Rule 5 · USPA Rulebook 2026
Mounts
Which horses may play, the vision rule, when umpires take a horse out, and how whips and spurs may be used.
What a mount is
A mount is a horse or pony of any breed or size.
Vision
A mount with no vision in one or both eyes may not be played in any Event (as the term “Event” is defined in the USPA Tournament Conditions). Any player who intends to play a mount in goggles or protective eyewear or a mount which exhibits any likelihood of having impaired vision (e.g., a mount which has scarring on one or both eyes or a mount which exhibits behavior consistent with having no vision in one or both eyes) must file at least twenty-four (24) hours before the Event a Vision Report Form with the USPA which has been completed by a licensed equine veterinarian confirming that the horse has vision in both eyes before the mount will be allowed to play in any Event. The Umpire(s) may ask any player who plays or seeks to play a mount in goggles or protective eyewear or a mount which exhibits any likelihood of having impaired vision to confirm that he or she has filed a properly completed Vision Report Form with the USPA. Any player who falsely confirms to the Umpire(s) that he or she has filed a properly completed Vision Report Form with the USPA will be subject to the issuance of a Conduct Violation Complaint by the USPA. The Umpire(s) may remove from any Event any mount in goggles or any mount which exhibits any likelihood of having impaired vision for which a player refuses or is unable to confirm to the Umpire(s) that he or she has filed a properly completed Vision Report Form with the USPA. Any removal of a mount from an Event due to violation of this rule will result in a red card for the player riding the mount. Any subsequent removal of that same mount from that same Event or a later Event for a violation of this rule will result in the issuance of a Conduct Violation Complaint by the USPA against the player playing the mount.
Vice or lack of control
A mount showing vice, or not under proper control, shall be removed from the game.
One team per mount
No mount shall be played in any USPA Event for more than one team. Unlike many other penalties which the Umpire(s) may elect not to exact, the penalty for violation of this rule, which is forfeiture, must be exacted if a Referee, an Umpire, or a member of the Host Tournament Committee is notified of or otherwise becomes aware of the violation prior to 24 hours after the violation took place.
Blood and fitness
The Umpires may remove a mount from the game if there is blood in its mouth, or on its flanks, or anywhere on its body. If, in the opinion of the Umpire(s), a mount is deemed physically unfit from exhaustion, distress, lameness, excessive sweating, and/or laboring breathing, the Umpire(s) may remove the mount for the remainder of the period or the entire game without being asked by the player to do so. A mount removed by the Umpire(s) pursuant to this rule may return to the game only if an Umpire explicitly gives his or her permission for the mount to return.
Body condition
A mount found to be not in compliance in accordance with the Henneke Body Conditioning Score guidelines (See page 321) shall be removed from the game.
Whips and spurs
Artificial aids (i.e., riding crops and spurs) may not be used unnecessarily or excessively. A player may not:
Use artificial aids other than in exceptional circumstances when the ball is out of play or dead. For this offense the Umpire should award as a minimum a Penalty 5.b and/or other disciplinary sanctions as described in Rule 33 (Unsportsmanlike Conduct).
Use artificial aids unnecessarily or in excess at any time.
Intentionally strike another player or another player’s mount with his riding crop.
Mallet on a horse
No player may intentionally strike a mount with any part of the mallet.
Umpires are to take positive action to protect players and the sport from the perception of animal abuse. The Umpires must award a penalty which not only penalizes the fouling side but recognizes any advantage the fouled side lost when the play was stopped. If any player abuses a mount, play should be stopped immediately, and the appropriate penalty awarded. In the case of visible blood, time should be called when play is next stopped. The player may have up to 5 minutes to clean up the mount or change mounts. If the wound continues to bleed, the mount shall be ordered off the field. The mount may return to the game later if its condition permits and if explicitly stated by an Umpire.. For purposes of enforcing the excessive artificial aids rule, the Umpires shall consider the force applied when using the riding crop even once to be as significant as the number of times the riding crop is used. A single use of the riding crop that makes a noise loud enough for a spectator to hear it may be penalized, even if there are no spectators present. The Umpires shall also consider whether the artificial aid is used in order to assist the player in reaching a play or making a play, which is allowable if not excessive, or the artificial aid is used away from the play, in frustration, or on a horse that is laboring, which are excessive by definition and thus not allowable uses. Umpires may penalize violations of the excessive artificial aids rule by awarding a Penalty 5.a or 5.b at a minimum, and they may also issue the offending player one or more yellow cards. The excessive artificial aids rule applies before, during and after a game to players and members of a team organization who are located anywhere on the field or in close proximity to the field.