I did a series on Instagram on the most confusing words in the equestrian language and there were three words that almost unanimously bubbled to the top of the EQ word soup.

Grab a spoon, let’s dig in.

The number one word that leaves the most seasoned equestrian needing more context:

HACK

Anyone using this word could be telling you any number of things:

“I’m just hacking today” (a light ride)

“You want to go for a hack today?”  (a trial ride, long walk outside of your regular riding arena)

“What time is the hack?” (another term for the under saddle class (flat class) at the hunter/jumper show)

In close second:

TURNOUT

Turnout – to describe your horse being put out in a paddock or field

“Who’s doing turnout today?”
“Is there good turnout at that barn?”
“Did the horses get turned out today?”

OR

Turnout – to describe your overall appearance and presentation.

“Horse and rider turnout is expected to be impeccable at the horse show”

Finally, not far behind on the head-scratcher scale:

GREEN

Referring to a horse with little experience or training, or even a novice or inexperienced rider.

There is a GREEN division at the horse show specifically for horses in their first year of showing (regardless of their age). Some shows may have a green rider division as well.

What do you think? Have you ever titled your head at any of these words?

Diving into the horse world can require building an entire vocabulary to keep up with some conversations, and if you’re heading to the horse show… buckle up because just as you get your horsey-vocab up to speed, the horse show shifts into a new gear of terminology and slang.

If you’ve ever stood around the horse show and wondered:

What’s the difference between an Equitation class and a Medal? Or tried to understand the different Jumper Tables (Table ll, Section 1, Table ll 2(a), Table ll 2(b), Table ll 2(c) etc) …. Or wondered what the heck is a 3-ring horse anyway???

I’ve got you.

This Horse Show Glossary includes 25+ terms you need to know before you go to your next hunter / jumper horse show. You’ll never get lost in translation again!

If you’re just getting started, or returning to the horse show and need a little help getting back into the swing of things, check out the Free Stuff page!

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