Early forms of the vault were invented by German Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. The apparatus itself originated as a "horse", much like the pommel horse but without the handles. It was sometimes called a "vaulting horse". The horse was set up with its long side perpendicular to the run for women, and parallel for men. The vaulting horse was the apparatus used in the Olympics for over a century It began with the 1896 Summer Olympics and ending with the Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics.