Keeping a Backyard Horse

Glossary of Terms

This is a list of common horse terms that you may come across.

Anthelmintic: a class of drugs used in horses to kill intestinal parasites (worms).

Bars: the lines on the bottom of a horse's foot running diagonally from the heel to the frog. The bar can also refer to the gap in the horse's teeth where the bit rests in the mouth.

Colic: a symptom of stomach or gut pain characterized by sweating, biting at the stomach, laying down and getting up repeatedly, kicking at the stomach, trying to roll over, or trying to defecate without success. MEDICAL EMERGENCY!!

Colt: a general term for a young male horse.

Curry comb: a hard rubber comb held in the hand used to loosen dirt and debris from the horse's skin and coat.

Deworming: the giving of anthelmintic medications to control the population of parasites (worms) in the horse's body.

Dock: the living part of the horse's tail.

Farrier: a person who trims and shoes horses.

Filly: a general term for a young female horse.

Flake: a portion of a square hay bale that parts naturally when the bindings are cut.

Floating: the filing down of a horse's teeth, usually done by a vet or an equine dentist.

Founder: another term for a serious disease of the hoof's internal structures. See laminitis.

Frog: the soft, spongy, and sensitive V-shaped tissue on the underside of a horse's foot. The frog is responsible for absorption of shock with each step.

Gelding: a male horse who has been castrated (the testicles surgically removed).

GFCI: a ground fault circuit interruption plug, recommended for use in areas around water, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoors. It has a built-in breaker that throws when the plug is exposed to water.

Green broke: a term for a horse that has had minimal training; such horses will need their training completed and an experienced rider.

Hay-bellied: a term used by horse people for a fat horse; the belly is swollen like that of starving children while the proportions of the rest of the body are correct.

Herbivore: an animal that eats exclusively vegetation.

Hot wire: a wire that delivers a small electric shock, useful for deterring horses from chewing on fence tops or reaching across fences.

Legume: a broad-leaf hay such as alfalfa, generally higher in protein than grass hay.

Lameness: a general term for any limp or leg favoring in a horse.

Laminitis: a severe foot condition causing extreme pain and very difficult to treat. Can be caused by overfeeding or hoof injury.

Mare: a mature female horse.

Rain rot: a fungal infection of the skin, causing the hair to fall out and open sores to appear on the skin.

Reconstitute: to take a powder and make it into a liquid, such as with vaccinations.

Selenium: a mineral needed in horses in trace amounts, can be purchased in a brown block lick for horses.

Shod: a horse that is wearing shoes is said to be shod.

Speculum: a halter-like device used by the vet to keep a horse's mouth open for teeth floating.

Stallion: a mature male horse that has not been gelded; he is capable of siring a baby.

Soles: the bottom of the horse's feet.

Tack: a general term for equipment used for horses that includes saddles, bridles, halters, blankets, and more.

Tenting: a test for dehydration where a pinch of skin is pulled and let go; skin that is slow to spring back is said to be tenting.

Thrush: a fungal infection of the horse's feet.

Vaccination: the used of dead or live viruses injected to promote immunity.

Withers: the point on the horse where the neck meets the back; the mane stops here and the horse's height is measured here.

Wolf teeth: the teeth that some male horses develop in the space between their front teeth and molars.

This is, of course, not a complete list of horse terminology, but most of these terms are frequently used by horse people. If you come across other words that are unfamiliar to you, ask someone or Google it.