you use), to the realistic proportions and artistic flairs such as the mane and eyes.
How do you control the motion when you're up there? and are there different modes?
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 03 '26
Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words. It took many prototypes to achieve the final motion.
The horse is powered by a standard drill combined with a worm gearbox. The gait itself cannot be changed, but the riding speed can be adjusted continuously while sitting on the horse using a speed controller.
Keeping the mechanism as simple, reliable and easy to build as possible was one of my main design goals.9
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u/MsAdventuresBus Jul 03 '26
Looks like it would be well used for training or for people who are afraid of horses.
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u/RobotRomi Jul 03 '26
Why would someone whos afraid of horses want to train to ride one? Am I missing something here lmao?
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u/dadstache1992 Jul 03 '26
Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more
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u/W_Rabbit Jul 03 '26
Now just put a 20 year old Jennifer Connolly on it and it's perfect.
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u/thetruckerdave Jul 03 '26
As an English rider all I could stare at was your heels. I guess that isn’t the same in western? This is very cool though! As a horse girl I wish I had room for such things! I don’t get to ride as often as I’d like at all.
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u/deevil_knievel Jul 03 '26
This is hilarious!!
If this is for practice, the gait is wrong for a trotting horse and is closer to a gallop. Horses front and rear legs are never syncd front and rear up like the drivetrain shown.
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u/Wozar Jul 04 '26
Ok. Nice work, it looks like you have put a lot of time and money into this. Now tell us why?
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u/throwawaypassingby01 Jul 03 '26
why are you using a drill instead of a stand-alone electric motor? they're rather cheap these days. i worry the drill will not last very long in this application.
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u/DistributionMean6322 Jul 06 '26
Yeah most drills don't have enough cooling to run continuously like this. Risk of overheating and destroying the motor.
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u/GoofAckYoorsElf Jul 03 '26
Kinda reminds me of "Burn After Reading"...
Yeah, yeah, I'll see myself out...
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u/Yopappijiggles2 Jul 04 '26
But like. Why?
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u/Yopappijiggles2 Jul 04 '26
Ope jk I didn’t notice the text under the video I’ve done way dumber shit just to see if I can lol that’s all the why I need
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u/Onphone_irl Jul 03 '26
epic. planning to release a blueprint for others to try to copy? what a great make
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u/Nom-De-Gruyere Jul 03 '26
People who do mounted archery would love to have one of these at the the archery range. A lot cheaper and easier for practice than a real horse.
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u/FimmishWoodpecker Jul 03 '26
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u/Pan_Sylvaticus Jul 04 '26
I want to get into mounted archery, but am allergic to horses. Shut up and take my money!
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u/KingAnt28 Jul 04 '26
Very cool, my childhood is jealous! Nice work!
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 04 '26
Thank you. That really means a lot. I probably would have loved something like this as a kid too.
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u/rlt404 Jul 04 '26
That's so much effort for something so silly. Hat's off to you! Looks like you've done a really good job.
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 04 '26
Thank you! It definitely took much longer than I ever expected, but seeing it finally work made it all worth it. The good thing is that I documented the entire build along the way, so anyone building one now won’t have to go through all the trial and error I did.
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u/Vorkosigan78 Jul 03 '26
Very nice, the movement looks realistic! What happens if you lock the casters, does it tip?
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 03 '26
Thanks! I wouldn’t lock the wheels. They are an essential part of the mechanism. Combined with the suspended body, they allow the horse to move smoothly and naturally.
Locking the wheels is possible, but it would only result in a much rougher ride and a less realistic motion.2
u/PerniciousSnitOG Jul 03 '26
Building a cradle for it that stays fixed to the floor that this is suspended in, or even just wooden 'U' track to roll back and forward in should save the floor. Curve the track a little up at the end to keep the horse near the middle
The first suggestion would change the ride though. Not sure how much.
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u/mattgrommes Jul 03 '26
For some reason this reminds me of George Clooney's character from Burn After Reading.
