Glossary of Horse Terms

Bale—In stable terms, a bale is a closely packed bundle of either hay or straw (see definitions) measuring about two by three feet, weighing about forty pounds, and tied with two strings lengthwise.

When the strings are cut, the bale can be shaken loose and either fed, in the case of hay, or used for stall bedding, in the case of straw.

Baling twine—The term used for the thick yellow string that is tied around a bale.

Bank barn—A barn that is built into the side of a hill so that the hill forms a “ramp” leading into the upper part of the barn, where hay and straw may be stored; the bottom floor of the barn is used for milking cows if it is a dairy barn, or it may have stalls for the purpose of sheltering other animals.

Barn swallow—A small, blue-black bird with a rusty-colored breast and throat and forked tail; found all over North America and Europe, these friendly birds like to build their nests in barns and eat insects.

Barrel—The middle section of the body of a horse or pony between the shoulder and the flank.

Bay—A common color seen in horses and ponies. The body is reddish-brown with black mane, tail, and lower legs.

Bit—The metal piece on the bridle inserted into the mouth of a horse that provides communication between the rider and horse.

Bridle—The leather headgear with a metal bit that is placed on the head of a horse to enable the rider to control the horse.

Bridle Path—A section of mane about an inch wide behind the ears that is trimmed short to allow the crown piece of the bridle to lie flat and fit more comfortably.

Cannon bone—A bone in the leg of the horse or pony running from the knee or hock to the ankle.

Cantankerous—Ill-mannered or quarrelsome.

Canter—A three-beat gait of the horse, which could be called a “collected gallop.” It is slightly faster and not as “bouncy” as a trot.

Chaff—The seed covering separated from the seed when grain is threshed.

Chestnut—A common coloring found in horses and ponies. The coat is basically red, in varying shades on different horses. The mane and tail are the same color as the body.

Cluck—The “clicking” sound a rider or driver makes from the corner of the mouth to urge a horse forward. Also the sound a chicken makes when communicating.

Corncob—The inner segment of an ear of corn to which the corn kernels are attached. The horse eats the kernels but not the cob.

Crop—A short, leather riding whip carried by the rider and used lightly to encourage the horse to move forward.

Crosstie—The method of tying a horse squarely in the aisle or stall by which a rope is clipped to both sides of the halter. When a horse is crosstied, he cannot move away from the rider during grooming and saddling.

Dam—The mother of a horse or pony.

Dismount—The action of getting down from a horse and onto the ground.

Dock—The bone in a horse’s tail, which is formed of the lowest vertebrae of the spine.

Dutch door—A door divided horizontally in the middle so that the two sections can be opened separately.

Eaves—The overhanging lower edge of a roof.

Fetlock—The part of the lower leg of the horse or pony between the cannon bone and the pastern.

Flake—A section of hay that is taken from a bale for feeding, usually about six inches wide and two feet square. There are usually about ten flakes of hay in a whole bale.

Flaxen—A cream-colored mane and tail sometimes found on chestnut horses and always found on palominos. If a chestnut has a flaxen mane and tail, he is known as a “flaxen chestnut.”

Foal—A young, unweaned horse or pony of either gender. When the horse or pony is weaned or separated from its mother, it is called a “weanling.”

Founder—A painful disease of the foot that may be caused by the overeating of grass or grain when the digestive system of the horse or pony is not used to it. This may cause the tissues and blood vessels inside the hoof to be permanently damaged.

Gallop—A fast, four-beat gait where all four of the horse’s feet strike the ground separately.

Garner—To acquire by effort.

Giving the horse his head—Allowing the horse or pony to stretch his neck and feel his way along rather than keeping a tight rein on him.

Grain—Harvested cereals or other edible seeds, including oats, corn, wheat, and barley. Horses and ponies often eat a mixture of grains, vitamins, minerals, and molasses called “sweet feed.”

Gray—A common color found in horses and ponies. A gray horse is born black and gradually lightens with age from a steel-gray color to almost white.

Graze—The act of eating grass. Horses and ponies will graze continually when turned out on good pasture.

