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Equestrianism (from Latin equester, equestr , equus, 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), 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.

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 (see additional equestrian sports listed later in this article for more examples). Some popular forms of competition are grouped together at horse shows where horses perform in a wide variety of disciplines. Horses (and other equids such as mules) 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 (parades, funerals), police and volunteer mounted patrols and for mounted search and rescue. Riding halls enable training of horse and rider in all weathers as well as indoor competition riding.

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 3,000 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.

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.

Equestrian events were first included in the modern Olympic Games in 1900. By 1912, all three Olympic disciplines still seen today were part of the games. The following 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 (FEI). Dressage ("training" in French) 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. Show jumping is also one of the five events in the modern pentathlon. 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 also the 'Steeple Chase' Phase, which is now 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.

Horse shows 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 (not jumped) 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.

In addition to the classical Olympic events, the following forms of competition are seen. In North America they are referred to as "English riding" in contrast with western riding; elsewhere in the world, if a distinction is necessary, they are usually described as "classic riding": There is no horn. Hunt seat or Hunter classes judge the movement and the form of horses suitable for work over fences. A typical show hunter division would include classes over fences as well as "Hunter under Saddle" or "flat" classes (sometimes called "hack" classes), in which the horse is judged on its performance, manners and movement without having to jump. Hunters have a long, flat kneed trot, sometimes called "daisy cutter" movement, a phrase suggesting a good hunter could slice daisies in a field when it reaches its stride out. The over fences classes in show hunter competition are judged on the form of the horse, its manners and the smoothness of the course. A horse with good jumping form snaps its knees up and jumps with a good bascule. It should also be able to canter or gallop with control while having a stride long enough to make a proper number of strides over a given distance between fences. Hunter classes differ from jumper classes, in which they are not timed, and equitation classes, in which the rider's performance is the focus. Hunter style is based on fox hunting, so jumps in the hunter division are usually more natural colors than the jumps in a jumper division. Eventing, show jumping and dressage, described under "Olympic disciplines", above are all "English" riding disciplines that in North America sometimes are loosely classified within the "hunt seat" category. Saddle seat, is a primarily American discipline, though has recently become somewhat popular in South Africa, was created to show to best advantage the animated movement of high stepping and gaited breeds such as the American Saddlebred and the Tennessee Walker. Arabians and Morgans may also be shown saddle seat in the United States. There are usually three basic divisions. Park divisions are for the horses with the highest action. Pleasure divisions still emphasis animated action, but to a lesser degree, with manners ranking over animation. Plantation or Country divisions have the least amount of animation (in some breeds, the horses are flat shod) and the greatest emphasis on manners. Show hack is a competition seen primarily in the United Kingdom, Australia and other nations influenced by British traditions, featuring horses of elegant appearance, with excellent way of going and self carriage. A related event is riding horse.

Western riding evolved from the cattle working and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish settlers, and both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy on ranches in the American West. The most noticeable feature of western style riding is the western saddle, which has a substantial saddle tree that provides support to horse and rider when working long hours in the saddle. The western saddle features a prominent pommel topped by a horn (a knob used for dallying a lariat after roping an animal), wide stirrups, and in some cases, both front and back cinches. The depth of the seat may depend on the activity, a deeper seat used for barrel racing or cutting cows or a more shallow seat for general ranch riding or Steer wrestling. Finished western horses are asked to perform with a loose rein controlled by one hand. The headstall of a western bridle may utilize either a Snaffle bit or curb bit. Bitless headstalls are also seen, such as a bosal style hackamore on youger horses, or various styles of mechanical hackamore. In Vaquero style training, a combination of a bosal and bit, called a "two rein", is used at some stages of training. The standard western bridle lacks a noseband and usually consists of a single set of reins attached to a curb bit that has somewhat longer shanks than the curb of an English Weymouth bridle or a pelham bit. Western bridles have either a browband or else a "one ear" loop (sometimes two) that crosses in front of the horse's ear. Two styles of Western reins developed: The long split reins of the Texas tradition, which are completely separated, or the "Romal" reins of the California tradition, which are closed reins with a long single attachment (the romal) that can be used as a quirt. Modern rodeo competitors in timed events sometimes use a closed rein without a romal. Western riders wear a long sleeved shirt, long pants or jeans, cowboy boots, and a wide brimmed cowboy hat. A rider may wear protective leather leggings called chaps. Riders may wear brighter colors or finer fabrics in competition than for work. In particular, horse show events such as Western pleasure may much flashier equipment. Saddles, bits and bridles are ornamented with substantial amounts of silver, rider clothing may have vivid colors and even rhinestones or sequins.

