Once upon a time, many aspects of human life revolved around horses. Horses made it possible for people to travel faster and farther. They plowed fields and hauled goods. Now fewer people use horses in these practical ways. But we still love the animals for their beauty, strength, and intelligence. Some horses still work, of course. But many also play sports!

All kinds of polo

Each player rides on a horse, using a mallet with a long handle to drive a wooden ball through goal posts. That’s polo in a nutshell. But do you know about the many variations of polo? 

Arena polo is played in a smaller, walled-in space. Ponies also take part in beach polo in the sand, cowboy polo with Western saddles and a larger rubber ball, and snow polo on snow or a frozen lake! There’s also polocrosse—something between polo and lacrosse. 

Buzkashi

The national sport of Afghanistan gets gruesome. It’s a bit like polo, except instead of a ball, players use a headless goat! If you think about it, it’s not so different from other sports. People make basketballs, footballs, and baseballs from leather, which is animal hide. Of course, in those cases, the rest of the animal isn’t attached! In buzkashi, players on horseback race for the goat carcass. The first team to deliver it to the goal scores.

Horseball

Can you play basketball on horseback? Horseball players must pick up the ball from the ground without getting off their horses. Just like in basketball, they pass the ball to team members or steal it from opponents. All this happens fast. No player can hold the ball for longer than 10 seconds at a time. Players score by throwing the ball through a hoop.