Groom—To groom a horse is to clean and brush his coat, comb his mane and tail, and pick the dirt from his hooves. A person known as a “groom” goes along on a horse show or horse race to help with grooming, tacking up, or anything else that needs to be done.

Halter—Also known as a “head collar,” a halter is made of rope, leather, or nylon and is placed on the head of a horse and used for leading or tying him. The halter has no bit, but it has a metal ring that rests under the chin of the horse or pony to which you attach a lead rope.

Hard brush—A grooming tool resembling a scrub brush, usually with firm bristles made of nylon, used to brush dried mud or dirt from the coat and legs of a horse or pony.

Haunches—Another term for the hindquarters of a horse or pony.

Hay—Grass or other herbage that is cut in the field and allowed to dry over several days, then usually baled and stored in a barn to be used as feed for animals.

Hay net—A nylon or rope net that is stuffed with loose hay and tied at the top, then hung in a stall or trailer to allow an animal to eat from it.

Hindquarters—The rear of a horse or pony, including the back legs.

Hitch up—Attach a horse or pony to a cart, carriage, or sleigh through the use of the harness straps.

Hoof pick—A grooming tool used to clean dirt and gravel from the hooves of a horse or pony.

Hooves—The hard covering of the foot of a horse or pony. The hooves must be cleaned before and after riding and trimmed every six weeks (or so) to keep them from growing too long.

In hand—Refers to horses shown in halter classes, not mounted.

Lead rope—A short (about six feet) length of cotton or nylon rope with a snap attached to the end. The rope is used to lead the horse or pony.

Lead shank—Same as a lead rope, but it is more often made of leather with a section near the snap made of chain.

Leather conditioner—An oily or creamy substance that is rubbed into the leather to help keep it from drying out and cracking.

Leg up—The action of helping someone mount by grasping their bended left knee and hoisting them up and onto the back of the horse or pony.

Liniment—A liquid solution rubbed onto sore muscles to relieve pain.

Lipped—To touch or feel with the lips.

Loft—The large, open area in the top of a barn used to store bales of hay and straw.

Longe whip—A long whip used along with the longe line to encourage the horse or pony to move in a circle.

Mane—The long hair that grows on the crest (top) of a horse’s or pony’s neck.

Mane and tail comb—Any of a variety of metal or plastic combs used to comb the mane and tail of the horse or pony.

Mare—A female horse or pony three years of age or older.

Mare’s tails—Also known as cirrus clouds, these are wispy cloud formations that actually look like the long, flowing tail of a horse or pony.

Milkers—The equipment that is attached to the cow’s teats in order to draw the milk out through a pulsing action.

Milk house—The small building attached to the dairy barn where the milk ends up in a cooling tank.

Muzzle—The lower end of the nose of a horse or pony, which includes the nostrils, lips, and chin.

Neat’s-foot oil—A type of oil used to condition leather to keep it from drying out and cracking.

Nicker—A low, quiet sound made by a horse or pony in greeting or when wanting to be fed.

Paddock—A fenced area, smaller than a field, used for enclosing animals for limited exercise.

Pastern—The lower part of the leg of the horse or pony below the fetlock and above the hoof.

Piebald—A horse or pony of a black coat color with white patches or markings on various parts of the body.

Pinto—A horse or pony of a solid coat color with white patches or markings on various parts of the body. The mane and tail may be various colors.

Pony—A pony measures below 14.3 hands from the bottom of the hoof to the withers. (See defini-tion.) A hand equals four inches. An animal 14.3 hands or above is considered a horse.

Progeny—The offspring or descendants of one or both parents.

Pulling comb—A small, metal, short-toothed comb used to thin or shorten the hairs of the mane.

Quarter horse—A strong, stocky, but gentle breed of horse whose name is derived from its speed at the quarter-mile race. This breed is very popular with cow ropers and western riders.

Rail—The term used in riding lessons and horse shows to describe the fencing enclosing the riding ring. To be “on the rail” is to be riding closely to the ring fence. Spectators standing outside the ring are said to be “at the rail.”

