Horse Racing Lingo

Posted on 4/9/2022 by admin

For someone unfamiliar with horse terms, it can be ratherconfusing and humorous. I once overheard a comical conversation between a horseperson and a non-horse person.

Horse Racing Terminology and Definitions. Horse Racing Terminology and Definitions AmWager 2020-12-20T17:24:39-05:00. Horse Racing has a language of it’s own. For someone new it can be confusing to try to follow what some people are talking about. Here are some common terms. A horse under only a hand ride was not whipped by the jockey. Heavy Track: A grass racing surface that has received an extremely large amount of water and is an almost bog-like condition. Horse: Technically, a male horse five years old or greater is a 'horse'. A male horse under five years of. Horse Racing Lingo and Slang Words Here's a glossary of horse racing lingo to help you understand some of the more unusual words which have been adopted in horse racing. Horse racing dates back hundreds of years and over the journey it has developed a language all of its own. Horse Racing Terms and Jargon Buster. The world of horse racing contains plenty of confusing words, some of which may mean very little to the unseasoned horse racing fan. This handy jargon-buster can help you understand some of the common horse racing terms, so you can join in with the horse-talk next time you’re at the races. A racing system devised for the daily double bet in which the bettor backs one horse in the first race and every horse in the second (also known as Baseball or Locking). Weight-For-Age The purpose of weight-for-age is to allow horses of different age and sex to compete on equal terms.

In case you didn't know...

Quarter horse - A popular breed of horse known for it'sshort distance speed (quarter mile race) and agility for working cattle.

Non horse person, 'What kind of horse is that?'
Horse person, 'That's a Quarter horse.'
Non horse person, 'Oh...it looks like a whole horse tome.'

To the outsider, many horse terms commonly used by horsemensound like a foreign language. And it's no wonder. Most of the words used todescribe horses, equine behavior and all the equipment used to go with them areseldom used outside the horse world.

I've compiled this list of commonly used horse terms andarranged them into meaningful categories. This is by no means a complete listof every word, but it covers the basics.

Horse Terms for Equine Behavior

Spooky - A horse that is afraid of things

Shy - When a horse spooks at something; 'jumps out of their skin'

Head Shy - A horse that does not like to have it's head, ears or face touched

Quarter pony - Similar to a Quarter horse, only shorter

Mixed breed - A horse with parents of different breeds. For example ½ Arabian and ½ Quarter horse.

Mouthy - A horse that invades your personal space with it'smouth and/or teeth. Also an English hunt term used to describe a rider with'noisy' busy hands on the rein

Hard mouthed - Ahorse that pulls, resists or refuses to 'give in' to the bit

Barn sour /buddy sour - Does not want to leave the barn orrefuses to leave other horses

Balk - Refuses to approach an object

Weaving - A nervous/neurotic behavior where a horse rocks back and forth on his front legs, usually due to boredom in stall bound horses

Cribbing (wind sucker) - A horse that bites onto stall doors or fencing and swallows air

Cinchy - Gets upset when you tighten the girth on the saddle. May try to kick or bite

Pushy - A horse that crowds your personal space

Lead horse/lead mare - Refers to the 'top dog' horse in thecorral. The number one in command. Leader of the herd. The boss of the bunch is often a mare.

Turd kicker - A horse that eats horse manure

Sunfishing - When a horse is bucking and twisting and turning his belly to the sky

Crow hopping -When a horse jumps up and down on his front feet like a mini rearing fit

Horse Terms Relating to Equine Health and Condition

Tender footed - Has sore feet, or is tender when barefoot and needs shoes

Barefoot - Wearing no horse shoes

Shod - Is wearing horse shoes

Lame - The horse is limping, has a sore foot and/or limb

Easy keeper - Gains weight on minimal feed

Hard keeper - Difficult to keep the weight on

Cast - A horse that is down and is unable to get up on their own power

Winded - A horse that has sustained lung damage from overexertion

Interferes (forging) - The back hoof hits the front hoof orleg when walking or running

Paddles - A horse that throws his front feet out in acircular motion when moving forward

Tying up - An emergency situation where the horse's musclesseize up

Colic - A potentially deadly stomach ache

Proud flesh - Pink cottage cheese like flesh that grows onwounded tissue

Proud cut - A gelding that has been castrated late, hasprior breeding use, has a bit of testicular cord remaining after castration orhas one un-descended testicle left behind

Ewe neck - Has a neck that is concave rather than straightor arched

Cow hocked - The hocks bend in and the back feet splay out

Conformation - How a horse is built or 'put together' be itgood or bad

Founder - A food related foot condition that can causepermanent lameness

Horse Terms Relating to Equipment Used for Equines

Tack or gear - Refers to saddles, pads, bridles and such

Rig - A saddle

Bridle - The head piece used to control the horse whileriding; a head stall, bit and reins.