Barrel racing and pole bending – the timed speed and agility events seen in rodeo as well as gymkhana or O Mok See competition. Both men and women compete in speed events at gymkhanas or O Mok Sees; however, at most professional, sanctioned rodeos, barrel racing is an exclusively women's sport. In a barrel race, horse and rider gallop around a cloverleaf pattern of barrels, making agile turns without knocking the barrels over. In pole bending, horse and rider run the length of a line of six upright poles, turn sharply and weave through the poles, turn again and weave back, then return to the start. Steer wrestling – Also known as "Bulldogging", this is a rodeo event where the rider jumps off his horse onto a steer and 'wrestles' it to the ground by grabbing it by the horns. This is probably the single most physically dangerous event in rodeo for the cowboy, who runs a high risk of jumping off a running horse head first and missing the steer or of having the thrown steer land on top of him, sometimes horns first. Goat tying – usually an event for women or pre teen girls and boys, a goat is staked out while a mounted rider runs to the goat, dismounts, grabs the goat, throws it to the ground and ties it in the same manner as a calf. This event was designed to teach smaller or younger riders the basics of calf roping without the more complex need to also lasso the animal.

Roping includes a number of timed events that are based on the real life tasks of a working cowboy, who often had to capture calves and adult cattle for branding, medical treatment and other purposes. A lasso or lariat is thrown over the head of a calf or the horns of adult cattle, and the animal is secured in a fashion dictated by its size and age. Calf roping, also called "tie down roping", is an event where a calf is roped around the neck by a lariat, the horse stops and sets back on the rope while the cowboy dismounts, runs to the calf, throws it to the ground and ties three feet together. (If the horse throws the calf, the cowboy must lose time waiting for the calf to get back to its feet so that the cowboy can do the work. The job of the horse is to hold the calf steady on the rope) This activity is still practiced on modern working ranches for branding, medical treatment, and so on. Team roping, also called "heading and heeling", is the only rodeo event where men and women riders may compete together. Two people capture and restrain a full grown steer. One horse and rider, the "header", lassos a running steer's horns, while the other horse and rider, the "heeler", lassos the steer's two hind legs. Once the animal is captured, the riders face each other and lightly pull the steer between them, so that it loses its balance, thus in the real world allowing restraint for treatment. Breakaway roping – an easier form of calf roping where a very short lariat is used, tied lightly to the saddle horn with string and a flag. When the calf is roped, the horse stops, allowing the calf to run on, flagging the end of time when the string and flag breaks from the saddle. In the United States, this event is primarily for women of all ages and boys under 12, while in some nations where traditional calf roping is frowned upon, riders of both genders compete.

In spite of popular myth, most modern "broncs" are not in fact wild horses, but are more commonly spoiled riding horses or horses bred specifically as bucking stock. Bronc riding – there are two divisions in rodeo, bareback bronc riding, where the rider rides a bucking horse holding onto a leather surcingle or rigging with only one hand, and saddle bronc riding, where the rider rides a modified western saddle without a horn (for safety) while holding onto a braided lead rope attached to the horse's halter. Bull Riding – though technically not an equestrian event, as the cowboys ride full grown bulls instead of horses, skills similar to bareback bronc riding are required.

There are many other forms of equestrian activity and sports seen worldwide. There are both competitive events and pleasure riding disciplines available.

