Meaning & use
horsemanship
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
The skill of riding horses and controlling them well.
Grammar: Uncountable: 'Her horsemanship is excellent', never 'a horsemanship' or 'horsemanships'.
Patterns
- good horsemanship
- show horsemanship
- a display of horsemanship
Her horsemanship improved after a year of daily lessons.
The judges praised his calm horsemanship during the difficult course.
Good horsemanship means understanding the animal, not just staying on it.
Common combinations
- good horsemanship
- Good horsemanship kept the rider safe on the steep trail.
- skillful horsemanship
- The crowd admired her skillful horsemanship.
- a display of horsemanship
- The festival ended with a display of horsemanship.
- improve your horsemanship
- Weekly practice will improve your horsemanship.
- natural horsemanship
- He teaches natural horsemanship, working with the horse's instincts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- riding
- Names the activity itself; 'horsemanship' stresses the level of skill and care, not just the act of riding.
- equestrianism
- A formal word for horse riding as a sport; it sounds more technical than 'horsemanship'.
Word family
- horseman noun
- A man who rides horses, especially one who rides well.
- horsewoman noun
- A woman who rides horses, especially one who rides well.
- horsemanship noun
- The skill itself, as defined above.
Commonly confused: horsemanship or horsemanship?
horsemanship vs horsemanship
Do not confuse it with 'horseshoe', a metal plate nailed to a horse's hoof, or with 'horsemanship' and 'horsemenship', which is not a word.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'horsemanship' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Horsemanship' is an uncountable noun for a skill, so it fits 'His horsemanship won him a place'. It cannot be bought, counted, or built like an object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “horsemanship”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.