Rein - The leather line from the rider's hands and thehorse's mouth; used to guide the horse

Halter - A head piece used to control a horse while notriding, the equivalent of a dog's collar

Bit - The mouth piece worn in a bridal. Can be made of metalor rubber

Lounge line - A long rope used to move a horse in large circlesaround the handler

Saddle pad (saddle blanket) - Used under a saddle forpadding

Blanket (rug) - A horse covering used in cold weather

Reata - Spanish for the lariet used to rope cattle andhorses

Remuda - A bunch of horses from which a cowboy picks to do adays work

A 'hand' - Refers to a horse height measurement. 1 hand = 4inches

Horse Terms Relating to Training

Green - An un-broke horse

Green broke - A horse with very little training

Green horn - A person unfamiliar with horses

Seasoned - A horse with years of experience under saddle

Halter broke - Not yet broke to ride

Started - Has had a saddle on a few times and is in early training

Prospect - A horse with potential to do well for a specific sport

Finished - A horse that has been trained sufficiently forriding or to use in a particular way

Outlaw - A 'problem' horse that is un-broken or unsuitableto ride

To 'pony' - The act of leading one horse while riding another

To 'sack out' (desensitizing) - The act of teaching a horsenot to be afraid of things

Lead - Refers to the leading leg of a horse when runningor turning. One front leg will move out first and reach farther than the other.That is the lead leg

Flying Lead Change - The horse changes lead at the riders command mid-run

Lounge - The act of moving a horse about in circles aroundthe handler

Plow reins - A horse that turns when you pull the rein tothe left or right

Neck reins - The horse will turn left or right with the merepressure of the rein on the neck. They move away from the rein that is touchingthe skin

Leg queue - A signal given to the horse with the riders leg

Works 'off the leg' - A horse that responds well to leg queue's

Cutting Horse - A horse trained to work cattle, cut one from the herd

A Header - The horse ridden by the rider that ropes the calf's head

A Heeler - The horse ridden by the rider that ropes the calf's back feet

A Roping horse - A horse trained to work independently and keep the rope taught while the rider jumps off to hog tie the calf

A Hunter/Jumper - A horse trained to go over jumps

A Dressage Horse - A horse trained in the classical advanced style of English horsemanship

Grade horse (half breed) - Mixed breed or unknown heritage

Papered (registered) - A horse of known breeding that is registered with a recognized horse association

Hack - An English term used to describe a pleasure horse

OTTB - An off the track Thoroughbred

Seat - Proper sitting position while in the saddle

Soft hands - A rider that is gentle on the horses mouth withthe reins

Collected - A horse in motion that has been brought intoperfect balance by the rider and is ready to move in any direction at theriders command

Roll back - When a horse sits back and spins 180º turn on his hind feet and heads the opposite direction. Often done a high speeds

Horse Terms on Eventing and Gaming

Barrel racing - Horse and rider run a specific pattern around barrels at high speeds. The clover leaf pattern being the most popular at Rodeos

Gymkhana - A barrel racing speed event with the barrels arranged in various patterns

Key hole - A speed event that requires horse and rider to preform a roll back within a chalk line boundary

Pole Bending - A speed event where the horse and rider weave in and out of 6 poles placed in a row

Play Day - A gymkhana event that hosts all the standard barrel racing patterns with a few 'wild card' events thrown in to mix things up. Often done at season's end for fun

Wild Horse Race - A Rodeo event (spectacle) where riders in teams of 3 attempt to catch, saddle and ride one of the wild horses running loose in the arena. The first team to succeed wins

Team penning - Riders must cut, move and pen 10 cows in specified order in 60 seconds or less

Jump off - A jumping competition where the jumps get higher and higher until the best jumper wins

Cavaletti - Small jumps that are used for practice and training

Verticals - Vertical jumps built like a wall

Oxers - Wide jumps

More Equestrian Terms

For the Meaning of these Horse Terms:

warm blood, cold-blooded, hot blood, draft, light, gaited,non-horse see Types of Horses

For the difference between ponies, horses and mules seeFacts About Horses

For horse terms relating to body parts see Horse Body Parts

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abaxial(fracture): See sesamoids.

