Equestrianism


Equestrianism, commonly known as horse riding or horseback riding, includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the use of horses for practical working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, and competitive sport.
However, recent studies have raised serious concerns about the impact of riding on horse welfare and pain.

Overview of equestrian activities

Horses are trained and ridden for practical working purposes, such as in police work or for controlling herd animals on a ranch. They are also used in competitive sports including dressage, endurance riding, eventing, reining, show jumping, tent pegging, vaulting, polo, horse racing, driving, and rodeo. Some popular forms of competition are grouped together at horse shows where horses perform in a wide variety of disciplines. Horses are used for non-competitive recreational riding, such as fox hunting, trail riding, or hacking. There is public access to horse trails in almost every part of the world; many parks, ranches, and public stables offer both guided and independent riding. Horses are also used for therapeutic purposes both in specialized para-equestrian competition as well as non-competitive riding to improve human health and emotional development.
Horses are also driven in harness racing, at horse shows, and in other types of exhibition such as historical reenactment or ceremony, often pulling carriages. In some parts of the world, they are still used for practical purposes such as farming.
Horses continue to be used in public service, in traditional ceremonies, police and volunteer mounted patrols and for mounted search and rescue.
Riding halls, also known as indoor arenas or schools, enable training of horse and rider in all weathers as well as indoor competition riding.

History of horse use

Though there is controversy over the exact date horses were domesticated and when they were first ridden, the best estimate is that horses first were ridden approximately 3500 BC. There is some evidence that about 3000 BC, near the Dnieper River and the Don River, people were using bits on horses, as a stallion that was buried there shows teeth wear consistent with using a bit. However, the most unequivocal early archaeological evidence of equines put to working use was of horses being driven. Chariot burials about 2500 BC present the most direct hard evidence of horses used as working animals. In ancient times chariot warfare was followed by the use of war horses as light and heavy cavalry. The horse played an important role throughout human history all over the world, both in warfare and in peaceful pursuits such as transportation, trade and agriculture. Horses lived in North America, but died out at the end of the Ice Age. Horses were brought back to North America by European explorers, beginning with the second voyage of Columbus in 1493. Equestrianism was introduced in the 1900 Summer Olympics as an Olympic sport with jumping events.

Horse racing

Humans appear to have long expressed a desire to know which horse or horses were the fastest, and horse racing has ancient roots. Gambling on horse races appears to go hand-in hand with racing and has a long history as well. Thoroughbreds have the pre-eminent reputation as a racing breed, but other breeds also race.

Types of horse racing

Under saddle:
In harness:
Distance racing:
  • Endurance riding, takes place over a given, measured distance and the horses have an even start. Top level races are usually, over mountainous or other natural terrain, with scheduled stops to take the horses' vital signs, check soundness and verify that the horse is fit to continue. The first horse to finish and be confirmed by the veterinarian as fit to continue is the winner. Limited distance rides of about are offered to newcomers. Variants include Ride and Tie and various forms of long riding.

    International and Olympic disciplines

Equestrian events were first included in the modern Olympic Games in 1900. By 1912, all three Olympic disciplines were part of the games. Three forms of competition are recognized worldwide and are a part of the equestrian events at the Olympics. They are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports :
  • Dressage involves the progressive training of the horse to a high level of impulsion, collection and obedience. Competitive dressage has the goal of showing the horse carrying out, on request, the natural movements that it performs without thinking while running loose.
  • Show jumping comprises a timed event judged on the ability of the horse and rider to jump over a series of obstacles, in a given order and with the fewest refusals or knockdowns of portions of the obstacles.
  • Eventing, also called combined training, horse trials, the three-day event, the Military or the complete test, puts together the obedience of dressage with the athletic ability of show jumping, the fitness demands the cross-country jumping phase. In the last-named, the horses jump over fixed obstacles, such as logs, stone walls, banks, ditches and water, trying to finish the course under the "optimum time". There was formerly a 'Steeple Chase' phase, which has been excluded from most major competitions to bring them in line with the Olympic standard.
The additional internationally sanctioned but non-Olympic disciplines governed by the FEI are: combined driving; endurance; reining; and vaulting. These disciplines are part of the FEI World Equestrian Games every four years and may hold their own individual World Championships in other years. The FEI also recognizes horseball and tent pegging as its two regional disciplines.

Para-equestrian disciplines

competition at the international level, including the Paralympics, are also governed by the FEI and offer the following competition events:
  • Para-Equestrian Dressage is conducted under the same rules as conventional Dressage, but with riders divided into different competition grades based on their functional abilities.
  • Para-Equestrian Driving places competitors in grades based on their skill.

    Impact of Riding on Horse Welfare

Several studies have raised concerns about the effects of horseback riding on horses.
A British study examined lameness and pain in both sport and school horses whose owners reported no such issues. Despite the owners’ reports, the examination showed that about 73% of the horses exhibited some degree of lameness, and about half of them showed signs of pain during riding. Pain was measured using the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram. Similar results have been found in other studies and locations. Similar issues have also been found in leisure riding horses.
Although rider skill positively affects horse welfare, it was found that all riders, regardless of skill or experience, fail to recognize behavioral signs that indicate pain. The researchers note that educating riders to recognize behaviors indicating pain may allow earlier detection of problems in the horse and provide appropriate treatment. Indeed, learning the RHpE improved veterinarians’ ability to identify musculoskeletal pain in horses significantly.
In addition, it was found that riders struggle to recognize proper saddle fit or suitable saddle shape, regardless of their skill level. Various saddle and fitting issues can cause back pain. Harmful problems documented include asymmetrical saddle panels and a poorly fitted tree head. The Society of Master Saddlers has published guidelines for optimal saddle fitting. Researchers have highlighted the importance of regular saddle fitting checks by a qualified fitter.
However, even among qualified Society of Master Saddlers fitters, agreement on saddle assessments was not complete, so fitting a saddle according to the guidelines does not guarantee protection against errors.
It was found that the rider’s weight affects the horse’s pain. In addition, weight distribution on the horse’s back also seems to be important. It is estimated that a skilled rider has better stability and weight distribution, which eases strain on the horse’s back.

Haute École

The haute école, an advanced component of Classical dressage, is a highly refined set of skills seldom used in competition but often seen in demonstration performances.
The world's leading Classical dressage programs include:
Other major classical teams include the South African Lipizzaners and the Hollandsche Manege of the Netherlands.

Horse shows

s are held throughout the world with a tremendous variety of possible events, equipment, attire, and judging standards used. However, most forms of horse show competition can be broken into the following broad categories:
  • Equitation, sometimes called seat and hands or horsemanship, refers to events where the rider is judged on form, style and ability.
  • Pleasure, flat or under saddle classes feature horses who are ridden on the flat and judged on manners, performance, movement, style and quality.
  • Halter, in-hand breeding or conformation classes, where the horse is led by a handler on the ground and judged on conformation and suitability as a breeding animal.
  • Harness classes, where the horse is driven rather than ridden, but still judged on manners, performance and quality.
  • Jumping or Over Fences refers broadly to both show jumping and show hunter, where horses and riders must jump obstacles.