Horse Glossary

Found in:  Edwards, Elwyn Hartley, Eyewitness Handbooks Horses, DK Publishing, Inc., New York, 1993

Above the Bit -- When the horse carries its mouth above the level of the rider's hand, reducing the rider's control.

Above the Gound -- Haute Ecole movements performed with either the forelegs or all four feet off the ground.

Action -- Movement of the skeletal frame in respect of locomotion.

Airs -- Movements associated with classical or advanced equitation (e.g. airs above the ground).

Aged -- Horse fifteen or more years old.

Ageing -- Process of estimating a horse's age by the appearance of the teeth.

Aids -- Signals made by the rider or driver to communicate his wishes to the horse.   "Natural" riding aids are the legs, hands, body weight, and voice.   "Artificial" aids are the whip and spur.

Amble -- Slower form of the lateral pacing gait (see also Pacer).

Articulation -- Where two or more bones meet to form a joint.

Back at the Knee -- Conformational fault in which forelegs are curved back below the knee.  (Also called "Calf-knee" or "Buck-knee".)

Barrel -- Body between forearms and loins.

Bars (of the Mouth) -- Area between the molars and incisors of the lower jaw on which the bit rests.

Blemish -- Permanent mark left by either an injury or disease.

Blood Horse -- Thoroughbred horse.

Blood Stock -- Thoroughbred horses bred to race.

Blood Weed -- Lightly built Thoroughbred horse that is of poor quality, lacking bone and substance.

Blue Feet -- Dense, blue-black coloring of the horn.

Bone -- Measurement taken around the leg immediately below the knee or hock.  Bone measurement determines ability to carry weight.

Book, The -- See General Studbook

Bosomy -- Overwide and heavy chest.

Both Legs from the Same Hole -- Forelegs placed too close together because of an unduly narrow chest.

Bow-Hocks -- Outward turned hock joints (opposite of cow-hocks).

Boxy Hoof -- Narrow, upright hoof with small frog and a closed heel.  (Also called "club," "donkey," or "mule foot.")

Breaking -- Early schooling or education of the horse for the various purposes for which it may be required.

Breed -- Equine group that has been bred selectively for consistent characteristics over an extended period.  The pedigrees of a breed are entered in a studbook.

Broken Colored -- Term applied to coats of two colors (e.g. skewbald, piebald).  Generally refers to donkeys.

Brood Mare -- Mare used for breeding.

Brushing -- Action of the hoof or show striking the opposite fetlock.  Usually a conformational fault.

Buck -- To leap in the air with the back arched, the horse coming down on stiff forelegs with lowered head.

Bung Tail -- Docked tail.

By -- Used in conjunction with the sire, i.e. by so and so.   (See also Out of).

Cannon Bone -- Bone of foreleg between knee and feltlock.   Also called "shin bone."

Carriage Horse -- Relatively light, elegant horse for private or hackney carriage use.

Cart Horse -- Heavy, coldblood draft horse.

Carty -- Description of a horse of common appearance.

Cavalry Remount -- Horse used for service in an army unit.   (Also called a "trooper.")

Cayuse -- Tough American Indian pony descending from Spanish stock.

Charger -- Mount of military officers.

Chestnut (or Castor) -- Small, horny excrescences on the inside of all four legs; or a coat color.

Chin Groove -- Declivity above the lower lip in which the curb chain of the bit lies.  (Also called "curb groove.")

Clean-Legged -- Without feather on the lower limbs.

Close-Coupled -- Short connections between component parts, with no slackness in the loins.

Coach Horse -- Powerful, strongly built horse capable of drawing a heavy coach.

Coarse in the Jowl -- Notable fleshiness round the jowl, restricting the flexion of the head.

Coffin Head -- Plain, ugly face with no prominence of the jowl.

Coldblood -- Generic name for heavy, European horse breeds descended from the prehistoric Forest Horse.

Colt -- Uncastrated male horse under four years old.  Male foals are denoted as "colt foals."

Common -- Horse of coarse appearance, usually the progeny of coldblood or nonpedigree parents.

Common Bone -- Bone of inferior quality; it is coarse-grained, lacking density, and with a large, central core.

Common-Bred -- Horse bred from mixed, non-pedigree parents.

Conformation -- Manner in which the horse is "put together," with particular regard to its proportions.

Cow-Hocks -- Hocks that turn inward like those of a cow; the opposite to bow-hocks.

Crossbred -- Mating of unrelated horses; introduction of outside blood to the breed.

Crossbreeding -- Mating of purebred individuals of different breeds.

Crossing Over -- Faulty and dangerous action in which the feet cross over each other in movement.

Curb -- Thickening of the tendon or ligament below the point of the hock as a result of strain.  "Curby hocks" are those affected by curbs, or those so shaped as to be predisposed to the formation of curbs.

