Horse language

This glossary explains some of the technical terms used on our Website and which refer to the horse world.  We hope that it will answer your questions and  help you to prepare your visit to Le Pin National Stud.  Happy reading! 

Artificial Insemination (AI): an artificial breeding means for covering the mare, comprising various procedures from the collect of semen from the stallion, up to insemination into the mare.  Nevertheless, AI is not permitted by all breed Stud Books, notably the Thoroughbred, for which natural siring remains the only means.

Birthplace of the breed: the area, whatever the extent, in which the origins of a breed are thought to have started.  Economic and social factors are generally linked to the birthplace, as well as the specific use of the breed. 

Breaking:  “breaking-in” a horse, now more often referred to, as “starting”, “bringing on”, “backing”, “schooling” or even “training” a horse, depending on the end use, implies accepting orders from man, whether under the saddle or in harness.  In the beginning, the horse needs to accept contact, oral command and all that “weird” equipment (bridle, girth, etc.).  It is essential for such “taming” to be carried out in a peaceful and quiet manner, since a relationship of trust should prevail.  The horse is considered as having been “broken-in” when a (simple) request by man receives a positive response from the horse. 

Breed: a group of animals of similar morphology, having been designated a specific type of use, enabling to define their various “families”, namely that of the draught horse breeds, the sport horse breeds, the pony breeds and the ass breeds.  The animals of each breed type may be used to produce purebred offspring or crossbreds, the latter nevertheless possibly becoming a pedigree horse with a specific breed, if permitted by Stud Book rules.  As a complement to the pedigree notion, a selection programme exists, whereby a horse or pony of a specific breed is shown alongside fellow members of that same breed to designate a Breed Champion.

Breeder: a person who breeds horses, i.e. who brings new-born foals into the world after an 11-month gestation period.  The breeder is generally the owner of the mare and hence that of the foal, unless otherwise stated.

Bridle: leather headgear for a horse with adjustable straps, serving to hold a metal piece (bit) in the horse’s mouth, itself attached to reins serving to direct or slow down a horse.  A double bridle (or Weymouth Bridle) comprises two bits (Bridoon and Curb), while the snaffle bridle has only one bit (a basic Snaffle).

Brood mare: a mare (female horse) having been sired at least once in her life, i.e. used for breeding purposes.  A mare never having been put to a stallion is called a “Maiden” or “Maiden Mare”.

Coat: the hair-covering of an animal. Distinction between the various fundamental colours is based on four different criteria: the overall hair colour, the colour of the end parts (mane, tail and lower legs), the overall skin colour under the hair, the colour of the eyes. 

Colt: male, ungelded horse up to four years old.

Covering season: (or “Breeding Season”) the administrative period during which stallions are authorised to service mares.  It generally extends from February through to July.
 
Draught horse: a sturdy, powerful horse, used in bygone days out in the field for drawing implements.  Today, 10 draught-horse breeds are officially recognised by the French National Stud institution.  Their modern-day use includes horse meat or leisure activities. 

Dressage test: “choreography” performed by horse and rider in the context of a dressage competition (or lesson) where figures, gaits and trajectories can either be imposed or freestyle, sometimes to music.  Judging is based on accuracy, freedom and the fluency of paces, suppleness, lightness, straightness, impulsion, submission of the horse, harmony between horse and rider, the rider’s position, seat and the application of aids.

Equestrian: pertaining to horses or horsemanship, whatever the discipline involved. 

Equids: herbivore hoofed mammal from the horse family (Equidae), of the equus species.  Their legs end in a single toe, the hoof of which not being divided (odd-toed ungulate or Perissodactyla).

Equine: adjective pertaining to a horse, e.g. the equine industry, equine wormer, Equine Research Station, etc.

Filly: a young female horse under the age of four.  A filly has generally not yet foaled.

Foal: a colt, gelding or filly up to the age of twelve months, referred to as a “colt-foal” or a “filly-foal”.  The foal is generally separated from its mother when it is approximately six months old (known as “weaning”).

