# Terms that Mean Something in One Place, and Mean Something Else Somewhere Else



## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I've noticed a lot of interchangeable equestrian terms, and a lot of terms that mean a thing in one place but mean something different in another. Some things are like reading Latin - looks familiar, but you really have no idea what it means. For the purpose of this first post, it'll be western riding and I live in SE Oklahoma. 

So. Without further ado:

Horse Terms that Mean Something in One Place, but May Mean Something Different in Another!

(And a couple of local slang terms too)

Paint Horse: This depends_ entirely on context_. If you're talking about an APHA horse, most folks usually say: Registered Paint Horse. A paint horse can also be the antiquated description of calling ANY pinto horse a paint horse. Surprisingly, when locals are conversing about horses, there's rarely any confusion about if you're talking about the BREED or just a color pattern. Example: Man, that's a NICE paint horse they're hauling to that show. (We all know it's an APHA horse) vs. I looked around and there she was, keepin' right up with us on that little paint horse of hers! (Said about me by a punchy kid - see below - who had doubted Trigger - WHO IS NOT AN APHA HORSE - and I could hang with them).

Girt, sometimes seen spelled Gurt or Gert: GIRTH. I have no idea why people here call it a GIRT and the other two spellings are purely phonetic. But I have been corrected by locals for making the th sound, no matter how soft or how truncated, at the end of the spoken word. Also the same thing as a cinch.

Latigo vs. Tie Strap: If you tell someone your tie strap broke, we all know you were using a synthetic tie strap. If you say your LATIGO broke, we all know you were riding with a leather tie strap. And either way, we all know you probably hadn't checked whichever one in a while and deserved it when you and your saddle slid upside down while your horse was just standing there.

Saddle pad vs. Saddle BLANKET vs Sweat pad: Saddle _pad_ is the thick pad, can be boring black, grey, tan, or ivory wool felt, fleece backed, contoured, wool topped, etc. but usually 3/4 to 1" thick. A saddle _blanket _is the smaller, usually decorative wool or acrylic blanket you put over a boring wool felt pad to snazz it up or put your horse in his Sunday best without breaking the bank for a fancy wool top pad. _Sweat pad _is more utilitarian in weave pattern, usually wool for superior moisture wicking, long enough it can be doubled, and goes UNDER a pad. It is helpful keeping sweat wicked away, especially if you're using a neoprene type pad. Hence the term sweat pad. I see a LOT of confusion on eBay about the pad vs. the blanket, and it may be that the two terms are interchangeable elsewhere.

Tom Thumb Bit (Western snaffle): This is NOT the same thing as an English/European Tom Thumb. I have no experience with the English variety, but the American one, IMO, is by and large worthless UNLESS you have a horse that doesn't know anything else, and you're a rider who understands how it works and use it properly. It is NOT a gentle bit, it is NOT a snaffle bit, it is a broken mouthpiece shanked bit and it causes all sorts of confusion for the horse, especially if the curb chain isn't the proper length or is missing entirely. It can over-rotate, it uses both nutcracker AND leverage at the same time. I highly recommend reading up on this one, just in case someone tries to foist it off on you or asks you what you think about them. Personally, I do not own a single one anymore. All but one of our horses (Superman) absolutely hated them, and hated us for riding them in one. There are, IMO, quite simply, dozens of better bits in the same price range. 

Bosal (Sometimes called a 'bozo'): Bosalita - a type of hackamore developed by Spanish Mexican and Spanish American Vaqueros, often ridden with a mecate (long, thick, prickly rope made out of horse hair and can double as a lead rope.)

Hackamore: Can be mechanical with shanks, or a little 's' type, or the bosal (above)

Noseband: A band of leather or rope (Occasionally, horrifically, metal) which is clipped to a tie down, which is then clipped to the D on the front girt (See what I did there?). Typically seen on roping horses, barrel racing horses, and sometimes horses that rear (under the erroneous, and dangerous belief they will stop a horse from rearing) Also seen on rodeo bucking broncs but not used with a tie down for obvious reasons. They instead have a bronc rein attached.

Punchy: I see this one used more and more, and I think it's a bit like the word legacy. You can define it all you want, but until you are living it, or encounter it in person, you really have no idea what it truly means. Punchy... is... well. bad ***. Pardon the term. Punchy people are hardcore, extreme horsemen, and they will go about anywhere and do about anything and you wonder how they've survived this long and not been eaten by an angry wild sow when they jump off their horses and tackle baby pigs in the woods (Yep, know some kids that have done this). They drink, they smoke, they cuss, but you don't talk bad to the ladies, you hold the door open for them, and you threaten to whip anyone that besmirches them or throws ice at them at the rodeo (Yep. Seen that too). Punchy TACK means it LOOKS b.a. A punchy HORSE (Our Gina is considered punchy) can go about anywhere and climb about anything. Think Man from Snowy River + Tombstone Revenge Posse. Being punchy is not for the faint of heart. If you find yourself inadvertently riding with a group of punchy people, you are forced to trust your horse because really that's the only choice you're gonna get. They will offer you a beer later and I recommend you accept it, for your own sake and so they aren't offended (I took the beer. I needed it).

Trail Horse (Just a) - To some, a low bred, grade horse with limited training that does nothing but pack around noobs and spends the rest of his or her days being a pasture potato. This isn't necessarily untrue, but most trail riders get peeved at this assumption. A good trail horse is worth a chunk of change, has to stay calm in adverse conditions, traverse treacherous country... and pack around noobs... like me.  

(That last one is a joke)

This isn't everything, it's just all I could think of right now.

Feel free to share any terms you've encountered that caused confusion simply because of a difference in region.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Horse float. In Australia it means a horse trailer. Here that would be a float in a parade decorated with horses?


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Or just dunked in soda like an ice cream float?


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

The chestnut vs sorrel debate. 

I know people who are sure they are two different colors and which two different colors they are. Other people are also sure -- but with different definitions of the colors. Yet others think sorrel is what chestnut is called Out West (not completely wrong). Or that sorrel is simply the ignorant name for what is "really" chestnut (see: "Out West"). I have my own opinion but I'm keeping it a secret!


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Because we live on opposite sides of the country, this will got to show how regional and maybe discipline(for lack of a better word?) oriented some terms can be..LOL!
Please don't take it as arguing or saying you're wrong just showing how the same terms can be different 




AtokaGhosthorse said:


> Paint Horse: This depends_ entirely on context_. If you're talking about an APHA horse, most folks usually say: Registered Paint Horse. A paint horse can also be the antiquated description of calling ANY pinto horse a paint horse. Surprisingly, when locals are conversing about horses, there's rarely any confusion about if you're talking about the BREED or just a color pattern. Example: Man, that's a NICE paint horse they're hauling to that show. (We all know it's an APHA horse) vs. I looked around and there she was, keepin' right up with us on that little paint horse of hers! (Said about me by a punchy kid - see below - who had doubted Trigger - WHO IS NOT AN APHA HORSE - and I could hang with them).


I think this about the same here. Paint horse is a broad term. It is usually only specified if it is a registered APHA in sales ads, otherwise just about anything with excessive white on it can be called a paint regardless of papers or not.



> Girt, sometimes seen spelled Gurt or Gert: GIRTH. I have no idea why people here call it a GIRT and the other two spellings are purely phonetic. But I have been corrected by locals for making the th sound, no matter how soft or how truncated, at the end of the spoken word. Also the same thing as a cinch.


I don't think I have ever heard or seen the spelling "girt, gurt or gert". The only time I hear the term "girth" is in reference to an english cinch/girth. Otherwise always called a cinch.



> Latigo vs. Tie Strap: If you tell someone your tie strap broke, we all know you were using a synthetic tie strap. If you say your LATIGO broke, we all know you were riding with a leather tie strap. And either way, we all know you probably hadn't checked whichever one in a while and deserved it when you and your saddle slid upside down while your horse was just standing there.


Always called a latigo as I don't see many of the synthetic ones being used. Maybe barrel racers?



