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Equestrian disciplines

The many ways horses are ridden and worked, from the Olympic arena to the long-distance trail, each explained with its rules and its horses.

The Olympic disciplines

Three equestrian sports are contested at the Olympic Games: dressage, the test of trained movement; show jumping, the timed clearing of a course of fences; and eventing, which combines the two with a cross-country phase.

Each is governed internationally by the Federation Equestrian International and run at graded levels below the elite tier.

Distance, speed and working sports

Beyond the arena, endurance riding races horses over tens of miles with veterinary welfare checks, while racing and harness racing test outright speed on the flat, over jumps or in the sulky.

Working traditions live on in western riding, carriage driving and draught horse work, each with its own tack, skills and competitions.

Everyday riding and hoof protection

Most riding is not competition at all but hacking and trail riding: getting out on roads, tracks and open country. These are the settings where hard and stony ground makes hoof protection most useful.

Where a discipline works horses over abrasive terrain, the HoofBootFit sizing tool matches a fresh-trim measurement to hoof boots that fit.

Ridden and driven

Not every equestrian sport is ridden. Carriage driving puts the human on a vehicle behind the horse, harness racing sends horses round a track at a trot or pace in a sulky, and vaulting turns the horse into a moving platform for gymnasts on the lunge.

These sports keep alive skills, from harness work to lungeing, that reach back to when the horse was transport and power rather than sport, and each has its own competitions and following today.

Size a hoof boot for your discipline

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Sources: Federation Equestrian International (FEI) · British Equestrian