Fencing: used as protective means to delimit a racecourse, paddock, etc.  In an outdoor riding school, for example, special low fencing may be placed to materialise a given space, such as a dressage competition ring fixed at 20 x 60 m (22 x 65 yds).

Gait: (or "Pace") the manner and speed in which a horse moves.  A horse has three gaits: walk, trot and canter; gallop is none other than a fast canter.  A horse is said to have a good gait when it moves with ease (no stiffness), showing a certain “bounce”.

Gelding: an entire horse having been gelded, thereby removing any possibility of breeding.  Castration affects the horse’s behaviour, whereupon it quietens down, having a more placid temperament.

Groom: (may also be called “Stable Lad” or “Stable Girl”) person engaged in the general care of the horse, namely feed, grooming, veterinarian first-aid, cleaning the habitat of the horse (stables, riding school), cleaning leather and other items for riding or driving (harness, saddles, bridles, etc.).  The groom may also be a qualified rider or driver. 

Grooming: the task of cleaning the horse, making it feel better and look presentable, namely brushing the horse’s body, mane and tail; cleaning its feet using a hoof pick and even oiling the hoof where necessary.  Brushing a horse, not only cleans its coat, but also serves as massage, especially appreciated by horses living in and not able to indulge in “natural” massage while out with the herd (mutual scratching sessions or rolling).

Haute Ecole: (lit. “High School”) the art or practice of advanced classical dressage. These “airs” require much training, namely the “airs above the ground” (or “school jumps”), such as the croupade, the courbette, the capriole, the pirouette, the levade and the ballotade, or the “artificial airs”, consisting of paces other than the normal gait, such as the passage and piaffe.  In France, the prestigious “Cadre Noir” of Saumur is renowned to perform such feats, continuing on those classical equestrian movements, practiced by only the most expert horsemen.

Hinny: sterile hybrid out of a horse (male) and a jenny (she-ass).  Also called “genet”, “jennet” or “bardot”.

Hunting: pursuit of an animal by hounds in a pack, often accompanied by horses and riders.  Hunting used to be practised by the gentry; although abolished in the UK, it is still popular in some areas of France.

Identification: a procedure during which an authorised person (the identifier) records the natural markings of a horse, enabling to identify it individually by way of its distinguishing marks.

Indoor riding school: covered arena, often rectangular, with supple ground (e.g. sand or geotextile), for schooling or exercising horses, having riding lessons or even organising competitions.  With artificial lighting, it may be used in all weathers and at any time.  Its minimum size is 20 x 40 m (22 x 44 yds).  A similar area, when uncovered, is called an outdoor riding school.

Jackass: (or Jack) is the male donkey, whatever the ass breed.

Lameness: a disturbance of the natural gait of the horse in which the animal’s weight is unevenly distributed, the horse putting as little weight as possible on the injured limb.  Lameness can be caused by many factors, just as the painful area may differ: tendinitis, bang on the shoulder, abscess in the hoof, etc.

Microchip: tiny element (size of a rice grain) injected on the left-hand side of the horse, under the skin in the region of its neck. A special apparatus enables to read the data (personal ID code), which is recorded in the horse’s passport and with the SIRE (similar to the National Equine Database in the UK). The microchip is often called “chip” for short.

Mule: the offspring of a male ass and a female horse.  These hybrids are generally sterile.
 
Outdoor riding school: an enclosed space, outdoors, for exercising and schooling horses on a daily basis, or for organising jumping or dressage competitions, amongst others.  Its size (minimum 20 x 40 m / 22 x 44 yds) enables several riders to work out at the same time. The ground surface is generally sand-based, grass or geotextile, which provides “give” for the good of the horses’ legs. The area is enclosed by fencing.  Such same area, when covered, becomes an “indoor riding school”.

Paddock: a small fenced grassy or sandy field, enabling to turn out horses daily.  The paddock is large enough to enable a horse to run freely without injury. A shelter may be adjoined.

Pony: a small horse whose size at the withers does not exceed 1.48 m (14.2 hands).  In France, 11 pony breeds are acknowledged by the National Stud institution.