> Saddle pad vs. Saddle BLANKET vs Sweat pad: Saddle _pad_ is the thick pad, can be boring black, grey, tan, or ivory wool felt, fleece backed, contoured, wool topped, etc. but usually 3/4 to 1" thick. A saddle _blanket _is the smaller, usually decorative wool or acrylic blanket you put over a boring wool felt pad to snazz it up or put your horse in his Sunday best without breaking the bank for a fancy wool top pad. _Sweat pad _is more utilitarian in weave pattern, usually wool for superior moisture wicking, long enough it can be doubled, and goes UNDER a pad. It is helpful keeping sweat wicked away, especially if you're using a neoprene type pad. Hence the term sweat pad. I see a LOT of confusion on eBay about the pad vs. the blanket, and it may be that the two terms are interchangeable elsewhere.


Same here. Never heard the term sweat pad before though. Back when the synthetic pads came out and became popular with the team ropers we used a blanket in that fashion under the synthetic pads as they used to burn a horses back. Remember them being called blankets regardless if they went on top or under.



> Tom Thumb Bit (Western snaffle): This is NOT the same thing as an English/European Tom Thumb. I have no experience with the English variety, but the American one, IMO, is by and large worthless UNLESS you have a horse that doesn't know anything else, and you're a rider who understands how it works and use it properly. It is NOT a gentle bit, it is NOT a snaffle bit, it is a broken mouthpiece shanked bit and it causes all sorts of confusion for the horse, especially if the curb chain isn't the proper length or is missing entirely. It can over-rotate, it uses both nutcracker AND leverage at the same time. I highly recommend reading up on this one, just in case someone tries to foist it off on you or asks you what you think about them. Personally, I do not own a single one anymore. All but one of our horses (Superman) absolutely hated them, and hated us for riding them in one. There are, IMO, quite simply, dozens of better bits in the same price range.


Same.



> Bosal (Sometimes called a 'bozo'): Bosalita - a type of hackamore developed by Spanish Mexican and Spanish American Vaqueros, often ridden with a mecate (long, thick, prickly rope made out of horse hair and can double as a lead rope.)


I find this one to be very regional! Plus the pronunciation. Bosal is just that a bosal. It is just the braided nosepiece. 

Bosalita is the same but specifies the diameter, usually 3/8" and smaller. 



> Hackamore: Can be mechanical with shanks, or a little 's' type, or the bosal (above)


The whole setup, bosal, hanger, McCartyput together. 

Underbridle a whole bosalita setup with a hanger and McCarty. Or a get down rig which would be a bosalita with a get down rope.
If one uses a mechanical hackamore it is always said as a mechanical hackamore. If you were to just say "hackamore" one would a assume a bosal setup.



> Noseband: A band of leather or rope (Occasionally, horrifically, metal) which is clipped to a tie down, which is then clipped to the D on the front girt (See what I did there?). Typically seen on roping horses, barrel racing horses, and sometimes horses that rear (under the erroneous, and dangerous belief they will stop a horse from rearing) Also seen on rodeo bucking broncs but not used with a tie down for obvious reasons. They instead have a bronc rein attached.


 Typically the noseband for a tie-down is still considered a tie down whether it is hooked up or not. Bronc halter is called a bronc halter. Nose band would be used interchangeably with cavesson or mouth shutter.



> Punchy: I see this one used more and more, and I think it's a bit like the word legacy. You can define it all you want, but until you are living it, or encounter it in person, you really have no idea what it truly means. Punchy... is... well. bad ***. Pardon the term. Punchy people are hardcore, extreme horsemen, and they will go about anywhere and do about anything and you wonder how they've survived this long and not been eaten by an angry wild sow when they jump off their horses and tackle baby pigs in the woods (Yep, know some kids that have done this). They drink, they smoke, they cuss, but you don't talk bad to the ladies, you hold the door open for them, and you threaten to whip anyone that besmirches them or throws ice at them at the rodeo (Yep. Seen that too). Punchy TACK means it LOOKS b.a. A punchy HORSE (Our Gina is considered punchy) can go about anywhere and climb about anything. Think Man from Snowy River + Tombstone Revenge Posse. Being punchy is not for the faint of heart. If you find yourself inadvertently riding with a group of punchy people, you are forced to trust your horse because really that's the only choice you're gonna get. They will offer you a beer later and I recommend you accept it, for your own sake and so they aren't offended (I took the beer. I needed it).


 Very regional. Punchy here depending on how it is used can be derogatory or teasing but not used as compliment of cowboy skills. More like saying one is all hat and no cattle. Not to be confused by saying a guy is a puncher, which is specifying his cowboying style and where he came from.



> Trail Horse (Just a) - To some, a low bred, grade horse with limited training that does nothing but pack around noobs and spends the rest of his or her days being a pasture potato. This isn't necessarily untrue, but most trail riders get peeved at this assumption. A good trail horse is worth a chunk of change, has to stay calm in adverse conditions, traverse treacherous country... and pack around noobs... like me.


I think this one has been thrashed on this very forum quite a bit!

I find a couple terms that really seem to confuse people on the internet.

The use of the word "colt".
This is can be very broad. Colt can mean filly especially used in plural form. Example, "Throw her in the pen with the colts". That means young horses in general. Not necessarily all horse colts(male), in that sense it is all young horses.
It could also mean an aged horse with out a whole lot of riding time. Example, "mind if I bring my colt tomorrow?". More reference to training level than gender or age, could be an 8 year old mare. Depends on how and when it is used. But the gender is always specified when selling.


The term gunsel seems to confuse people as they take the literal google definition.
It is used to describe someone who is very unhandy.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

COWCHICK77 said:


> <snip>
> 
> I find a couple terms that really seem to confuse people on the internet.
> 
> ...


My understanding of "colt" -- a young horse under the age of five or so. If not designated, probably means male. Filly means a female. Stud colt, definitively male. Never heard the word colt used for anything other than a young horse, never a green older horse.

The only time I have ever read the word gunsel (never heard it uttered), was by Dashiell Hammett in The Maltese Falcon. He used a lot of underworld 1920s and 30s slang, and gunsel was current slang for a young gay man kept by an older one. Because none of his readers knew what it meant , it was taken to mean "gunman", a meaning it still has today and which is derived entirely from the book itself. I didn't know this but the word is Yiddish and originally meant "little goose". 

Your definition is entirely new to me, and could be another branch of the gunsel tree.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Cowboy.

Often used by non-western or ranch people to describe anyone who rides a western saddle.

In ranch parlance it describes a person who has the skills, from being good with horses, to being able to handle cattle well, to caring well for the water and land, and doing it.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

Dun – used for horses with a dorsal stripe and zebra markings on their legs as well as those who’d be considered buckskins elsewhere, despite the difference in genetics. 

Paint – We tend to go with skewbald and piebald 

Hackamore – I think of a bitless bridle, never a bosal

Cinch – I’d say girth.

Saddlepad – or saddlecloth, we also use numnah for those shaped like a saddle.

Headstall – I’d use bridle

Scratches – mud fever here; scratches is something you do if you have an itch

English – it’s just ‘riding’ here. 

Galloway – used to be a breed of pony in Scotland, now extinct but it’s a type of riding horse in Australia.

Colt – I know it to mean a horse under five as well but I wonder if some are using it like ‘guys’ which can mean male and female.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

"Chocolate" in reference to color.. it can apparently be applied to almost any actual color, which is very confusing and totally unhelpful. also roll my eyes at chestnut vs sorrel (which @Avna has already covered).


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Around here in the Pacific NW, Punchy seems to refer to someone being kind of out of it or stupified. So if you said your horse was punchy, we wouldn't think "tough," we'd think acting wobbly or not completely right in the head.

What you call a noseband, we call a tie down. A noseband is what we call a cavesson.


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

Gert or gurt: I always think of a channel of water. I call a piece to hold a saddle in place a cinch or a girth (same thing)

Hackamore: In my mind I think of a bosal with hanger and mecates but I grew up out west. If someone says hackamore to me I don't assume it's a bosal with a hanger, I ask "what kind?".

Paint: I think of a registered paint. Growing up we called them all pintos or to be more specific overo, tobanio or whatever.

I use the words chestnut or sorrel interchangeably, either one means a red horse to me. Same thing with brown horses, to me they are still a bay horse just a certain shade of bay. I still say bay though just like I would if they were mohagany, blood, copper, golden, or wild type. I guess, if someone wanted to be more specific, they could ask me "what shade of bay?".

I call a young male horse a colt but I'm fully aware that some people call all young horses colts. I've never heard anyone calling a green older horse a colt though.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I use "tie down" to mean the whole apparatus -- a noseband that is actually tied down -- what in "english" would be called a standing martingale. 

In California a hackamore is more likely to be a jaquima, and a noseband with curb shanks and a curb strap is a "mechanical hackamore". But I've also heard just plain hackamore for a mechanical hackamore. 

There are a lot of englishisms that are _never_ used in the western US (numnah, float, hacking out). 

Cavesson is a word that has a lot of meanings. Can be a hunter bridle noseband (purely ornamental), a lunging cavesson with a heavy rigid ringed nosepiece, or any other kind of noseband. In the western US is it most likely a lunging cavesson, and anything else is called a noseband unless it is a bosal.


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## celestejasper13 (May 16, 2014)

(Embarrassed English person here don't shoot me!)
Should the word cinch be pronounced with a hard or soft C - Like 'Kinch' or 'Sinch'?


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

celestejasper13 said:


> (Embarrassed English person here don't shoot me!)
> Should the word cinch be pronounced with a hard or soft C - Like 'Kinch' or 'Sinch'?


Sinch.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Avna said:


> The chestnut vs sorrel debate.
> 
> I know people who are sure they are two different colors and which two different colors they are. Other people are also sure -- but with different definitions of the colors. Yet others think sorrel is what chestnut is called Out West (not completely wrong). Or that sorrel is simply the ignorant name for what is "really" chestnut (see: "Out West"). I have my own opinion but I'm keeping it a secret!


'Round here... Sorrel is the 'less red' chestnut color, usually with a lighter colored mane/tail. (Our Gina)

Chestnut is a deeper red or copper, basically bay, but with a same colored mane/tail and no black points (Superman).

Genetically, they may all be the same, but again, if you hear someone say "That's a sorrel mare..." or "She's riding a chestnut gelding in the parade....", you know exactly what color they mean, visually.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

gottatrot said:


> Sinch.


Cinch - Also a brand of western wear. And expensive one at that! I'm dying to have one of their softshell/carry conceal jackets. Not because I carry, but because I like the jackets. I can't bring myself to cough up 120.00 for one though - so I settled for a Hooey jacket on sale for $39.99.

Hooey - poop. 

Hooey - Also a brand of western wear.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> 'Round here... Sorrel is the 'less red' chestnut color, usually with a lighter colored mane/tail. (Our Gina)
> 
> Chestnut is a deeper red or copper, basically bay, but with a same colored mane/tail and no black points (Superman).
> 
> Genetically, they may all be the same, but again, if you hear someone say "That's a sorrel mare..." or "She's riding a chestnut gelding in the parade....", you know exactly what color they mean, visually.


Yes, that what I was raised with myself; lighter is sorrel, darker is chestnut, darkest is liver chestnut. I had two sorrels growing up, neither had lighter manes but they were both a light red. My filly Happy was one; her mom was a grade Saddlebred who was almost a liver chestnut, and even though she had a streaky mane, she was never called sorrel, only chestnut. 

I knew someone then with a pale chestnut TB which was called "dishwater chestnut" but only behind her back ....

Happy, my first really good horse:


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

When I moved to Florida, I started riding with a group of "good ol' boys". They would ask me if I'd like to walk. Since we were already walking our horses, I was quite confused. I learned that "Do you want to walk?" means "walk on" in other cultures, or running walk. But they just say "walk."


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

A cinch (sinch) goes on a western saddle, a girth on an English one. The Cinch has a large D on either end; usually with a buckle, sometimes a roller-buckle. a Girth has two buckles on each end, often with elastic straps. I'm tack-dyslexic, and use the terms interchangeably, often in the same sentence.
A "Western" saddle has Bars, an "English" one has Panels. A Western saddle w/o a horn is an Endurance saddle, an English saddle with "ears" is an Aussie saddle. Beyond that, things get blurry.
Hackamore, or simply Hack, is the mechanical version. The rope thingie is a Bosal. I don't see 'em very often around here. I do see a variety of bitless arrangements; side-pulls, Dr. Cooks and variants, rope "training" halters . . . We just say "Bridle". A Bridle carrying a hack or bit has a "headstall"; the strap part. The headstall sometimes comes with a nose band. I have a bunch of the nosebands in a junk-drawer; use them when I need a short leather strap or a buckle ;-)
Reins, Rein? Some riders like the two piece "western" _Reins_, I prefer a one-piece yacht-rope _Rein_. The English ones with a buckle? You tell me.
Horse colors? Yikes. I say Bay, Black, White, Brown, Red, Appy, or Paint. Oily is a Bay. George is a "Black" mule, but in bright sunlight, he is actually a very dark Bay. Whatever floats yer boat.
"Punchy" means "Dazed and confused", which describes me much of the time :-D


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

COWCHICK77 said:


> Because we live on opposite sides of the country, this will got to show how regional and maybe discipline(for lack of a better word?) oriented some terms can be..LOL!
> *Please don't take it as arguing or saying you're wrong just showing how the same terms can be different *
> 
> 
> ...





Nonsense! This is the entire point of setting this thread up!


Colt is one of those words that's also very contextual in it's use. I've called Outback or Oops a 'colt' when they were very very young and been corrected by some, and others have said: Why didn't you just say a colt? I'd have known what you meant? *sigh* Whatever. LOL


Punchy - I wasn't aware of the all hat, no cattle usage. I've always heard it used as an offshoot of 'cow puncher'. In fact, I've seen it used a LOT to describe tack on a FB group. The Teskeys sell a lot of stuff on there, and they'll describe The Thing as being "Real punchy looking!" or something to that effect. I hear it a lot to describe a person, tack, or horse, as being extreme in terms of being and LOOKING rough-and-ready.

Bronc Halter - I've been trying to feel out what I need in terms of inventory to sell, and I can't tell you how many times I've had one person say: "Oh yeah! Bronc halters! People look for those" only to have another person, even bronc riders, stare at me with a blank and say: OH you mean the NOSE BAND. 


Sweat Pad: See? I'd always called it a blanket too. Just a blanket. But the ropers I've been around, and the livestock contractors, and pick up men, and rodeo people all call those a sweat pad. I had to actually ask wtheck they were talking about a couple of years ago. And btw, I LOVE seeing ropers and 'rough' cowboys that like their horse's sweat pad to complement the color of the horse and the tack. LOL They may be rough around the edges, but they like their horses to look nice. But yeah, if I get asked at a rodeo if I have a sweat pad for sale vs. pad vs. blanket, I know exactly what they're looking for now.



So... there's a LOT of confusing interchangeable terms not just region to region in JUST the U.S. and JUST for western riding, but also LOCALLY.

I think sometimes when talking other people either in person, or on the internet, a lot of these terms are what cause miscommunications and misunderstandings.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

With the spread of NH into the UK and forums there are a lot of terms that have become more commonly used over there but prior to that:
A paint or pinto is a coloured horse (we have a 'u' in our spelling of color!!). They're piebald (black and white) and skewbald (any other colour(s) and white
Dun is a colour in Ireland and Scotland (like red,blue,green etc) which describes the dun or buckskin colour regardless of genetics.
Numnah - saddle pad
Halter - something made of rope or canvas
Headcollar - made of leather or nylon and called a halter in the US
Horsebox - RV type vehicle for transporting horses. I was very confused when I read a book years ago that was about an Australian rider and wondered why she was using a milk float (vehicle used to deliver milk from door to door) to transport her horse. Gave me great concern for its safety!
Grain - product of cereal crops only
Chaff - chopped forage
Horse and Pony nuts - pelleted feed, no nuts in them at all
Livery - Boarding, Agistment
Stalls - where horses were tied during the work day.
Loose box - stable
Rugs - Blankets


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Barn - any sort of building may be the Hay barn or the Horse barn or whatever. Often simple in concept and design and often 4-6 horses. Can be of different types; pole barn, shed row barn, center aisle. 

Stable - fancy barn with wash stalls, tack rooms or lockers, separate hay storage. Often usually has things for the rider too, bathroom, lounge, etc. 


Gooseneck or 5-th wheel - horse or livestock transportation that attaches to the bed of your truck. 


Bumper pull - horse or livestock transportation that hooks to the back of your truck (but please NOT on the actual bumper!!!) 


Horse box or horse van - all in one transportation for horses with the engine and cab attached to the horse stalls.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

"aught," "double-aught," and "triple-aught" - the size of small horse shoes equal to 0, 00, and 000


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Chestnut or Sorrel - same color different style. Chestnut is the "English" way and can be light with flaxen mane and tail or dark as in liver chestnut or anything in between. Personally I love a bright red chestnut best. 
Sorel is the same concept just "western" style. 


Paint vs Pinto - I always associated Paint with a horse of QH type build/breeding and Pinto with lighter build. Personally I always liked the terms Piebald and Skewbald but they never really caught on over here. Gaited horses are called "spotted" not paint or pinto. 


Dun vs Buckskin - Duns have the dorsal stripe, buckskins don't. They come in different shades too from light "buttermilk" to dark "amber" 


Bays vs brown - If they have black or dark brown points with a reddish body, I call them all bays. 


But colors are an ever-changing science, so what I grew up calling things has changed greatly over the years. 

Since I don't breed I honestly don't really care how politically correct I am with the color. My boy is a Registered Rocky Mountain Association horse and the breed standard lists "Chocolate" for a black with dapple and "Red Chocolate" for a bay with dapple. So that is why I call my horse Chocolate, because he is and also I LOVE Chocolate :Angel:


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Someone mentioned "hacking out," I also like "happy hacker" and that's how I tend to describe the riding I do vs. "trail riding," since I'm often riding out of an arena but along roads, trails, woods, fields, etc.


The rest of the world hears that and thinks it means I'm hiding in my basement eating doughnuts destroying the internet :rofl:


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

boots said:


> Cowboy.
> 
> Often used by non-western or ranch people to describe anyone who rides a western saddle.
> 
> In ranch parlance it describes a person who has the skills, from being good with horses, to being able to handle cattle well, to caring well for the water and land, and doing it.


Another definition of cowboy (verb) -- "to cowboy" means to be unnecessarily rough, crude, and even cruel, using antiquated methods and harsh tack to force a horse into obedience. Example: "that horse acts like he's been cowboyed out of all his try."

Side note: as we all know, you don't have to use western tack to be brutal, and there are cowboys with infinite finesse.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Even though i ride gaited horses, i still refer to the gaits as walk, trot, and canter. I even use those as voice commands for the horses. I suppose that happens when you have different breeds of gaited horses and everyone gaits differently. 

All red horses are chestnuts to me. I never use the term sorrel.

Anything with paint markings is a paint, regardless of registration. My mare is a registered paint, but no one ever gets her breed right. My vet swore she had to be gaited and many people seem to think she is a spotted saddle horse. Actually she is mostly paint with a touch of thoroughbred and somehow her face is slightly dished like an Arabian. Not sure where the slight dish comes from but i think it is cute.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> Colt is one of those words that's also very contextual in it's use. I've called Outback or Oops a 'colt' when they were very very young and been corrected by some, and others have said: Why didn't you just say a colt? I'd have known what you meant? *sigh* Whatever. LOL


I've found "colt" slightly confusing ever since I first got one! For one thing my colt was gelded early.......so he was only an actual COLT for the first 5 months or so. But if you say "gelding," like "I'm bringing my gelding" they will probably assume it's an older horse. So it makes more sense to say "I'm bringing my colt" even though he's a gelding. 

And I've found the term colt is used out west for any young horse. For instance, "There is a colt starting clinic." There will also be geldings and fillies there. "Colt starting" actually means starting any gender of horse. So while I really think it is most correct to say colt, filly, gelding, there are instances where "colt" covers it all best. I guess you could say foal to cover all 3 genders when they are young, but that wouldn't work for a "foal starting clinic!"

I've seen the word "punchy" used to describe tack, but I've never actually heard anyone use that term in real-life. 

I hate it when people use "paint" to describe "pinto." To me, it sounds like they don't know the difference. Similar to "what breed is your horse"......."he's a palomino." 

I tend to use "girth" and "cinch" interchangeably (probably read too many English horse books as a child.......they both sound right to me). I've never heard anyone use girt or gert or gurt!


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

The Paint registry really hit its stride in the 1980's - 1990's. Before that, horses with that coloring were called pintos and paints, tobianos and overos, in North America and piebalds and skewbalds in Britain. There was no "breed". So the term Paint meaning a registered colored horse of Quarterhorse type, is really quite new in the overall scheme of things.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

egrogan said:


> Someone mentioned "hacking out," I also like "happy hacker" and that's how I tend to describe the riding I do vs. "trail riding," since I'm often riding out of an arena but along roads, trails, woods, fields, etc.



I use the term "trail riding" to cover any out-of-arena riding. It doesn't have to be on an actual trail. I never actually heard of "hacking" for trail riding until I landed on this forum! 




Avna said:


> Another definition of cowboy (verb) -- "to cowboy" means to be unnecessarily rough, crude, and even cruel, using antiquated methods and harsh tack to force a horse into obedience. Example: "that horse acts like he's been cowboyed out of all his try."
> 
> Side note: as we all know, you don't have to use western tack to be brutal, and there are cowboys with infinite finesse.



That is how I've heard "cowboy" used around here. If a horse has been "cowboyed" he's been forced into submission.




Avna said:


> The Paint registry really hit its stride in the 1980's - 1990's. Before that, horses with that coloring were called pintos and paints, tobianos and overos, in North America and piebalds and skewbalds in Britain. There was no "breed". So the term Paint meaning a registered colored horse of Quarterhorse type, is really quite new in the overall scheme of things.



I didn't get my first horse until the 1990's so all I have ever heard is "pinto" is a color, "Paint" is a breed. All my books from childhood days discussed piebalds and skewbalds. But what you said makes perfect sense.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Actually, there is a Pinto Horse Asso. I did a science fair project with original research in 1965 on coat color characteristics in pinto horses. After writing to lots of breeders and working so hard on my project (the idea was how to get an even amount of color and white in foals), I registered my horse in the Pinto Horse Asso. as they were much friendlier and more helpful than the Paint Horse Asso.
https://www.pinto.org/


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Yep,_ paint_ as a breed is relatively new, so a lot of us older folks, and folks older than us, especially in rural areas, grew up calling any 'painted' horse a paint, regardless of breed. Again, we know what you're talking about purely by context, but it can confuse those who associate paint with APHA horses.


Cowboy is another contextual word. Cowboyed out... is the same thing here as anywhere. Means someone broke a horse the hard way and has ground them down into submission.


A real COWBOY is someone who spends a lot of time in the saddle either doing ranch work, ranch rodeos, or rodeo work. They're ranchers or ranch employees or stockyard employees and cattle haulers as a day job, 'work' as pick up men, bronc riders, and ropers in their spare time. Regardless, they're almost always in the saddle. THESE guys usually take really good care of their horses, though to the outsider, it may seem like they work them into the ground. But these guys will take care of their horse before they'll take care of themselves and some may act gruff and hard, but they have that ONE horse they'd never sell or trade off, and when that horse finally passes on, they'll hurt on the inside for a long time.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Paint - pinto-marked horse of stock type, registered or not. Pinto - non-stock breed with pinto markings.


