What is horse ball?
Being an equestrian team sport, horse ball is a discipline that is intended for both adults and children. To practice horse ball, it is wise to ride a small horse that is dynamic and to have a certain flexibility.
Flexibility will be a pretty useful skill here as it will allow you to pick up the ball. Team spirit will also be a great help in the same way as for horse polo. Now that you have an idea of what horse ball is, let's delve into the details.
What are the principles of horse ball?
To play horse ball you will need riders and a ball surrounded by 6 leather straps. The straps are important for picking up or snatching the ball from the opponent. Once all this is acquired, the principles will be simple.
Like football, the objective of horse ball is to score goals in your opponent's camp. Here, the riders will pass each other and provoke attacks or will place themselves in a defensive situation.
Similarly, each party will have to plan a strategy that it will implement in order to win against its opponent. The difference with football is that here, it is forbidden to get off your horse during the entire period that the match will take place.
Conditions for playing horse ball
To play horse ball, you need two teams of 6 riders, 4 of whom must be on the field and 2 reserve substitutes on the bench. You will need a sand field measuring 70 x 30 meters with 2 goals that will be placed on the small ends 3.50 meters from the ground.
You will also need horses of small or medium size preferably, which must be very dynamic, fast, vigorous, well trained and not fearful. Finally, you will need a ball with 6 leather handles.
The rules of horse ball
The main rules of horse ball are quite simple. The duration of each match will be 25 minutes divided into 2 halves of approximately 10 minutes with 3-minute breaks. Each team captain has the right to request a 30-second time-out per half.
The other principle of horse ball is to score the maximum number of goals when we know that each team must make at least 3 passes with 3 different players from their team.
Similarly, the rider must not keep the ball in his hands for more than ten seconds. Furthermore, the rider who is in the direction of play has priority when it comes to picking up the ball.
When it is necessary to decide between teams in the event of a draw, extra time is also used here. As for the reserves or substitutes, they intervene during stoppage time.
The horseballer also has several pieces of equipment that make him a professional in his discipline. There are, among others, the bridle, the limb protections, the saddle. You can get these accessories on La Sellerie Française.