Reins—The leather straps of the bridle attached to the bit and held by the rider to guide and control the horse.

Ringmaster—The person at a horse show who assists the judge in the ring and helps any rider who falls; this person may also replace any rails that are knocked down during jumps.

Saddle—A padded leather seat for a rider, placed on a horse’s or pony’s back and secured by a girth. A harness placed on the horse’s or pony’s back behind the withers is also called a saddle.

Saddlebags—Two leather pouches attached to each other by a wide piece of leather that drapes over the saddle or withers of the horse, or sometimes behind the saddle, to allow the rider to carry supplies on the trail.

Saddle rack—A metal or wooden frame attached to the wall or stall on which to hang the saddle.

Saddle soap—A creamy soap in a can used to soften and clean leather. The soap is rubbed into the leather and then buffed with a cloth.

Salt block—A square, compact brick made of salt placed in the field or stall for a horse to lick, which provides him with salt and other necessary minerals.

Scrubby mitt—A rubber mitt with short bristles on one side that fits over the hand and is used to bathe the horse or pony.

Singeing pan—A low-sided pan containing a small amount of burning lighter fluid that produces a small flame. When passed briefly over this flame, the hair-like under feathers of poultry are removed.

Sire—The father of a horse or pony.

Skewbald—A horse or pony with a coat color other than black combined with white patches or markings on various parts of the body.

Sleigh—A horse-drawn vehicle that does not have wheels but “runners” for gliding over snow or ice.

Slip knot—A type of knot, also known as “quick release,” which can be quickly and easily untied in case of a problem, such as the horse or pony falling down or getting hung up.

Soft brush—A brush made for grooming a horse or pony’s coat and face; it is the same shape as a hard brush, but has softer, longer bristles.

Spook—An action of the horse or pony in which he shies away nervously from something he is not familiar with.

Springtooth harrow—A piece of farm machinery with curved teeth used to dig furrows into the ground for planting.

Square up—A horse or pony is said to be “standing square” or “squared up” when all four legs are placed evenly on the ground, the two front lined up so that no one foot is in front of or behind the other, and hind feet the same. This is the desirable position when showing the animal at halter.

Stallion—A male horse or pony that has not been neutered and may be used for reproductive purposes.

Star—Any white mark on the forehead of a horse or pony, located above the level of the eyes.

Straw—The material used for bedding in a stall; it consists of stalks of grain from which the grain has been removed and the stalks baled. It should be bright yellow and not dusty.

Sweat scraper—A tool made of plastic or metal that is held in the hand and used to remove excess sweat from a hot horse or pony or excess water from one being bathed.

Tack—Equipment used in riding and driving horses or ponies, such as saddles, bridles, harnesses, etc.

Tack box—A container with a handle used to transport grooming tools, bridles, etc., to horse shows or other events.

Tack trunk—A large trunk usually kept in the stable, which contains the equipment used by the rider, such as as bridles, grooming tools, saddles, lead ropes, medicines, etc.

Throatlatch—The narrow strap of the bridle, which goes under the horse’s throat and is used to secure the bridle to the head.

Trot—A rapid, two-beat gait in which the front foot and the opposite hind foot take off at the same time and strike the ground simultaneously.

Trough—A long, shallow receptacle used for feeding or watering animals.

Udder—The mammary glands of a cow, where the teats are attached and the milk is produced.

Wash stall—An enclosed area, usually inside the stable, with hot and cold running water, where a horse or pony may be crosstied and bathed.

Weanling—A foal who has been weaned (separated) from its mother and is no longer nursing. Foals are normally weaned at about six months of age.

Whinny—A high-pitched, loud call of the horse.

Winter coat—The longish hair that the horse or pony naturally grows in the winter to protect him from the cold. In the spring, the winter coat “sheds out” and the body becomes sleek again, with a short hair coat.

Withers—The ridge at the base of the neck and between the shoulders of a horse or pony. The saddle sits on the horse’s back behind the withers, and we measure the horse or pony’s height by measuring from the ground to the top of the withers.