Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and in North America, the equestrian form is usually called "trail riding," or, less often "hacking." In the UK and Europe, the practice is usually called horse or pony trekking.
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The term is also applied in North America to routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by explorers and migrants. In the United States, "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace.
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.
In England and Wales, other than in the 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London, the right of way is a legally protected right of the public to pass and re-pass on specific paths. The law in England and Wales differs from Scots law in that rights of way exist only where they are so designated, whereas in Scotland any route that meets certain conditions is defined as a right of way, and in addition, there is a general presumption of access to the countryside. Private rights of way or easements also exist.
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships in a given discipline or breed. Most shows consist of a series of different performances, called classes, wherein a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.
The Riding for the Disabled Association, also known as the RDA is a United Kingdom based charity founded in 1969 focused on providing therapeutic horse-riding, equestrian vaulting and carriage driving lessons to people with developmental and physical disabilities as well seeking to improve the lives of those with mental health difficulties. Princess Anne has been the organisations President since 1985.
An equestrian helmet is a form of protective headgear worn when riding horses. This type of helmet is specially designed to protect the rider’s head in the event of falls from a horse, especially from striking a hard object while falling or being accidentally struck in the head by a horse’s hoof.
A riding instructor is a person whose job it is to teach methods of horse riding to beginners and improve the intermediate and advanced rider's style and technique. A riding instructor may also serve as a coach for a rider in competition. Some instructors may work out of their own riding facility, others at a riding school or training center. With appropriate academic credentials, some may teach in a college or university equestrian studies program. Yet others freelance and travel from stable to stable.
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider range of users, including equestrians, hikers, and cyclists. Such paths are either impassable for motorized vehicles, or vehicles are banned. The laws relating to allowable uses vary from country to country.
The Pony Club is a voluntary organisation founded in England in 1929. It has now expanded internationally and Pony Club branches can be found worldwide. It is one of 16 organisations that form the British Equestrian Federation.
Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) encompasses a range of treatments that involve activities with horses and other equines to promote human physical and mental health. The use of EAT has roots in antiquity, and EAT applies to physical health issues in modern form dates to the 1960s. Modern use of horses for mental health treatment dates to the 1990s. Systematic review of studies of EAT as applied to physical health date only to about 2007, and a lack of common terminology and standardization has caused problems with meta-analysis. Due to a lack of high-quality studies assessing the efficacy of equine-assisted therapies for mental health treatment, concerns have been raised that these therapies should not replace or divert resources from other evidence-based mental health therapies.
Equestrian Canada, formerly known as Equine Canada and commonly known by its acronym, EC, is Canada’s comprehensive national governing body for equestrian sport. It is the executive branch of Canada's Olympic and Paralympic equestrian teams; the national association and registry of Canadian equestrian athletes; the national regulatory body for equestrian coaches, competition organizers, and judges; and the national federation of Canadian horse breeders and Canadian breed registries.
British Dressage is the organisation which oversees all affiliated dressage competitions and training in the United Kingdom. British Dressage is a member of the British Equestrian Federation.
Equestrian use of roadways was routine historically, and continues to be routine in many parts of the world today. It is subject to a wide variety of regulatory, policy, management, and technical issues.
Equitation science is defined as "the application of scientific methods to assess objectively the welfare of horses undergoing training." It promotes an evidence-based understanding of horse-rider interactions. The goal is to apply valid, quantitative scientific methods to identify what training techniques are ineffective or painful, and to improve the horse-rider relationship by explaining horse training from a learning theory perspective that removes anthropomorphism and emotiveness. It can aid the training process by clarifying the roles of positive versus negative reinforcement, punishment, and by identifying stimuli that provoke unwanted responses or pain in horses. Equitation science uses psychological principles such as learning theory as well as equine ethology and biomechanics. It uses objective measures to score performance during training and competitions and identifies techniques that may result in equine suffering.
The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) is a membership organisation in the United Kingdom which represents manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of goods for, and other businesses connected with, the equestrian market. It is one of the 16 organisations which form part of the British Equestrian Federation.
The Canadian Equestrian Team or CET collectively describes the athletes that represent Canada at the highest levels of international equestrian competition, specifically at the World Championship, Olympic, and Paralympic levels.
Equine welfare helps describe the acceptable conditions of life and use for domesticated horses, in contrast to suffering produced by voluntary or involuntary actions of others, whether through physical abuse, mutilation, neglect, or other forms of ill treatment. Debates about the welfare and abuse of horses are recent. In the nineteenth century, when the sight of a horse dying while working was commonplace, the first wave of awareness was born with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the publication of the novel Black Beauty in England. France followed suit with the creation of the French League for the Protection of the Horse and the passage of the Grammont Law in 1850. Similar concerns over animal welfare developed in the United States. The debate intensified and extended throughout North America and Europe over the next century, particularly regarding the use of the horse during war, the use of horses as working animals on city streets, sports training, horse slaughter, and conditions of horse breeding and keeping. In the United States, the practice of soring resulted in the passage of the Horse Protection Act of 1970 and various organizations protested against abuses in horse racing and rodeo. In the early twenty-first century, these issues remained in the public eye and new controversies arose, especially about training methods such as Rollkur, problems in the field of endurance riding, stable confinement, and the presence of carriage horses in modern cities such as New York.
The German Equestrian Federation(Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung) is an umbrella organization in Germany for equestrian sports and breeding. It is the governing body for the majority of equestrian sports and their organization in Germany, including FEI-recognized disciplines of dressage, eventing, show jumping, vaulting, endurance, reining, para-equestrian, and driving. It also develops and enforces the rules for other events at horse shows. It is colloquially known as FN, short for the international term Fédération Équestre Nationale. The organisation runs the FNverlag, a publishing house for related books and other media