Cinch - western saddle
Girth - english saddle


Noseband = cavesson
Tie-down - the whole rig-- including the nosepiece, hanger, and tie-down strap. 



Saddle pad - work pad or all-in-one. If someone asks for a saddle blanket, it's going either on top of or under the work pad. Sweat pad is a rarely-used term.


Chestnut - red horse of light/english type

Sorrel - red horse of stock or draft type


Latigo is latigo-- I have never heard it called a tie strap


Pet peeve: anything with a jointed mouth is commonly termed a snaffle here, whether it has shanks or not. It's pretty common to hear someone say "this horse goes real nice in a snaffle" and they mean a shanked bit with a jointed mouthpiece. Now, don't get me wrong-- a lot of horses go really well in those bits, but they are not snaffles! *gah* I haven't seen anyone use a Tom Thumb in ten years, which is refreshing. You still see some of those $5 nickle-plated or aluminum cheapo bits that come on the headstall already at the farm store. As with anywhere else, you can tell a lot about a rider by the tack-- is it clean, workmanlike, quality equipment with a well-fitted saddle, good pad, and good bit? That person likely knows what he/she is doing. Is the tack cheap with the saddle on a folded-over nylon rug from the farm store rather than a good pad and are they using a TT or aluminum curb bit? Likely a newbie or someone who doesn't care much about their animals. 



Colt - generally referring to a horse under 5, or a horse that is just started. If your 4 y.o. is a finished reiner, you aren't going to refer to him as a colt. If your 6 y.o. has 10 rides on him, you likely will. "Colt starting" refers to starting either sex.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, even after reading all this, I don't know exactly what a latigo is...anyone have a picture??


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

AnitaAnne said:


> Well, even after reading all this, I don't know exactly what a latigo is...anyone have a picture??


 It's your tie strap on a western saddle. I saw someone mention they don't see a lot of synthetic ones where they're located, but here synthetic are far more common, hence the term Latigo vs. Tie Strap. We know what material you're using as a tie strap depending on what you call it.

I've even seen some make shift tie straps made out of ratchet strap webbing.


Latigo LEATHER, a type of leather, is what's usually used for a leather tie strap, hence the word Latigo being used.

It's also referenced in a Garth Brooke's song and for a long time, in the 90s, I didn't know what it meant either:

It's the bulls and blood
It's the dust and mud
It's spurs and the latigo
It's the ropes and the reins
It's the joy and the pain
And they call the thing a rodeo


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Here's a picture-- the latigo is the strap that is either buckled or tied off to tighten and secure the cinch of the saddle. It's traditionally made of 'latigo' leather-- generally combination-tanned and nearly impervious to liquids; it remains strong and flexible even after untold soakings in sweat.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Foal - baby equine of either sex prior to weaning and/or up to one year old


Filly - female equine three and under (prior to being started under saddle) 


Colt - uncut male equine three and under (prior to being started under saddle) 


Mare - female equine over three, usually started under saddle or cart by this age. 


Gelding - male castrated equine over one year old 


Stallion - uncut/intact male equine over three years old. 


Stud - uncut/intact male equine used for breeding (can also be used as riding/driving/working horse but stud usually denotes breeding purposes) 


Proud cut - male equine that had undescended testicle thus only "cut" on one side. Shows aggressive/studdish behavior especially around mares but not able to breed.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Thanks all for the Latigo lesson! I was thinking it was some sort of lariat strap or something :rofl: 

Growing up that was just called a girth strap or leather. Billets/billet straps have holes for buckles on English style saddles. We just called the back part the "rear girth" the front one was called a cinch because the rider "cinches" it up. The back is buckled not cinched.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

AnitaAnne said:


> Proud cut - male equine that had undescended testicle thus only "cut" on one side. Shows aggressive/studdish behavior especially around mares but not able to breed.



I meant to add this one to the op!

SARGE... I've said he's proud cut, to the confusion of a lot of people here! Okay. LOCALLY... it can mean 'cut incorrectly' and he's not firing blanks... OR it can mean cut later in life.

An example of a proud cut, but correctly cut horse: Our friend who gave us Supes owned for many years, until the horse's death from being 30 some-odd years, a red roan thoroughbred... which he taught to be a roping horse and cattle gathering horse. Prince was race-bred and belonged to the friend's cousins. They had a race-breeding operation, very small, mostly just two studs and a couple of brood mares. Prince was one of the studs. Key word 'was'. Prince got kicked in the jewels and began to hemorrhage. They did emergency surgery on him, had to geld him to save his life. He then obviously useless as a stud, and he was too old, at 7, to put him back on the track. He produced nice foals, but he himself wasn't the type to want to race anyway.

They gave him to our friend. 

He retained some of the 'stud' behaviors - challenging other males, gelded or not, and getting attached to mares in season or not. He was also larger than most geldings and I was always told it was because he'd reached his full size before being gelded.

Sarge does the same things and he's a big boy... so when people see him for the first time, if they're riders, the first thing I hear is: Oh, he must have been proud cut!

Again. Context is everything.

No wonder we confuse one another and get confused, eh?


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

"Late cut" gelding and ones previously used for stud *do* tend to be of the more aggressive type and are commonly mis-identified as proud-cut. 

Per vets I have talked to, true proud-cut geldings are fairly rare. 

"Late cut" - gelded after age four


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

FANNY! This one is for Loosie and our Oz members!

I know this guy. I've known him since he was a mouthy fart-head 15 year old wannabe bullrider with red, white, and blue rodeo chaps (GOD those were so tacky) who'd just moved here from Louisiana in the early 90s. His first cousin is a dear friend of ours. 

The last time he was in to see family, we all went to dinner together. He told us this story:

He was announcing a rodeo in Australia. He went on to tell us how fun and enthusiastic Aussies are with the rodeos. He was talking about a bull rider who had just been bucked off and he said, on the mic/pa system:

Now if he'd have just kept his fanny on the bull better, that wouldn't have happened.

He said the arena went almost dead silent. Women were covering children's ears, everyone looked horrified. Meanwhile, I'm over across the table, trying to contain my laughter because I KNEW what fanny means in Australia and NZ and perhaps some other places abroad, but the rest of the people at the table had not a clue. I had TEARS leaking out of my eyes.

He says later he's talking to someone after the rodeo and he mentioned he felt like he'd said something wrong but he didn't know what.

The Aussie looked at him with a grin and said: Fanny. You might as well have said 'If that bull rider had kept his p**sy on the bull better....'

Brandon said he just darn near died. He hadn't had a clue about that, but here, FANNY is the most polite way of saying your rear end/behind... not a most intimate part of female anatomy.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: 



I hate the word "booty" ...meant pirate treasure in my youth...


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

AnitaAnne said:


> :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
> 
> I hate the word "booty" ...meant pirate treasure in my youth...



True story. We had to read Beowulf our senior year in English IV. The book had modern English vs. the original so we could see how the language had changed over the centuries.


This guy that sat behind me, God love him...


When we got to the part where the monster Grendel had slunk back to his lair/grotto with 'his bloody booty', Jimmy let out the loudest OH! NASTY! Our teacher threw an eraser at him. I had to duck or get hit. LOL She slapped her palm on the desk and shouted: HELLS BELLS JIMMY. That's NOT what that means!


There was a muffled, relieved 'Oh..." from like, half the boys in class.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I have had several horses gelded after age 10. Not one of them exhibited any more studdy behaviors than early-cut geldings. The only difference was the thick jowl and neck.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Might very well be the socialization aspect then. Sarge is a second hand horse so I don't know his full history. I don't know if he's just always been like this, or if he was cut late and never properly taught to behave himself. Prince was breeding stud and from what I know of the people who had him originally, they probably kept him stalled with a turn out and he likely only saw another horse at breeding time (This was back in the day before AI was a thing around here and it was done the old fashioned way).


