Giddy-up, Horsebot
Those crazy Brits—always thinking up wacky new ways to amuse themselves. First there was “sploshing.” Then came Sienna Miller. Now...

Those crazy Brits—always thinking up wacky new ways to amuse themselves. First there was “sploshing.” Then came Sienna Miller. Now there’s the robot horse. Just like a real horse, this one, made by a company called Racewood with Equitech software, responds to cues from the legs, seat and hands, and its back and neck move in a way that simulates what it feels like to ride at a walk, trot and canter. It looks like a mechanical bull, challenges the rider’s fitness like a cardio machine, and hooks up to a monitor videogame style, with a display of a dressage arena that tells you whether you’re making accurately shaped circles. “You can practice dressage tests endlessly without tiring your horse,” says a representative of the British Horse Society. Gee, what fun: a robot for OCD equestrians. Maybe these guys should team up with the engineers who made Big Dog to create a robosteed that actually travels over the ground. Me, I’m holding out for the one that tries to buck you off and shies at random shadows. —Megan Miller