acey-deucy: Uneven stirrups, popularized by Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro, who rode with his left (inside) stirrup lower than his right, to achieve better balance on turns.

across-the-board: A bet on a horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, the player collects three ways; if second, two ways; and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets. Actually three wagers, therefore three times the money. For example, a $2 across-the-board bet costs $6.

action: 1) A horse's manner of moving. 2) A term meaning wagering, for example, 'The horse took a lot of action,' meaning that many people bet on the horse.

acupressure: Utilizing stimulation on acupuncture points to treat an animal.

acupuncture: An ancient and proven means of treating an animal or human through the use of needles, electrical current or moxibustion (heat and herbs), to stimulate or realign the body's electrical fields.

added money: Money added to the purse of a race by the racing association, or by a breeding or other fund, to the amount paid by owners in nomination, eligibility, entry and starting fees. For example, 'the $1 million-added Kentucky Derby.'

added weight: A horse carrying more weight than the conditions of the race require, usually because the jockey exceeds the stated limit.

Adequan: Brand name for polysulfated glycosaminoglycan, used in the treatment of certain arthritic conditions.

age: All Thoroughbreds in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate their birthdays on January 1. In the Southern Hemisphere, the birthday is August 1.

agent: A person empowered to transact business for a stable owner or jockey, or authorized to sell or buy horses for an owner or breeder.

airing: Not running at best speed in a race.

all-age race: A race for two-year-olds and up.

all out: When a horse extends her/himself to the utmost.

allowance race: A race for which the racing secretary drafts certain conditions, to determine weights to be carried based on the horses; ages, genders and/or past performances.

allowances: Reductions in weights to be carried, allowed because of the conditions of the race or because an apprentice jockey is on a horse. Also, a weight reduction to which female horses are entitled when racing against males, or that three-year-olds receive against older horses.

also-eligible: A horse officially entered for a race, but not permitted to start unless the field is reduced by scratches below a specified number.

angular limb deformity: A limb that is not conformationally-correct because of developmental problems in the angles of the joints.

anhydrosis: Inability to sweat in response to work output or increases in body temperature. Horses with this condition are known as non-sweaters. Most non-sweaters are athletic, but the condition appears frequently in pastured horses, who aren't ridden. Anhydrosis usually occurs when both the temperature and humidity are high. Horses raised in temperate regions and shipped to hot climates are most prone to develop the condition, but acclimated horses can be at risk, as well. Clinical signs include inability to sweat; increased respiratory rate; elevated body temperature and decreased exercise tolerance. The condition is easily reversed by moving the horse to a more temperate climate.

anterior: Toward the front.

anterior enteritis: Acute inflammation of the small intestine, producing signs of abdominal distress, such as colic and diarrhea.

apical (fracture): See sesamoids.

apprentice: Rider who has not ridden a certain number of winners within a specified period of time. Also known as a bug, from the asterisk (*) next to the rider's name in the program, used to denote the weight allowance such riders receive.

apprentice allowance: Weight concession given to an apprentice rider. Usually 10 pounds until the fifth winner, seven pounds until the 35th winner and five pounds for one calendar year from the 35th winner. (More rarely, a three-pound allowance is allowed to a rider under contract to a specific stable/owner for two years from his/her first win. This rule varies from state to state.) Apprentices do not receive an allowance when riding in a stakes race. Every jockey going from track to track must have a receipt from the Clerk of Scales from their track, verifying the jockey's most recent total number of wins. Also known as a bug race, from the asterisk (*) next to the jockey's name in the program, used to denote the weight allowance.

apron: The (usually) paved area between the grandstand and the racing surface.

arthritis: Inflammation of a joint. An increase in the amount of synovial fluid in the joint is a result of this inflammation. Accumulation of synovial fluid in the fetlock joint is called a wind puff or wind gall.

arthroscope: A tiny tube of lenses used for viewing areas inside a joint, attached to a small video camera.

Horse Racing Terminology Quiz

articular cartilage: Cartilage that covers the ends of bones where they meet in a joint.

artificial breeding: Includes artificial insemination or embryo transfer (transplants). Not approved by The Jockey Club: all Thoroughbreds must be the result of natural breeding, as pedigree and the ability to prove a horse's heritage is absolutely essential. The insistence on live cover also prevents the reckless breeding of horses, as happens in many breeds that allow AI.

arytenoid cartilages: Triangular cartilages in the upper part of the entrance to the larynx. Movements of the arytenoid cartilages control the diameter of the laryngeal opening.