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> FANNY! This one is for Loosie and our Oz members!
> 
> I know this guy. I've known him since he was a mouthy fart-head 15 year old wannabe bullrider with red, white, and blue rodeo chaps (GOD those were so tacky) who'd just moved here from Louisiana in the early 90s. His first cousin is a dear friend of ours.
> 
> ...





AtokaGhosthorse said:


> True story. We had to read Beowulf our senior year in English IV. The book had modern English vs. the original so we could see how the language had changed over the centuries.
> 
> 
> This guy that sat behind me, God love him...
> ...


:rofl::rofl::rofl: OMG, I'm laughing so hard right now :rofl::rofl::rofl:


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## Rawhide (Nov 11, 2011)

Lasso is another one depends on region known to some as a layman , to others to throw a loop of rope , and to some I would imagine the whole rope itself . 

Which brings to mind the words lariat and reata which I have not given it much thought yet in reference to thread title .


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

this one is a very important one and I find that it is greatly debated on HF.


What is a stall? In most parts of the world that have weather (read: everywhere but CA, AZ, and perhaps FL), this is a stall: 











In CA This ^ is called a *12 by 12 BOX stall.*

A stall for us in California is this, meaning a *box stall with a run*:


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

Other terms:


*Buckaroo* - vaquero-style rider or anyone who rides with a wade saddle.


*English *- usually most people think of hunt-seat. Dressage, although english, is always talked about separately.


*Hunters* - never means AQHA, ALWAYS means Hunter/Jumper. Hunters also encompasses equitation in a terminology sense.


*Western* - where I am from which is a good 50/50 this tends to just mean people who ride in a western saddle and the usual mental vision is trail riding. If you want to be thought of as anything more than a trail rider you specify that you are a "reiner/roper/western dressage/etc."


*Advanced horse* - where I am from this is _not_ what a schoolmaster is called. An advanced horse is a pro-ride and is a showhorse that is borderline out of control that only the most skilled individuals can ride.


*Beginner horse* - these are considered schoolmasters and reserved for people who are new or have very limited skill/ability.


*Green horse* - any horse under the age of 6. Beyond 6 green simply means it is working on wtc/changing directions/basic stuff. Any horse that can wtc/stop/turn on command and can jump reasonably well is no longer green, even if it is inexperienced.


*Half-pad* - also known as a numnah, but more specifically they are both the fitted pads and the mattes variety.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

Box stall would be a stable or loose box. Internal stables if they are in an agricultural building or, external stables if each box is accessed individually from outside via a half-door.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

thecolorcoal said:


> Other terms:
> 
> 
> *Buckaroo* - vaquero-style rider or anyone who rides with a wade saddle.
> ...


This must be specific to the California show circuit (or the US show circuit perhaps). They aren't in common usage among pleasure riders in CA. None of them! To them, 

a "buckaroo" is another name for a cowboy (so is vaquero, which is of course the same word. It can have the connotation of "follower of one of those Vaquero Tradition people" but doesn't have to).
"English" is any kind of riding in a saddle that isn't western or australian.
"Hunters" is a term that isn't used for anything.
"Western" is any kind of riding in a western saddle.
"Advanced" is a well trained horse in some discipline. 
"Beginner" is an easy-to-ride calm horse.

And "green" can mean just about anything! Some people think a horse you still have to cow-rein is green, and some people think a horse which is only at first level dressage is green and some people think a horse which you can ride without him bucking you off is green.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> He retained some of the 'stud' behaviors - challenging other males, gelded or not, and getting attached to mares in season or not. He was also larger than most geldings and I was always told it was because he'd reached his full size before being gelded.


I've been around a few late cut horses, and whether they display stud-like behaviors seems to depend on their temperament and past experiences. Many become very mellow and you would never know they were a stud until age 12 or later. My friend was an intermediate rider and had two different horses that were gelded late after a breeding career, and they were nice show horses for her. 

Also, I've read in many places that gelding early actually results in a larger horse. They say that early castration delays the closing of the growth plates, so the horse grows a little longer. 

I agree that green is a term that does not necessarily relate to age. Many shows have green horse classes, and they are not limited by age but open to horses that have not won a certain number of ribbons.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

"Cowboyed" I have only seen on that used on the internet. Which I think would be far different than "cowboyed on". Very close sounding but most likely very different in meaning. A horse who has been "cowboyed on" would be a horse who has done most aspects of ranch work.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------





SilverMaple said:


> Pet peeve: anything with a jointed mouth is commonly termed a snaffle here, whether it has shanks or not. It's pretty common to hear someone say "this horse goes real nice in a snaffle" and they mean a shanked bit with a jointed mouthpiece. Now, don't get me wrong-- a lot of horses go really well in those bits, but they are not snaffles! *gah* I haven't seen anyone use a Tom Thumb in ten years, which is refreshing. You still see some of those $5 nickle-plated or aluminum cheapo bits that come on the headstall already at the farm store. As with anywhere else, you can tell a lot about a rider by the tack-- is it clean, workmanlike, quality equipment with a well-fitted saddle, good pad, and good bit? That person likely knows what he/she is doing. Is the tack cheap with the saddle on a folded-over nylon rug from the farm store rather than a good pad and are they using a TT or aluminum curb bit? Likely a newbie or someone who doesn't care much about their animals.



I was going to mention this, I know it drives people nuts! LOL!


I'll admit my circle is small so why the terminology may seem weird. I agree, I don't remember the last time I seen someone use a true (American) Tom Thumb in real life. 

I'll admit I am one of "those" people who uses the word snaffle to describe a single jointed mouthpiece. However, I am in belief the people I am in contact, ride with, work with, realize the difference regardless of what it is called. A single jointed shanked bit is called a "shanked snaffle", which I know contradicts itself pertaining to the action. But everyone knows what you are meaning. Or I know exactly what you mean if you say "shanked snflle with a dog bone".
*hides from SilverMaple*




Avna said:


> My understanding of "colt" -- a young horse under the age of five or so. If not designated, probably means male. Filly means a female. Stud colt, definitively male. Never heard the word colt used for anything other than a young horse, never a green older horse.
> 
> The only time I have ever read the word gunsel (never heard it uttered), was by Dashiell Hammett in The Maltese Falcon. He used a lot of underworld 1920s and 30s slang, and gunsel was current slang for a young gay man kept by an older one. Because none of his readers knew what it meant , it was taken to mean "gunman", a meaning it still has today and which is derived entirely from the book itself. I didn't know this but the word is Yiddish and originally meant "little goose".
> 
> Your definition is entirely new to me, and could be another branch of the gunsel tree.



The word "colt" is definitely broad. I think most people know the true definitions but the slang gets lenient. "Stud colt" is usually reserved for a colt who may be intended for breeding."Horse colt", male. And "colt" the more all encompassing term. Thinking a little harder on it, I think using "colt" to include old horse that is not all that broke and still in the snaffle is probably more among friends than regional.
It is not as though "filly" doesn't get used as it certainly does. Especially in sales ads or asking specifically about gender.



I never knew the real, Google definition of "gunsel" until a couple years ago, new one for me too!


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

Avna said:


> "English" is any kind of riding in a saddle that isn't western or australian.
> (snip)
> "Western" is any kind of riding in a western saddle.
> 
> ...


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I think there are a lot of people who believe any jointed bit is a snaffle. They don't realize there are basically only two kinds of bits (I know it's more complicated, but basically) -- direct pull from the corners of the mouth, and leverage (a pincer effect via shanks and a chinstrap). 

Direct pull: "snaffle"
Leverage: "curb"

So a broken mouth bit with shanks and a chinstrap: curb. A broken-mouth curb to be more specific.
And a ported bit with rings at the corners of the mouth is a direct pull bit: snaffle. A ported one-piece snaffle to be more specific. 

Once you understand that it is the mechanics of the pull, not the mouthpiece, that defines the _category_ of bit, it is a little easier to cope with all the terminology flowing around your ears. Because there are so many names for bits.

