Equine Sports Compendium
A reference guide to vocabulary, judging, and attire across English, Western, racing, and other equestrian sports.
Compiled with thanks to The Rift team & staff, who created and maintain this compendium — created by horse lovers, for horse lovers.
English Sports
Western Sports
Racing
Other
Basic Vocabulary
Horses Specific
•Foal — A young horse under a year of age.
•Weanling — A foal that is being weaned from its mother's milk, typically around 4 to 6 months old.
•Yearling — A young horse between the ages of 1 and 2. Early adolescent and are not fully mature.
•Colt — A male horse younger than 4 years old
•Filly — A female horse younger than 4 years old
•Gelding — A castrated male horse
•Stallion — Male horse older than 4 years and is intact/has not been gelded
•Stud — A stallion used for breeding
•Sire — Male parent of a horse
•Mare — Fully mature female horse of breeding age, usually around 3 years or older
•Broodmare — A mare used primarily for breeding
•Dam — Female parent of a horse
•Green Horse — This refers to the level of experience in a horse. They are usually young and/or inexperienced under saddle.
Gaits
•Gait — The different patterns (based on foot falls) of locomotion that a horse uses to move. There are four natural gaits all horses have: walk, trot, canter, and gallop.
•Suspension — the moment when all of the horse’s hooves are off the ground.
•Collected -
•Working -
•Extended -
•Rein Back/Backing — a 2 beat diagonal gait with no suspension going backwards vs forwards.
•Halt — bringing the horse to a complete stop and standing still
•Walk — a natural, four-beat gait. It's the slowest of the horse's gaits and is characterized by a regular 1-2-3-4 beat where the legs move independently. Specifically, the sequence is left hind, left front, right hind, right front.
•Jog — More often seen in Western disciplines, the jog is a slow, steady, and rhythmic trot. A good jog should be smooth and even. Unlike the trot, the jog has a smaller moment of suspension between steps.
•Trot — A two-beat diagonal gait where the horse's legs move in diagonal pairs, with a moment of suspension in between each beat.
•Lope — A slow, steady, and generally relaxed variation of the canter. It's often seen in Western riding and is characterized by a relaxed, collected posture and a slower pace than a traditional canter. The lope is known for its smooth, easy rhythm and is commonly used in Western pleasure and other Western riding disciplines.
•Canter — A 3-beat gait with a moment of extension after. The horse will have a leading front leg that extends farther than the others. The correct leading leg is the one on the inside, or the one closest to the center of the arena. So if your horse’s left shoulder is on the wall and their right shoulder is on the inside, the right lead is correct. The horse will take off on its hind leg opposite the canter lead, then the diagonal pair will move forward, and then their leading leg. For example, in the right lead, the horse will start on their hind left, then their front left and hind right will move together, and then finally their leading front right leg will stride forward.
•Hand Gallop -
•Gallop — the fastest gait a horse can perform, characterized by a four-beat rhythm where all four feet are off the ground at some point during each stride. It's a bounding gait, essentially a fast run, and is used when a horse needs to move quickly or escape danger.
Tack
•Tack — refers to all gear on a horse for riding or driving.
•Saddle — piece of tack on the horses back that the rider sits in
•Bridle — piece of tack worn on the horses head for communication and steering
•Saddle Pad — cloth that goes under the saddle to absorb shock and prevent friction
•Breast Collar — also known as a breastplate, it attaches to a saddle to prevent it from slipping/sliding backwards.
•Bell Boots — A boot designed to protect horses who overreach and to protect hooves in rough terrain. (Overeaching is when the hind hoof strikes the heel of the front hoof)
•Girth — The band fastened around the horse's belly to secure the saddle.
•Halter — The head collar around the horse's head that is used for leading and tethering.
•Boots — there are many types of boots but they are all designed to protect some part of the horse’s legs. There are tendon boots, fetlock boots, brushing boots, stable boots, shipping boots, etc.
•Rein — the strap connected to the bridle that riders use to help steer.
•Shoe — what goes on the bottom of the horse’s hoof to help protect from injury and depending on the shoe help with ailments, injuries, and shock absoption.
•Stirrup — A loop shaped piece of metal, plastic, or wood that is attached to the saddle where the rider places their feet.
Behavior
•Balk/Balking — stopping abruptly and refusing to move forward
•Bolt/Bolting — when a horse panics and takes off at high speeds and typically refuses to slow down for a time
•Buck — when a horse kicks their hind quarters out, usually accompanied by lowered head and rounded back
•Rear — when a horse lifts their front legs and shifts weight to their hind legs basically standing vertically
•Shying — when a horse jumps or moves sideways away from something
Riding Specific
•Aids — anything used to communicate with the horse. Natural aids include legs, hands, voice, seat, etc. Artificial aids include whips, crops, spurs, etc.
•Conformation — horses physical shape, structure, body proportions, and alignment. This all effects a horses balance, athletic ability, movement quality, and soundness.
•Equitation — the art of horse riding, the riders correct position, balance, and effective use of aids.
•Lead — refers to the front leg that reaches furthest and strikes the ground last during a canter or gallop. Horse on the correct lead will lead with the inside leg corresponding with the direction of the turn.
•Stride — a complete 4-phase cycle of horses movement defined by their sequence of footfalls.
•Slice — approaching a jump at a sharp angle vs straight on
•Impulsion — an energetic and controlled thrust from the horse's hind legs. Typically most common in jumping.
•Refusal — when a horse stops in front of an obstacle instead of clearing it
•Run-out - when a horse moves sideways from a jump and still goes forward, missing the jump.
English Sports