Horsemanship

First of all, there's the matter of horse. Horses come in many different varieties, from ponies (short and round), to racing steeds (long-legged and sleek), to strong, heavy types like Clydesdales. Horses are identified by breed and color. Official colors are Albino (pure white), Grey (almost white), Blue (a special type of grey that looks more or less blue), Black, Brown (black with a shine of brown showing through), Bay (tan with brown 'socks', tail, and mane), Sorrel (tan all over), Roan (any shade of red), and Paints (covered with large blobs of varying colors).

Other color variations are the forms of markings. Horses with different colors on their feet have either 'socks' or 'anklets'. Socks go all the way up to their hocks. Anklets are a small circle just above the foot. Markings on the head also have special names. A white mark on only the forehead is a 'star'. One on the nose is a 'snip'. One that goes over both forehead and nose is a 'blaze'. Blazes are sometimes 'broken', which means they're interrupted partway down the face.

Caring for a horse is a lot of work. Horses that are doing heavy work, such as being ridden, need to be fed grain every day, but not too much grain. In any case, they need to be combed and brushed with a curry comb to remove dirt and other irritants, particularly before riding. Their hooves must be cleaned out with a special pick so that they don't have extra pressure on the sensitive pads on the inside of the hoof. As well, the fit of any shoes must be checked regularly. If it doesn't have shoes, then the hoof should be checked and occassionally trimmed.

Tack (equipment) for a horse consists of a bridle, reins, hair pad, saddle pad/blanket, saddle, and bit. Each of these items are described below.

Bits

Bits are pieces of metal or leather attached to the reins that control the horse. The way they control the horse is that they rest in the space in the horse's mouth where there are no teeth, in such a way that they press against the gums to exert pressure. The horse turns its head, which means it walks in that direction. The thinner the bit, the more pressure it exerts in a small area, and the more painful it is. Therefore, it is good policy to use a nice, wide bit to avoid harming the horse's mouth.

Reins

Reins come in two sorts; split and tied. Whether they are split or not doesn't really make much difference, however. What does is how they are used. English and wagon rein technique use both hands, one holding each rein. Constant contact along the line of the reins can therefore be kept, for best dressage (posture of the horse, essentially) and control. Western-style, however, requires a free hand, so both reins are held in the left hand.
Reins can also be doubled, with certain kinds of bits. The reason for this is supposedly better control on a headstrong horse, but its effectiveness is debated.

Bridle

A bridle is simply a way to control the head without using a bit. It consists of a noseloop and a strap that goes behind the ears, as well as an attached rope. It is impossible to actually steer a horse while on its back with a bridle, but is easily used to lead the horse about.

Hair pad and saddle pad/blanket

The hair pad is a soft pad between the horse and everything on top of it, protecting the horse. The saddle pad/blanket is the same thing. Not all horses require both.

Saddle

The saddle, of course, is what you sit on. Saddles are built around a 'tree' which is made of wood. On the best saddles, the layers of leather on top are drilled through the tree and the whole thing is tied and bolted together. English saddles are merely designed as seats and often come with handholds on front. Western saddles feature pommels for tying off rope on, and gullets (a hole behind the pommel), for tying it up to your truck when you're not watching it. (Saddles are expensive.) All modern saddles have stirrups of some sort, worn at full leg length for Western style and shorter for English style. The cantle is the back part of the saddle, which contains the part actually sat in. Saddles are held on by cinches, and only cinches (though supporting items like breast collars and back cinches may help keep the saddle steady for uphill and downhill work).