Glossary Of Terms

Every sport has a list of familiar descriptive words and terms. Some are technical and others are used in ordinary conversation but have definite meanings. Everyone who owns a horse should learn the correct word to use, so other horsemen will understand what is being said. There is no place for a "what-you-may-call-it."

AIDS. Cues given by legs, hands, and action of the body that signal the horse to work.

AGED. A horse over eight. In shows over four is aged.

BARN SOUR. A horse who will not leave the barn or a group of horses.

BARS OF THE MOUTH. The lower jawline. Used to indicate the portion of the jaw between the incisor teeth and molars commonly known as the bit hole.

BATON. A whip. Batons come in various lengths for training.

BREAKING A HORSE. The days of bronc busting are over, except in rodeos. A horse is broke to ride, then trained.

CANTER. Gallop. Sometimes called a lope, preferably a slow run.

COLD JAW. A horse who has been misused with a bit and is now hard mouthed so no bit will work.

COLORS IN HORSES. Beginning with the darkest: black, bay, brown with black markings from the knee down, black mane and tail. May be golden, red-brown, or blood bay. Chestnut, sometimes called sorrel. May be golden, red, liver, or dark red, with flaxen or red mane and tail. Gray—all white horses except a few are born black and turn white with age, hence they are properly known as grays. Roan designates a horse of solid color with a mixture of white hairs in his coat, thus blue roan or red roan. Palomino must be two shades lighter or two shades darker than a newly minted penny. Has pure-white mane and tail without the presence of black hairs. Pinto is Mexican, meaning paint, and refers to a spotted horse. Piebald is a black-and-white spotted horse. Pintos are divided into three categories. The Tobiana is large spotted. An Overo is spotted underneath the barrel, maybe white stockings, blaze, and usually a glass eye. A Morocco is marked with small all-over spots. An Appaloosa is a breed of horse but is noted for his unusual markings. These horses may be solid color with a blanket of spots on the rump. The Leopard Appaloosa is white with black or red rather oblong spots all over the body.

COMBINATION. A horse that will both ride and drive.

COVER. This term is used in breeding. The stallion covers the mare.

DUDE. A person who is ignorant of horses but would like to pretend he knows and dresses the part with exaggeration.

DOG (apology to the canine). A horse disgusted with the human element of life who has decided he will live longer if he follows the line of least resistance and walks no matter if his passenger threatens to kick his ribs in. He refuses to be moved by spur or whip. The expression "dogging along" comes from this type.

DRUGSTORE COWBOY. Dresses the part but stays away from a horse.

GREEN HORSE. One that has been started but has had little training.

GUNSEL. Usually a non-horse owner who thinks he knows all about horses. His idea of riding is to see how fast the animal can go. He brags about riding bucking horses. Actually he knows a horse has a head and tail and that's all he knows.

HALTER SHANK. A rope that is attached to the halter for the purpose of leading or tying the horse. Also called lead rope.

HAND. Measuring a horse from the withers, along in line with the front leg, to the ground, is done by hands. A hand is four inches. An animal is said to be 14 hands or 13-3 hands.

HIGH HORSE. A spirited animal.

HUMPING HIS BACK. A horse raises his back slightly when he is getting ready to buck.

LONGE. A form of exercise for the horse without a saddle. An animal is put on a long line and walks, trots, and canters in a circle while the trainer stands in the center and directs the changes by voice or baton.

LUGGER. This horse refuses to respond to the bit and just keeps going faster and faster once he is put in a canter.

MUSTANG. The Spanish word meaning "wild or strayed," a wild horse.

NEAR SIDE. Left side of horse.

OFF SIDE. Right side of horse.

PASSENGER. A person who rents a horse and climbs on and sits down. If the animal moves, it is through the animal's desire to change position.

PLEASURE HORSE. A gentle-mannered horse who moves forward on cue, who does not shy or rear or buck, is easy gaited, and can be ridden by women and children.

PONY. A small equine under 14 hands.

SACKING. This is done to gentle a horse and to "sell" him on the idea that anything the owner does will not hurt him.

SADDLE SOAP. A preparation for cleaning tack.

SCHOOLING. TO teach leads, tricks, jumping, roping, cutting, and all phases of advanced, specialized types of horsemanship.

SEASON. A mare "in season" is ready to be covered by a stallion. Normally, a mare is in season three to five days about every twenty-one days. This can vary, however.

SHOW HORSE. Any breed, usually purebred, who trailers from one show to another and spends his life being groomed, trimmed, and worked for particular classes.

SPOOKY. A horse who shies at everything. He will jump if you even raise your hand. Some horses spook because they enjoy being frightened.

STAR GAZER. A horse who holds his head too high with his nose thrust out.

SURCINGLE. A girth used with a blanket or pad. It can be made in one piece. It is for bareback riding.

SWITCH TAIL. This is not a good trait in a show horse. It is from faulty training. If an animal is forced faster than he can learn, he switches his tail because he is nervous.

TACK ROOM. A room where tack is kept. Saddles, bridles, etc.

TERMS OF SEX. Horse: A mature male over 14-2 hands.

Mare: A mature female.
Gelding: A male that has been castrated.
Foal: Newly born horse.
Colt: A male horse under four years.
Filly: A female under four years.
Stallion: A mature male.

To FAVOR. TO limp.

TRAINING A HORSE. TO teach a horse to move forward on cue, to turn left and right, and to back and to stop. To perform in an easy and tractable manner. There is a thin line between breaking and training and schooling as one follows another. Today train is used instead of break because the latter smacks of the "busting-bronc days."

TROT. This is a two-beat gait in which the diagonal legs move together.

TYPES OF REGISTERING. Purebred: Both parents are pure of one breed.

Crossbred: Both parents are purebred but of different breeds.

Half-bred: One parent is grade or unregistered, the other parent is purebred. Most horse registries have applications for crossbred and half-bred.

Color register: For example: Pinto, Palomino, and Appalousa. Some horses may be double registered for both color and breed.

WALK. A four-beat gait, free moving. A slow walk is a gait with short strides.