Daisy-Cutting -- Description of low action at walk or trot, as characterized by Thoroughbreds and Arabians.

Dam -- Horse's female parent.

Deep Going -- Wet or soft ground, made heavy by rain, into which the hooves sink.

Depth of Girth -- Measurement from wither to elbow.   "Good depth of girth" describes a generous measurement between the two points.

Dipped Back -- Descriptive of an unusually dipped back between withers and croup.

Dished Face -- Concave head profile, as exemplified by the Arabian.

Dishing -- Action of the foreleg when the toe is thrown outward in a circular movement.  Considered faulty.

Dock -- Part of the tail on which the hair grows; also the hairless underside.

Docking -- Amputation of the tail for the sake of appearance.   Illegal in Britain.

Double Muscling -- Pronounced muscling at the croup found in some heavy horse breeds.

Drooping Quarters -- Hindquarters with a pronounced fall away behind the croup.

Elk Lip -- Wide, overhanging upper lip.

Entire -- Uncastrated male horse - a stallion.

Ergot -- Horny growth on the back of the fetlock joint.

Escutcheon -- Division of the hair below the point of the hips extending downward on the flanks.

Ewe Neck -- Concavity of neck along its upper edge, with consequent protrusion of muscle on the underside.

Extravagant Action -- High knee and hock action, as in Hackney and Saddlebred breeds.

False Ribs -- Ten (asternal) ribs to the rear of the eight "true" (sternal) ribs.

Feather -- Long hair on the lower legs and fetlocks; abundant on heavy horses.

Filly -- Female horse under four years old.

Five-Gaited -- Term for the Saddlebred horse, which is shown at the Slow Gait and Rack as well as other paces.

Flexion -- A horse flexes when it yields the lower jaw to the bit, with the head bent at the poll.  Also describes the full bending of the hock joints.

Foal -- Colt, gelding, or filly up to the age of 12 months.

Forehand -- Horse's head, neck, shoulder, withers, and forelegs.

Forelock -- Extension of the mane lying between ears and over forehead.

Frog -- Rubbery, triangular pad of horn in the sole of the hoof, which acts as a shock absorber.

Full Mouth -- At six years, a horse with permanent teeth has a "full mouth."

Gaited Horse -- American term for horse schooled to artificial as well as natural gaits.

Galvayne's Groove -- Groove appearing on the corner incisor at ten years.  It runs down the tooth reaching the bottom at about 20 years.  Named after the 19th-century horse-tamer Sydney Galvayne.

Gaskin -- "Second thigh," extending from above the hock toward the stifle.

Gelding -- Castrated male horse.

General Studbook -- Studbook in which are entered all Thoroughbred mares and their progeny foaled in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.   Also known as "G.S.B." and "the Book."

Girth -- Circumference of the body measured from behind the withers around the barrel.

Going -- Term indicating the nature of the ground, e.g. good, deep, rough.

Good Front -- Horse carrying its saddle behind a long, sloped shoulder and generous length of neck.

Goose-Rump -- Pronounced muscular development at the croup, from whence the quarters run down to the tail.  Also called the "jumper's bump."

Grease -- Disease of the lower legs characterized by swelling, foul discharge, and irritation.  Heavy horses with abundant feather are particularly vulnerable.

Hack -- Recognized type of light riding horse; or "to hack" - to go for a ride.

"Hairies" -- Originally a friendly name for heavy breeds, but now frequently applied to British mountain and moorland ponies.

Halter-Class -- American term for classes of horses shown in-hand.

Hand -- Unit of measurement to describe horse's height (medieval origin).  One hand equals 4 inches (10 cm).

Hard Horse -- Tough, enduring horse not susceptible to unsoundness or injury.

Harness -- Collective term for the equipment of a driven horse.   Not applicable to the riding horse.

Harness Horse -- Horse used in harness, having "harness"-type conformation (i.e. straighter shoulders, etc.), and, consequently, an elevated "harness action."

Haute Ecole -- Classical art of advanced horsemanship.

Heavy Horse -- Any large draft horse.

Heavy Top -- Heavy body carried on disproportionately light legs.

Herring-Gutted -- Horse with a flat-sided, mean body running sharply upwards from girth to stifle.

Hindquarters -- Body from the rear of the flank to the beginning of the tail, and down to the top of the gaskin.

Hocks Well Let Down -- Indicates short cannon bones, considered a structure of great strength.  Long cannons are seen as a conformational weakness.

Hollow Back -- See Dipped Back.

Hot -- If a horse becomes unduly excited it is said to be "hot" or to "hot up."

Hotblood -- Term describing Arabians, Barbs, and Thoroughbreds.

Hybrid -- Cross between a horse on one side and an ass, zebra, or other similar species on the other.

