I came across this post while searching for something totally different. Anyway, I ride my bike and horse daily. My indoor setup is a Cannondale CAAD bike, Wahoo KICKR Snap and the low volume build plan. I add in endurance rides on the days I don’t have a scheduled ride. Cycling is amazing fitness to augment equestrian fitness. Properly pedaling strengthens similar muscles used while riding. I foxhunt, trail ride and do a bit of jumping and find the fitness gained from indoor cycling keeps me plenty fit for riding my horse all year. There is also a soothing similarity between pedaling and riding. Both bring the brain to a similar place. Good luck to your friends.
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I am far less of a horse expert than Alison sounds to be, but I don’t find ANY connection between bike fitness and horse fitness. Running maybe, but definitely stuff that involves more core and flexibility (yoga?).
Though I primarily ride bareback/western and endurance (as much as my old horse can handle), which is very different from jumping and such.
But seriously, my horse IS one of my running partners. I haven’t run with him much lately for various reasons, but I do put him on a lead and take him out for runs.
I feel obligated to post in this thread only so that in the off chance I die, and my wife lurks my browsing history… Lol. We own two horses(Friesian and a Mustang), and I’m honestly surprised to see more than a handful of others on here in the same boat!
I often think to myself that I must be one of the handful of people in the world that pulls off cowboy boots to kit up in spandex…
I misread this as “pulls off cowboy boots in spandex” and started drafting a reply with more humor. 
Not a horse owner or rider, but I do think appearances and assumptions are too often drawn on in modern societies where we’ve been coached to categorize everyone neatly.