Every sport has its own language. Here are the words you will hear most often at a riding school, a stable or a horse show, explained simply.
- Aids
- The signals a rider uses to communicate with the horse: legs, seat, hands and voice.
- Arena
- An enclosed riding area, usually with a sand or fibre surface.
- Bay
- A brown coat colour with black mane, tail and lower legs.
- Bit
- The metal or rubber mouthpiece of a bridle, attached to the reins.
- Bridle
- The headgear used to guide a horse, made up of a headpiece, bit and reins.
- Canter
- A three-beat gait, faster than the trot and slower than the gallop.
- Cavaletti
- Low poles used to improve a horse’s rhythm, balance and jumping technique.
- Chestnut
- A reddish-brown coat colour with a mane and tail of the same or lighter shade.
- Clear round
- A show jumping round with no faults.
- Colt
- A young male horse, usually under four years old.
- Cross-country
- The eventing phase ridden over solid natural fences across open country.
- Diagonal
- At the trot, rising as the horse’s outside foreleg moves forward.
- Dismount
- To get off a horse.
- Farrier
- A skilled professional who trims hooves and fits horseshoes.
- Filly
- A young female horse, usually under four years old.
- Flying change
- Changing the leading leg at the canter in mid-air, without breaking stride.
- Foal
- A horse under one year old.
- Gait
- A pattern of leg movement: walk, trot, canter, gallop, and special gaits such as the revaal.
- Gallop
- The fastest gait, with four beats.
- Gelding
- A castrated male horse.
- Girth
- The strap that holds the saddle in place around the horse’s belly.
- Groom
- A person who cares for horses daily; also the act of brushing a horse.
- Gymkhana
- Mounted games testing speed and agility, popular at Indian riding clubs.
- Hand
- The unit of horse height: four inches (10.16 cm), measured to the withers.
- Hoof pick
- A small hooked tool for cleaning the underside of the hoof.
- Jump-off
- A timed tie-breaker round in show jumping.
- Lead
- At the canter, the foreleg that reaches furthest forward.
- Lead rope
- A rope attached to a headcollar, used to lead a horse on foot.
- Lope
- The Western name for a slow, relaxed canter.
- Lunge
- Exercising a horse in a circle on a long line around the handler.
- Mare
- An adult female horse.
- Martingale
- A piece of tack that helps control the height of a horse’s head.
- Mount
- To get on a horse; also another word for a horse being ridden.
- Numnah
- A pad placed under the saddle for comfort and protection.
- Oxer
- A spread jump with two sets of poles, testing width as well as height.
- Paddock
- A small fenced field where horses graze or exercise.
- Piaffe
- A dressage movement: a highly collected trot almost on the spot.
- Pony
- A horse measuring under 14.2 hands when fully grown.
- Refusal
- When a horse stops in front of a fence instead of jumping it.
- Reins
- The straps from the bit to the rider’s hands.
- Revaal
- A smooth lateral ambling gait found in many Marwari and Kathiawari horses.
- Saddle
- The rider’s seat, held on by the girth.
- Sound
- Healthy and free from lameness.
- Stallion
- An adult male horse that has not been castrated.
- Stirrups
- The metal footrests hanging from the saddle.
- Tack
- All the equipment used on a horse: saddle, bridle, girth and more.
- Tent pegging
- A cavalry sport of lifting a wooden peg from the ground with a lance at the gallop.
- Trot
- A two-beat gait in which diagonal legs move together.
- Upright
- A vertical jump with poles set one above another.
- Withers
- The highest point of a horse’s shoulders, where height is measured.