ло́шадь

Ло́шадь means “horse” and is the standard general word for a horse in Russian. It can refer to either a male or female horse in everyday speech, though more specific words like конь (often male horse, especially in literary, poetic, or symbolic contexts) or кобыла (mare) also exist.

Use ло́шадь when speaking neutrally about horses as animals, for example in farming, riding, transport, sports, or general conversation. In modern usage, it is neutral and widely understood, making it the best default word for “horse”.

The word is also common in idioms and figurative speech. For example, рабо́тать как ло́шадь means “to work extremely hard” (literally “to work like a horse”). Historically and culturally, ло́шадь often evokes strength, labor, rural life, or transport.