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Horse Dictionary

Confused by a term you saw on my site, or another horse site? Well, I've done up this fancy horse dictionary for you. You may print it out for future reference.

• Aids - These are the signals the rider makes to the horse. Natural aids include the legs, hands, body weight, and voice. Artificial aids are things such as the whip or spur.
• Bit - The mouthpiece of the bridle.
• Breaking - The process of the early training of a horse.
• Breed - A group of horses that has been bred for consistant characteristics over a period of time. (For example, the Quarter Horse is a breed.)
• Bridle - The leather straps which hold the bit in place.
• Broodmare - A mare that is used for breeding.
• Buck - The action of the horse leaping into the air and jumping around.
• Cavalletti - Generally speaking, small cross-pieced poles used for schooling a horse.
• Cavesson - A nose band, sometimes attached to the bridle, that keeps a horse from opening his mouth.
• Chestnut - The small, tough gray spot on the inside of all four legs; this also refers to a coat color.
• Colic - A severe problem in the digestive organs of a horse.
• Colt - A young male horse.
• Conformation - The way the horse's different parts are proportioned.
• Crossbred - The crossing of two different breeds will produce a crossbred horse.
• Dam - The female parent of a horse.
• Farrier - A person who professionally makes and fits horseshoes.
• Filly - A young female horse.
• Five-Gaited - A breed that has an extra gait.
• Flying Change - A change of the leading legs in a lope or canter.
• Foal - Any horse that is younger than 12 months.
• Frog - The triangle-shaped padding in the bottom of the horse's hoof.
• Gelding - A castrated male horse.
• Green - A term which denotes an inexperienced horse or rider.
• Halter - A headpiece which is used for general handling of the horse.
• Hand - How a horse is measured. One hand is equal to four inches.
• Hot - An excitable horse is known to be "hot."
• Lungeing - The process of working a horse using a long rein. The trainer stands in the center of the arena, while the horse moves around him in a circle attached to the long rein.
• Mare - A female horse of four years or older.
• Mucking Out - Cleaning out a horse's stall or pen.
• Near Side - Left side of the horse.
• Off Side -Right side of the horse.
• Over-Reach - When the hind foot hits the heel of the front foot while the horse is moving.
• Pacer - A horse that uses lateral movement rather than diagnol at the trot.
• Pedigree - The ancestory of a horse.
• Roached Mane - The removal of the mane by clipping.
• Schooling - Training a horse.
• Sound - A fit horse.
• Stallion - An uncastrated male horse of four years or older.
• Studbook - A book kept by a breed society in which the pedigrees of that breed are recorded.
• Tack - Riding and driving equipment.
• Thrush - Disease of the frog caused by neglect or the feet or incorrect shoeing.
• Twitch - Device applied to the nose of a difficult horse.
• Yearling - A colt or filly between its first and second year.

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