Abstract
This study explores the interactive relationship between humans and horses in equestrian practice, proposing that through long-term coexistence and riding, humans are not only tamers but are also shaped by horses. Using speculative design, the author created two new equestrian devices—the “Sym- Bridle” and the “WaveSync Saddle”—to visualize and amplify the subtle flows of force and sensory feedback between rider and horse. These works challenge the notion of one-way control, reframing riding as a process of mutual adjustment and embodied dialogue. Building on this, the author introduces the post-human figure “Equiarch”, imagining the bodily, behavioral, and cognitive transformations emerging from human–horse coevolution. Rather than solving a specific problem, this study offers a way of observing inter species relations, revealing domestication as a reciprocal process and highlighting the ineffable, symbiotic communication at the core of human–horse interaction.
Keywords
Speculative Design; Human–Horse Relationship; Sympoiesis; Multispecies Interaction
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1208
Citation
Shao, H.(2025) The Choreography of Sympoiesis: A Speculative Design to Reshape Modern Equestrian Concepts, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1208
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 1 - More Than Human-centered Design
The Choreography of Sympoiesis: A Speculative Design to Reshape Modern Equestrian Concepts
This study explores the interactive relationship between humans and horses in equestrian practice, proposing that through long-term coexistence and riding, humans are not only tamers but are also shaped by horses. Using speculative design, the author created two new equestrian devices—the “Sym- Bridle” and the “WaveSync Saddle”—to visualize and amplify the subtle flows of force and sensory feedback between rider and horse. These works challenge the notion of one-way control, reframing riding as a process of mutual adjustment and embodied dialogue. Building on this, the author introduces the post-human figure “Equiarch”, imagining the bodily, behavioral, and cognitive transformations emerging from human–horse coevolution. Rather than solving a specific problem, this study offers a way of observing inter species relations, revealing domestication as a reciprocal process and highlighting the ineffable, symbiotic communication at the core of human–horse interaction.