Learn the definitions of each of the following words and collocations: to ride, to be astride, to kick, to snort, to toss, to buck, to hiss, a helmet, gloves, a saddle, a bridle, reins, girths, stirrups, a pad, a pommel, at trot, at canter, to unbuckle, to grasp.
to ride – to sit on an animal, especially a horse, and make it move along.
to be astride – to be with one leg on each side of a horse.
to kick – to hit something with a foot or a leg.
to snort – to breathe air in a noisy way out through your nose, especially to show that you are annoyed or amused.
to toss – to throw something, especially something light, with a quick gentle movement.
to buck – when a horse does that, it kicks its back feet into the air or jumps with all four feet off the ground; to suddenly move up and down, or backwards and forwards, in an uncontrolled way.
to hiss – to make a noise which sounds like ‘ssss’.
a helmet – a strong hard hat that soldiers, riders, the police, etc wear to protect their heads.
a glove – a piece of clothing that you wear on your hand in order to protect it or keep it warm.
a saddle – a leather seat that you sit on when you ride a horse.
a bridle – a set of leather bands put around a horse’s head and used to control its movements.
reins – a long narrow band of leather that is fastened around a horse’s head in order to control it.
girths – a band of leather which is passed tightly around the middle of a horse to keep a saddle or load firmly in position.
stirrups – one of the rings of metal in which someone riding a horse rests their feet.
a pad – a thick flat object made of cloth or rubber, used to protect or clean something or to make something more comfortable.
a pommel – the high rounded part at the front of a horse’s saddle.
at trot – when a horse trots, it moves fairly quickly with each front leg moving at the same time as the opposite back leg.
at canter – to ride or make a horse run quite fast, but not as fast as possible
to unbuckle – to unfasten the buckle on a belt, a shoe, etc.
to grasp – to take and hold something firmly.