|
This short list of equine terms will help you understand the horse owner and their
talk.
- Aged: a horse who is at least nine years old
- Bale: a measurement of hay/alfalfa; each bale is composed of 10 "flakes"
- Barn sour: a horse who doesn't like leaving the barn or stable
- Bay: a chestnut-colored horse with black legs and tail
- Bit: the metal piece of a bridle that goes into a horse's mouth; types include curb
bit, snaffle bit, gag bit and Pelham bit
- Blaze: a broad white marking a horse's face Break: to train or gentle a horse
- Bridle: leather headgear that includes the headstall, bit and reins; helps give
the rider control
- Broodmare: a mare used for breeding
- Canter: a smooth three-beat gait slower than a gallop (also "lope")
- Chestnut: a red or brown horse
- Colt: a male horse under four years old
- Conformation: the body structure of a horse
- Dam: the mother of a horse
- Derby: a staked event for three-year-old horses
- Equestrian: someone who rides horses; having to do with horses
- Equine: a horse
- Ferrier: a blacksmith; the person who shoes the horses
- Feather: the longer hairs on a horse's legs Filly a female horse under four years
old
- Foal: a baby horse Furlong: 1/8 of a mile
- Gaits: patterns of movement: walk, trot, canter, gallop
- Gallop: the fastest three-beat gait
- Gelding: a castrated male horse
- Green: a young, inexperienced horse who has just started training
- Groom: to clean or brush a horse; or one who is hired to groom a horse
- Halter: rope/canvas headgear with a lead attached
- Hand: the term used when measuring the height of a horse; one hand equals four inches,
abbreviated "hh" for hands high
- Heart girth: the circumference of a horse measured from between the front legs and
over the withers
- Jockey: the person who rides a horse in a race
- Juvenile: a two-year old thoroughbred who has just become eligible to race
- Lunging: training a horse through a large circling walk, trot or canter around the
trainer
- Maiden: a horse with no wins
- Mare: a female horse at least 4 years old
- Martingale: a strap on the harness between the nosepiece and the girth that prevents
a horse from tossing his/her head (also "tie down")
- Mule: offspring of female horse and male donkey; mules are sterile
- Mustang: a feral (wild) horse found on the western north American plains
- Nearside: the left side of a horse; the mounting side
- Novice: a horse that has had his/her first win
- Offside: the right side of a horse
- Paddock: a fenced enclosure
- Pony: a small breed or horse under 14.2 hh
- Reins: long straps connected to the bit or bridle used by the rider to control the
horse
- Rollers: the sound a horse makes when he blows out air when spooked
- Sire: the father of a horse
- Sound: healthy
- Stallion: a male horse at least four years old
- Stirrups: the metal loops attached to a saddle into which a rider's feet go
- Stud: a stallion used for breeding
- Tack: horse riding and training equipment
- Tree: the main structure of a saddle
- Trot: a two-beat gait (also "jog")
- Turnout: set to pasture, or let loose in an arena or corral
- Weanling: a horse under one year old who has been weaned from his/her mother
- Yearling: a horse born the previous year; or one who is approaching or is one year
old.
|