Registration Certificate: A5-size certificate, issued in the name of the horse owner, with a "Certificate of Sale" form printed on the reverse side.  The Registration Certificate states the same personal identification number of the horse (known as the “SIRE” number) as that in the Horse Passport, together with its full name and the name or names of the registered owners. In the event of change of ownership, the “Certificate of Sale” on the reverse side should be duly completed and signed by both the buyer and the seller. 

Seat: the position of the rider in the saddle, his ability to remain balanced and seated. A rider’s seat involves independence of the reins, enabling him to follow the horse’s movements smoothly and without disturbance.  A good rider is said to have a “good seat”.

Service: the mating of a mare with a stallion.  The term “cover” may also be used, in the sense of having a mare “covered by the stallion”.  The act of mating may be handled by man, in particular when practising artificial insemination.

Shoeing: Shoeing is the art of placing shoes on horses’ hooves by the farrier to protect them. The shoes are adapted to the horse and to its end use (different shapes and materials) and the hoof is trimmed accordingly (e.g. adjustment of its stand).

SIRE: “Système d’Informations Relatif aux Equidés” [French Equine Data System], an established proven system on which the National Equine Database in the UK is being based (currently under construction).  It records the pedigrees and miscellaneous details of every horse born and officially registered in France.  Its comprehensive information includes breeding rules and regulations, pedigrees dating back to the late 19th Century, sport horse performances, stallion stud data, and much, much more!

Sport horse: horse with a generally light conformation, enabling it to be essentially used under the saddle, i.e. ridden.

Stable: (or “Loose Box”) covered individual accommodation for a horse.  The average size of a stable is 3 m2 (10 ft2).  It is made of materials that are not only weather-resistant, but may withstand pressure and kicks from a horse.  The stable must be bright, spacious, well-ventilated and ideally orientated in order to ensure a good habitat for the horse, living in for possibly more than 22 hours a day.

Stallion: an entire, ungelded horse capable of reproducing the species.

Stallion handler: a person experienced in handling stallions for breeding purposes.  Such person will bring the stallion to the mare for covering.  The stallion handler may also be an inseminator (serving the mare via artificial insemination).

Standard: refers to the characteristics, within a given breed, such as determined by its Stud Book, which states the expected conformation criteria and its particular use.

Stocking: (also known as “Sock” or “White Leg”, the sock being shorter than the stocking) the area of white hair (under which the skin lacks pigmentation, i.e. pink) found on the lower part of a horse’s leg (usually below the knee or the hock down to the coronet). 

Stud: a breeding establishment where mares and foals may be found, with or without a stallion.  Hence, the name also applies to a given place where stands a stallion, whose services are offered to mares for a fee.

Stud Book: a compendium recording a horse’s pedigree within a same breed.  Hence, all pedigree stock is registered with the ancestors, descendants and collaterals of every horse mentioned in the Stud Book of its own breed.
 
Teaser: a substitute stallion, often of little value, used to detect whether mares are on heat or not.  Such stallion is only used to “tease” and will not mate the mare. Depending on the mare’s reaction, it is possible to determine whether she is on heat or not, since in the latter case, the mare can be quite aggressive, even kicking out.

Vaulting: equestrian sport, during which the vaulter performs gymnastic or acrobatic figures on a horse’s back, the latter cantering on a circle and guided by a lunger.

Weaning: the time when the foal is generally separated from its mother (approximately six months old).  At such age, the foal no longer needs milk from its mother, the latter having little nutritive value and the foal already supplementing its diet with grass at this stage.  Weaning can be performed progressively (separating mother and foal at night, for example, for the first few days) or definitively, each breeder having his own method and reasoning.

Withers: these commence at the base of the neck’s crest line, at the point of the dip, should be reasonably high and pronounced at the uppermost part of the shoulder, then sloping away gradually into the back. Lacking fleshiness, it is a sensitive area that needs to be protected.  Hence, a proper-fitting saddle is required, placed on a protective saddle cloth, to ensure no pinching or rubbing. 
Yearling: a foal having reached the age of one - a term especially used in the Thoroughbred racing world.  In France, all horses, ponies and foals become one year older as of 1st January each year, regardless of their date of birth!