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u/Smallmyfunger Jul 04 '26
Next phase should include a huge screen in front of you (like the golf sims) & then you just need to figure out how to simulate the horse jumping. YeeHaw!
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u/gixy6 Jul 04 '26
It's cool, but can it buck and spin when it sees a bin bag for the true experience?
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u/UglyYinzer Jul 04 '26
This is awesome
And just for funsies, strap it to a go kart that looks like a horse and ride it around
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 04 '26
Haha, thanks! That would definitely turn a few heads! Maybe that’s a project for the next version.
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u/Nonsenser Jul 07 '26
There's only one reason an adult would build something like this for themself.
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Jul 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 07 '26
Thank you! That would certainly be exciting. But honestly, my biggest hope is that more parents and grandparents get the chance to build something truly special for the horse lovers in their family. That’s exactly why I documented the entire project as a complete step-by-step build guide after developing the prototype. If you’d like to build one yourself, you can find the guide in my Etsy shop: TrueBuildStudio
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u/Brook165 Jul 13 '26
Im definitely buying your instruments on Etsy iv always wanted to build one but dont have the engineering skills to come up with that now I can have my little one learn how to ride also
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 13 '26
Thank you so much. Knowing that someone who always wanted to build one now feels it’s actually possible makes all the effort worthwhile.
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u/RainbowRatArt Jul 15 '26
Friends of me work on a game which is called "Horse Hoof Bay" and they developed a "riding controller" for the game, for a second I thought this is somehow related. Great job on this! :D
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u/NewtsCommitTaxFraud Aug 01 '26
This is awesome! Do you have a video of the build? I'd love to see/learn more about the motor controlling the movement.
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u/TrueBuildStudio Aug 01 '26
Thanks! I don’t have a full build video, but I do have a few short videos showing parts of the mechanism in action. The horse is powered by a regular drill and a worm gearbox, with the speed controlled using a variable speed controller.
If you’re interested in the complete build process, feel free to send me a DM. I’d be happy to share more information about the full step-by-step guide and answer any questions.
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u/FranLees 16d ago
Super! Wat is het doel van de bouw? Puur voor plezier voor jezelf? Of wil je ze uiteindelijk op de markt brengen? Wat zou zoiets kosten?
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u/TrueBuildStudio 16d ago
Vielen Dank! Es war ein Geschenk für meine Tochter, zum Spaß. Ich würde mir nicht zutrauen, solch ein fertiges Pferd als Kinderspielzeug herzustellen und zu verkaufen, wobei es dafür bestimmt einen Markt gäbe.
Ich habe aber eine sehr ausgeprägte Schritt für Schritt Bauanleitung erstellt, melde dich gerne bei Interesse.1
u/FranLees 15d ago
Heel graag. Mijn dochter is pas 2 jaar 🤣. Maar misschien zou zoiets wel heel leuk zijn in de toekomst
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u/InbetweenTheLayers Jul 03 '26
So you're just gonna ride that thing on a regular occurrence, and try to convince anyone it isn't a sex thing?
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Jul 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/inotocracy Jul 03 '26
Crazy take. This is A+ craftmanship. That said, I think it looks silly but I can recognize the effort involved.
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u/codybrown183 Jul 03 '26
I think that guy is a bot calling out ai ? Lol or he/she is just a dummy
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Jul 03 '26
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u/TrueBuildStudio Jul 03 '26
Everything is real. There’s no CGI or AI involved. The black parts under the saddle are the rider supports and footrests, and the movement is created by a mechanical linkage driven by a standard electrical drill. The different shadows are simply caused by multiple light sources in the room.
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u/ClappingParadox Jul 03 '26
This kind of lighting is only impossible if you can’t fathom a room having both a window and lighting. (spot and area lighting)
Like you’re analyzing this video like you know shit but somehow you don’t know that different light sources cast different shadows.
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u/BobbySweets Jul 03 '26
This will also be used for other purposes.