Inbreeding -- Mating of brother-sister, sire-daughter, son-dam, to fix or accentuate a particular characteristic.

In Front of the Bit -- When a horse pulls or hangs heavily on the hands with its head outstretched.

In-Hand -- Not ridden, as in show classes where horses are paraded around the arena in halters.

Jibbah -- Peculiar bulged formation of the forehead of the Arabian horse.

Jog -- Short-paced trot.

Lean Head -- Fine, very lightly skinned head, with muscles, veins, and bony protuberances showing clearly.  Often described as a "dry" head in Arabians.

Light Horse -- Horse, other than a heavy horse or a pony, that is suitable for riding.

Light of Bone -- Insufficient bone below the knee to support weight of horse and rider without strain - and therefore a serious fault.

Line Breeding -- Mating of individuals with a common ancestor some generations removed, with the purpose of accentuating particular features.

Loaded Shoulder -- Excessive muscle formation lying over and inhibiting the shoulder region.

Loins -- Area either side of the spinal vertebrae lying immediately behind the saddle.

Lope -- Slow Western canter performed with natural head carriage.

Lop Ears -- Ears that flop downward or are carried horizontally to either side.  There is no effect upon performance or well-being.

Mare -- Female horse of four years old and upward.

Mealy Nose -- Oatmeal-colored muzzle, as in the Exmoor pony.

Mitbah -- Angle at which the neck of the Arabian horse enters the head.  This gives the arched set to the neck and enables near all-around movement of the neck.

Narrow Behind -- Deficiency in musculature of croup and thigh, giving a narrow appearance when viewed from behind.

Native Ponies -- Another name for the British indigenous mountain and moorland breeds.

Nick -- Division and resetting of the muscles under the tail to give an artificially high carriage; or a mating likely to produce the desired offspring - "a good nick."

On the Bit -- A horse is said to be "on the bit" when he carries the head in a near-vertical plane, the mouth a little below the rider's hand.

On the Leg -- Describes a horse that is disproportionately long in the leg.  It is a condition that is usually associated with inadequate depth in the body.

Oriental Horse -- Term loosely applied to horses of Eastern origin, either Arabian or Barb, in use during the formative years of the English Thoroughbred.

Out of -- Used in conjunction with the mare, e.g. so-and-so out of so-and-so.

Over at the Knee -- Forward curve of the knees over the cannon, which may be the result of wear.

Overbent -- When the horse carries its mouth close to the chest to evade control.  The horse is "behind the bit."

Overshot Mouth -- See Parrot Mouth.

Pacer -- Horse employing a lateral action at trot rather than the conventional diagonal movement, i.e. near fore and near hind together, followed by the offside pair.

Palfrey -- Medieval light saddle horse that could amble.

Parietal Bones -- Bones on the top of the skull.

Parrot Mouth -- Malformation in which the incisors of the upper jaw overhang those of the lower jaw.

Pedigree -- Details of ancestry recorded in a studbook.

Pendulous Lip -- Flabby underlip hanging loose.  Sometimes found in cart breeds and old common-bred horses.

Pigeon Toes -- Conformational fault in whch the hooves are turned inward.  (Also known as "pin-toes.")

Pig-Eye -- Small eye giving a mean and unintelligent expression.

Points -- External features of the horse, comprising its conformation; or a term relative to color, e.g. "bay with black points," meaning bay with black lower legs, mane, and tail.

Purebred -- Horse of any breed of pure pedigree blood.

Quality -- Element of refinement in breeds and types, usually due to Arabian or Thoroughbred influence.

Quarters -- See Hindquarters.

Racehorse -- Horse bred specifically for racing.  This term usually refers to a Thoroughbred, but other breeds of horses are also raced.

Rack -- Fifth gait of the American Saddlebred - a fast, four-beat gait unrelated to pacing (see Pacer).

Ragged Hips -- Prominent hip bones lacking flesh and muscle.

Ram Head -- Convex profile like that of the Barb.  Similar to Roman Nose.

Rangy -- Description of a lanky horse having good scope of movement.

Remount -- See Cavalry Remount.

Rhum Pony -- Ancient strain of Highland pony.

Ribbed Up (Well) -- Describes a short, deep body that is rounded, with well-sprung ribs.

Riding Horse -- Horse suitable for riding, having the conformation associated with comfortable riding action (as opposed to draft or carriage).

Rising -- Term used in ageing.  A horse approaching five years is said to be "rising five."

Roach Back -- Convex curvature of the spine between wither and loin.   Opposite to dipped back.

Roached Mane -- When the mane has been removed by clipping.

Roadster -- Trotting saddlehorse, ancestor of the modern Hackney, e.g. the Norfolk Roadster.  In America, a light harness horse or pony, usually the Standardbred.

Roman Nose -- Convex profile as found in the Shire and other heavy breeds.

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