And yeah I have been known to say "shanked snaffle" myself.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

george the mule said:


> Avna said:
> 
> 
> > "English" is any kind of riding in a saddle that isn't western or australian.
> ...


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

@Avna you'e right, there probably are a lot of people who don't realize the difference regardless of the shank whether it makes a snaffle or curb. My circle is small. I often forget that until these types of conversations come up. Sometimes, at first, I almost get put off that someone wouldn't know what I was talking about whether it be colts, shanked snaffles or gunsels...LOL!
Being on the internet has taught me at least one thing, there is a lot different sorts of people and ways of thinking when it comes to horses. It is easy to forget that when you're in your own little world.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

I see you have already covered "fanny" - which it pains me even to type, as an Australian! It's the female equivalent of **** (although **** has more affectionate subtext), and what's even more bamboozling is that both are also English given names, and one can marry the other. They were common names in Enid Blyton's writing days.

Anyway, now you know why @*loosie* and I and other Aussies wince if you write about your "fanny pack"... is that a post-parturition ice pack??? :shock: :hide:


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

george the mule said:


> Somewhere along the way, I was told that "English" riding is where you maintain contact with the horses mouth while in motion. "Western" is riding with a loose rein. I think the point being made was that I was a "western" rider, even while sitting in an English saddle, because of my loose rein.
> "Yea, Whatever." ;-)


Another "whatever" checking in here. Arena and trail are different riding, even in the same gear. Or maybe I'm just continental? ;-) Anyway, that difference was clear from day dot, and explained to us in our German riding school when I was a kid. If you want to do voltes and serpentines and circus tricks, you generally don't do it on a little forest trail. The arena is ballet, the trail is for letting your hair down, horse and rider alike. 

The ballet dancers I know _generally_ don't do en pointes and assorted twirling when they are hiking either! :rofl: (although they might just for fun sometimes)


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

gottatrot said:


> I've been around a few late cut horses, and whether they display stud-like behaviors seems to depend on their temperament and past experiences. Many become very mellow and you would never know they were a stud until age 12 or later. My friend was an intermediate rider and had two different horses that were gelded late after a breeding career, and they were nice show horses for her.


I've got three here all gelded in their teens. None of them had stud experience, but all of them retained their physical stallion characteristics and some of the behavioural ones as well. What they did lose is excessive aggression and the drive to breed. They no longer care if a female is waving her tail in their faces.

Retained are a greater assertiveness than earlier-cut geldings of my acquaintance, and the tendency to make manure mounds instead of scattering it everywhere (which is great if you're trying to collect it for compost! ). Also they will still sniff every manure pile they come across, and add to it if they have spare! ;-) And, they are more highly-strung when meeting new horses, than geldings generally are.

This was Julian, our most recent horse adoption, meeting the two other late-cuts for the first time last year. All of them are still very operatic! 









> Also, I've read in many places that gelding early actually results in a larger horse. They say that early castration delays the closing of the growth plates, so the horse grows a little longer.


Yes, and that's why they tend to get more height, but at the expense of chest width, which is testosterone-mediated, so a lot of early-cut geldings are narrower in the chest than they would have been if allowed to mature first. It's interesting that stallions generally have a square frame from side-on, early-cut geldings a more upright frame, and mares a more rectangular frame.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Very odd to have such a different meaning for a fan*y when one is polite and one is definitely NOT at all polite! 

The term that really makes me scratch my head is when I hear "working jog" and "jog". 

Always understood a "jog" or "jog trot" to be a very slow and low movement that barely qualifies as a trot except it is a two-beat gait. A toe dragging shuffle...popular with the WP riders

But "working jog"? Hmm doesn't really make sense to me. Why not just call it a trot? Or better yet, stick with working trot? 

For Dressage, a "jog trot" is the opposite of what a collected trot should be, except the limited amount of ground covered.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

:rofl:, @*AnitaAnne* ! It causes me great cognitive dissonance to see "toe-dragging shuffle" and "popular" in the same sentence! :charge: :falloff: :rofl:


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Jig or jigging - the weird trotty-walk a horse does when wound up and held back by the rider, often with a sideways motion. Very uncomfortable.


Walk on - English form of "walk" but meaning a more energetic ground-covering walk as opposed to just an ambling walk. 


Gait - the movement a gaited horse does between walk and canter. Also used as the general term for walk/gait/trot/canter/lope as in "The horse is five-gaited" or "The test will encompass all three gaits" or "The horse broke gait and started cantering".


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

You're confusing me, @*AnitaAnne* . :Angel: Now I'm thinking about the gaited horse that gaited towards the paddock gate to meet the rider wearing new gaiters, who couldn't wait to ride their gaited horse at a decent gait...


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

SueC said:


> :rofl:, @*AnitaAnne* ! It causes me great cognitive dissonance to see "toe-dragging shuffle" and "popular" in the same sentence! :charge: :falloff: :rofl:


I humbly beg your forgiveness...but it is a very comfortable gait to sit!!


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

SueC said:


> You're confusing me, @*AnitaAnne* . :Angel: Now I'm thinking about the gaited horse that gaited towards the paddock gate to meet the rider wearing new gaiters, who couldn't wait to ride their gaited horse at a decent gait...


By George I think you've got it!! onkey:


BTW, what are gaiters? Was the person wearing some small equines???


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Must have been! :rofl: They're leg protectors that go over boots, for instance to stop burrs sticking to you. Some people wear them with shorts for hiking to prevent getting lower legs grazed by scrub. But I think you're having me on anyway... :Angel:


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

OR gaiters are a similar bit of protection that go on the back of a horse’s hoof boots to protect their heel bulbs from rubbing!

Which makes me think that “boots” is another one with different meanings. I think of them as alternative footwear for horses and am still confused about something called “sports medicine boots (?)” which go on the legs of the horse while riding?


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

@egrogan, have you ever done an image search for "hoof boots"? ...this is what came up for me:

https://www.google.com/search?q=hoo...zbXeAhUWY48KHZloCScQ_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=606

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

It never occurred to me that _people_ might want to wear them...


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

Sue, 'em are for "Pony Girls". Don't do an image search unless you _really_ want to know . . .


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

SueC said:


> @*egrogan* , have you ever done an image search for "hoof boots"? ...this is what came up for me:
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=hoo...zbXeAhUWY48KHZloCScQ_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=606
> 
> ...





george the mule said:


> Sue, 'em are for "Pony Girls". Don't do an image search unless you _really_ want to know . . .



:rofl::rofl::rofl:


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

george the mule said:


> Sue, 'em are for "Pony Girls". Don't do an image search unless you _really_ want to know . . .


Entire parallel universes which elicit bafflement and do not invite exploration! :rofl:

I'm going to take my TARDIS elsewhere! To more beautiful places where the birds sing! 

:tardis:


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

SueC said:


> Must have been! :rofl: They're leg protectors that go over boots, for instance to stop burrs sticking to you. Some people wear them with shorts for hiking to prevent getting lower legs grazed by scrub. But I think you're having me on anyway... :Angel:


Not having you on this time!! I've read the term "gaiters" in books but was never quite clear what they are...thought they were rain boots but from your description they sound more like chaps or half-chaps 

We wear half-chaps (leather, suede or even synthetic) over short boots instead of wearing tall boots. Normally seen on trails but also used for lessons or clinics to "save" expensive tall boots for shows...


But 'gators are alligators around here...wouldn't want those on my legs!!!


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## Rawhide (Nov 11, 2011)

Talk about Terms that Mean Something in One Place, and Mean Something Else Somewhere Else . On occasion I would participate in the Great Fla CATTLE drive . Annual event , good get together .
Well there you will ride , meet etc a variety of folks from all over .
Couldnt help but hear a male rider near me calling his mare "Hoe" ? Thats was his business but I kinda thought that was an awkward name for a horse . So being "me" I proceded to ask him if he had named his mare after the garden tool or what Santa Claus hollers out " ho ho ho merry xmas " . And that it also could be confuseing IMO to horse because it almost sounded like "whoa" ! In a respectful but stearn way his response was he had the rite to name his horse what ever he liked and chose. Something like Johnny Cash song "Boy named Sue" . Then he (the rider) confided to me he had named his mare after his Xwife . Poor mare go fiqure ! You talk about animal rites cruelty !!!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

The guy I use for breaking in my youngsters is your typical Okie Farmer who can spin a tale quicker than his reining horses can spin a hole in the ground. Not so much because of cultural differences but his colorful language is just so much FUN. 

