What is a spur stop?

A spur stop is when a horse is taught to stop (rather than go) off of the pressure of the heel or spur. It's often seen in pleasure classes, but considered incorrect everywhere else. (If the spur means stop then what the heck means go?)

I admit to some bias here, but I've never seen the utility in it.

What is jumped off?

As in what almost happened to me this week.

We say a horse "jumps the rider off" if the rider falls during or immediately after the jump because of a lack of coordination between the horse and rider. It's usually caused by a disagreement over when to take off or by the horse jumping far higher than the rider expects. Needless to say, it's highly embarrassing.

What is a collecting ring?

The collecting ring is the area at a horse show where horses and riders wait to go into the main arena. It may also be the area in which riders school or warm up their horses before competing, depending on the configuration of the show grounds or barn. (At many barn shows the warm up area is a good distance from the arena used for actual competition and the "collecting ring" may be a designated part of the stable yard).

What is a Trakehner?

One of two things, actually.

1. A breed of Warmblood horse that originates in Germany.

2. A fence consisting of a rail over a ditch, often quite frightening for the horse and a test of bravery.

The two terms appear to be a weird coincidence, but this isn't true - both originate from the Trakehnen area of East Prussia.

The Trakehner fence originally referred to fences built in drainage ditches, common in this wetland area.

The breed originated at the Main Stud Trakehnen in the same area.

A kid and a pony jumping a trakehner fence. Image source: Timdnz via Wikimedia Commons.

What is a sunken road?

A sunken road is a cross country fence that's designed to simulate crossing a rather typical English country road.

The horse jumps down a drop, then up a bank a few strides later. There may or may not be rail on one or both sides of the road. It's considered a difficult obstacle, especially with rails.

What is a Normandy bank?

A Normandy bank is a ditch followed by a bank, with a fence on top of the bank. It's seen mostly in cross country and is considered quite difficult, especially if the fence is at the far side of the bank, forming a drop.

What is an oxer?

An oxer is a horse jump with two rails set a distance apart. Sometimes there is "filler" in the oxer, such as brush. The rails may be the same height or different heights, but the front rail is never higher than the back rail, as this messes with a horse's vision and causes them to knock the fence down. A lower front rail is considered more inviting.

In the UK, an oxer where the two rails are at the same height is called a "parallel."

An oxer with three rails is a "triple bar."

The horse is jumping a parallel rails or parallel oxer, with a regular ascending oxer in the background. Image source SGBailey via Wikimedia Commons.