Handling, riding and driving horses have inherent risks. Horses are large prey animals with a well developed flight or fight instinct able to move quickly and unexpectedly. When mounted, the rider's head may be up to from the ground, and the horse may travel at a speed of up to The injuries observed range from very minor injuries to fatalities. A study in Germany reported that the relative risk of injury from riding a horse, compared to riding a bicycle, was 9 times higher for adolescents and 5.6 times higher for younger children, but that riding a horse was less risky than riding a moped. In Victoria, Australia, a search of state records found that equestrian sports had the third highest incidence of serious injury, after motor sports and power boating. In Greece, an analysis of a national registry estimated the incidence of equestrian injury to be 21 per 100,000 person years for farming and equestrian sports combined, and 160 times higher for horse racing personnel. Other findings noted that helmets likely prevent traumatic brain injuries. In the United States each year an estimated 30 million people ride horses, resulting in 50,000 emergency department visits (1 visit per 600 riders per year). A survey of 679 equestrians in Oregon, Washington and Idaho estimated that at some time in their equestrian career one in five will be seriously injured, resulting in hospitalization, surgery or long term disability. Among survey respondents, novice equestrians had an incidence of any injury that was threefold over intermediates, fivefold over advanced equestrians, and nearly eightfold over professionals. Approximately 100 hours of experience are required to achieve a substantial decline in the risk of injury. The survey authors conclude that efforts to prevent equestrian injury should focus on novice equestrians.

The most common injury is falling from the horse, followed by being kicked, trampled and bitten. About 3 out of 4 injuries are due to falling, broadly defined. A broad definition of falling often includes being crushed and being thrown from the horse, but when reported separately each of these mechanisms may be more common than being kicked.

Horseback riding is one of the most dangerous sports, especially in relation to head injury. Statistics from the United States, for example, indicate that about 30 million people ride horses annually. On average, about 67,000 people are admitted to the hospital each year from injuries sustained while working with horses. 15,000 of those admittances are from traumatic brain injuries. Of those, about 60 die each year from their brain injuries. Studies have found horseback riding to be more dangerous than several sports, including skiing, auto racing and football. Falling from a horse without wearing a helmet is comparable to being struck by a car. Most falling deaths are caused by head injury. Despite this, helmet usage rates in North America are estimated to be between eight and twenty percent. Once a helmet has sustained an impact from falling, that part of the helmet is structurally weakened, even if no visible damage is present. Helmet manufacturers recommend that a helmet that has undergone impact from a fall be replaced immediately. In addition, helmets should be replaced every three to five years; specific recommendations vary by manufacturer.

Many organizations mandate helmet use in competition or on show grounds, and rules have continually moved in the direction of requiring helmet use. In 2011, the United States Equestrian Federation passed a rule making helmet use mandatory while mounted on competition grounds at U. S. nationally rated eventing competitions. Also in 2011, the United States Dressage Federation made helmet use in competition mandatory for all riders under 18 and all riders who are riding any test at Fourth Level and below. If a rider competing at Prix St. Georges and above is also riding a test at Fourth Level or below, he or she must also wear a helmet at all times while mounted.

The idea that riding a horse astride could injure a woman's sex organs is a historic, but sometimes popular even today, misunderstanding or misconception, particularly that riding astride can damage the hymen. Evidence of injury to any female sex organs is scant. In female high level athletes, trauma to the perineum is rare and is associated with certain sports (see Pelvic floor#Clinical significance). The type of trauma associated with equestrian sports has been termed "horse riders' perineum". A case series of 4 female mountain bike riders and 2 female horse riders found both patient reported perineal pain and evidence of sub clinical changes in the clitoris; the relevance of these findings to horse riding is unknown. In men, sports related injuries are among the major causes of testicular trauma. In a small controlled but unblinded study of 52 men, varicocele was significantly more common in equestrians than in non equestrians. The difference between these two groups was small, however, compared to differences reported between extreme mountain bike riders and non riders, and also between mountain bike riders and on road bicycle riders. Horse riding injuries to the scrotum (contusions) and testes (blunt trauma) were well known to surgeons in the 19th century and early 20th century. Injuries from collision with the pommel of a saddle are mentioned specifically. A study by animal welfare group Animal Aid revealed that approximately 375 racehorses die yearly, with 30% of these either during or as a result of injuries from a race. The report also highlighted the increasing frequency of race related illnesses, including bleeding lungs (exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage) and gastric ulcers. Some events themselves are also considered so abusive that they are banned in many countries. Among these are horse tripping, a sport where riders chase and rope a loose running horse by its front legs, throwing it to the ground. Secondary effects of racing have also recently been uncovered. A 2006 investigation by The Observer in the UK found that each year 6,000–10,000 horses are slaughtered for consumption abroad, a significant proportion of which are horses bred for racing. A boom in the number of foals bred has meant that there is not adequate resources to care for unwanted horses. Demand has increased for this massive breeding programme to be scaled back.