"Miz Pat, you sure know how to put a coat on a horse. That mare is shinin' like a diamond in a goat turd."......hmmm I think that was a compliment. LOL! He also says "Girt". Latigo is a leather string, he wouldn't be caught dead in a synthetic saddle with synthetic ties. 

Best one I have heard was a few years ago, "Ma'am, you cain't 'spect that puny lil Ay-rab to hold no Char'leer steer!" for why you can't work cows on Arabians. We proved him wrong. BTW that Char'leer Steer blew through his cow pony real quick, somebody forgot to slip him the memo. The fact that the "puny lil Ay-rab" was a hand taller and outweighed his cow pony didn't mean a thing to the old cow poke. 

To me all red horses are chestnut, I find the whole sorrel debate just way too subjective and confusing. I have had Flaxen chestnuts, copper penny chestnuts and liver chestnuts. All red, just different shades. 

Bay is starting to be a confusing term too. With the advent of all the variations of DNA testing, people are starting to refer to Bay as anything that isn't coal black. With or without black socks, mane, tail, ears, if it's dark and not obviously black or red, it's bay. I'm starting to like cremello a lot more, it's just not bay.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Colors of horses are definitely getting more and more complex. I like to keep it simple; for non-horse people I still call my palomino "the yellow horse" :smile:


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

AnitaAnne said:


> Colors of horses are definitely getting more and more complex. I like to keep it simple; for non-horse people I still call my palomino "the yellow horse" :smile:


My neighbors used to call Brooke "the black horse" (she is brown and in summer at least is decidedly a Dark Bay), and her companion "the brown horse" (she was a sorrel paint). Confused me for awhile.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

dry lot - means without grass i.e. ground only, no forage. It does not signify the actual type of footing or the moisture content...usually is a smallish area from the size of a round pen to maybe 100'x100'. Normally used for only one horse at a time, but frequently used for several ponies. 


Dry lots are found in poor pasture environments, overgrazed/over stocked areas but also used to control food intake for easy keepers


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

AnitaAnne said:


> dry lot - means without grass i.e. ground only, no forage. It does not signify the actual type of footing or the moisture content...usually is a smallish area from the size of a round pen to maybe 100'x100'. Normally used for only one horse at a time, but frequently used for several ponies.
> 
> 
> Dry lots are found in poor pasture environments, overgrazed/over stocked areas but also used to control food intake for easy keepers


In pasture-poor California, we called these "turn-outs" sometimes. Meaning bigger than a stall run, smaller than a real pasture (which would be about 10 acres a horse if it was to keep any grass on it in that climate). Dry lot is clearer. A lot of people out there use the word "pasture" to mean any place bigger than a stall run, although mostly those are nothing but manure & dust in summer and manure & mud in winter.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

AnitaAnne said:


> Not having you on this time!! I've read the term "gaiters" in books but was never quite clear what they are...thought they were rain boots but from your description they sound more like chaps or half-chaps
> 
> We wear half-chaps (leather, suede or even synthetic) over short boots instead of wearing tall boots. Normally seen on trails but also used for lessons or clinics to "save" expensive tall boots for shows...
> 
> ...


I have only encountered the word gaiters outside the horse world -- people use them to keep snow or rain or even sand from filling up their shoes doing outdoorsy things like cross country skiing and so forth. Did not know they were a horse word. I think we call those things half chaps.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

What you call half chaps, we call burr blockers, @*Avna* , and we'll be wearing them to stop the grass seeds from spiking into our sneakers a month from now. Our gaiters you call chaps I think, and they go to the knee and are mostly for hiking protection. And of course, in the UK, chaps are adult male humans, referred to affectionately: "Now there's a good chap!"

For @AnitaAnne, thank you for additional vocabulary lessons, I have encorporated one of them into this reprise for you:

_The gaited horse leapt over the 'gator-infested creek and gaited towards the paddock gate to meet the rider wearing new gaiters, who didn't like 'gators except barbecued, and couldn't wait to ride their gaited horse at a decent gait, which to them was an experience akin to the Pearly Gates._


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Avna said:


> I have only encountered the word gaiters outside the horse world -- people use them to keep snow or rain or even sand from filling up their shoes doing outdoorsy things like cross country skiing and so forth. Did not know they were a horse word. I think we call those things half chaps.


Seems like I have heard the term "gaiters" for fishing boots too; waist high gaiters??? They are usually rather loose and attached with suspenders. They allow a fisherman to just walk out into the water without a boat...


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

SueC said:


> What you call half chaps, we call burr blockers, @*Avna* , and we'll be wearing them to stop the grass seeds from spiking into our sneakers a month from now. Our gaiters you call chaps I think, and they go to the knee and are mostly for hiking protection. And of course, in the UK, chaps are adult male humans, referred to affectionately: "Now there's a good chap!"
> 
> For @AnitaAnne, thank you for additional vocabulary lessons, I have encorporated one of them into this reprise for you:
> 
> _The gaited horse leapt over the 'gator-infested creek and gaited towards the paddock gate to meet the rider wearing new gaiters, who didn't like 'gators except barbecued, and couldn't wait to ride their gaited horse at a decent gait, which to them was an experience akin to the Pearly Gates._


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: 

Now if I just could keep my little gaited pony at the desired gait than we might catch a 'gator or two for the 'gator party tonight where all my chaps with gaited horses and some non-gaited horse riding chaps will be gathering at the entrance to the gated subdivision where we hope to put on some waist high gaiters to wade into the 'gator infested waters but first we have to travel across some private property and find a way around some locked gates.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:clap: :clap: :clap:

:bowwdown: :bowwdown: :bowwdown:


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## Captain Evil (Apr 18, 2012)

waresbear said:


> Horse float. In Australia it means a horse trailer. Here that would be a float in a parade decorated with horses?


Here in the US we float teeth with a rasp to take off the points. In Austrailia do they trailer the points off?

And I always thought of "Sorrel" as one step darker than a flaxen chestnut.


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

AnitaAnne said:


> Now if I just could keep my little gaited pony at the desired gait than we might catch a 'gator or two for the 'gator party tonight . . ./QUOTE]
> 
> Anita; I'll be there, but I'll be a little late. I'm driving my "Gator", and it's kinda slow. It would probably be faster to ride George; he is a "Gaited" mule; his momma was a Foxtrotter. However he is generally too lazy to offer more than a few strides at a time ;-)
> 
> ...


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

george the mule said:


> AnitaAnne said:
> 
> 
> > Now if I just could keep my little gaited pony at the desired gait than we might catch a 'gator or two for the 'gator party tonight . . ./QUOTE]
> ...


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

You forgot your _chaps_, @*AnitaAnne* ? :eek_color: You have more than one chap? :angel2:


You modern woman you. BTW, I had a friend who insisted that for a happy life one needed several chaps: One for intellectual conversation, one for the bedroom, one to clean out the gutters and do useful stuff around the house... :Angel:


(I found a rare person who ticks all those boxes... inkunicorn::blueunicorn: ...but it took nearly half my life to meet such a person...)


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## apachetears6 (Jun 7, 2018)

I have a paint mare, I have owned a Pinto there is a difference besides papers currently I have also a Sabino pinto.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

apachetears6 said:


> I have a paint mare, I have owned a Pinto there is a difference besides papers currently I have also a Sabino pinto.


Yes, there is a Paint Horse registry which is for pinto-marked horses of Quarter Horse and TB ancestry. There is also a Pinto Horse registry for pinto-colored horses of any ancestry. And there are just plain grade pintos. Like my pony.


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