The vault, formerly known as vaulting horse in some places, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is used by male as well as female gymnasts.
In gymnastics, the term "vault" is a noun that refers not only to the piece of apparatus itself, but to the skill the gymnast performs on the apparatus. In addition, the word is a verb describing this action. In other words, a gymnast can said to be vaulting (performing on the apparatus), doing a vault (skill), or training on vault (piece of apparatus/event). The English abbreviation the for the event in gymnastics scoring is VT.
The term vaulting horse may also be used literally. The equestrian sport of vaulting, from which the gymnastics version of vaulting is believed to have developed, uses a specially trained horse. Competitors perform a one to two minute dance/gymnastics routine on the back of their horses either solo or in pairs or trios. This is an adaptation of the horseback performance at a circus.
