What are "road studs"?

Road studs are small studs attached to a horse's shoes. They're designed to increase traction on tarmac/asphalt, and thus are most often seen on carriage horses or trekking/trail riding horses that have to work on the road.

What is "jackstock"?

Jackstock is a term donkey breeders use for the best stock that they reserve for making more donkeys (rather than making mules which, particularly with larger breeds, is the most common use for donkeys in the west these days).

What is a "catty" horse?

A "catty" horse is an agile horse that turns quickly - it's normally a term used by cowhands to refer to horses that are able to go after a cow easily. It also implies that the horse is surefooted and less likely to fall.

Why are bad dreams called nightmares?

...and does it have anything to do with horses?

Actually not. The word "mare" in this sense means "demon" or "goblin" - so, a night demon, an evil spirit that gives you horrible dreams.

That usage of the word "mare" faded out, and only the compound form survived, although for a long time it still referred to the demon or spirit, not the dream itself.

But nothing to do with horses at all.

What is a "turnout?"

In driving, the turnout is the entire thing - the horse, harness, vehicle and even the clothing and accessories on the driver and any passengers. "Well turned out" can refer to a smart carriage, etc. It can also refer to a saddle horse that is clean, well groomed, wearing good tack and ridden by a well-dressed rider.

What is dallying?

When roping from the saddle, obviously the cowboy does not try to hold the steer - he would be pulled right out of the saddle.

Instead, the rope is "dallied" around the saddle horn so the horse, much more in the steer's weight class, can do the holding.

What is a chuck wagon?

"Chuck wagon racing" is something seen at rodeos - but what exactly is a chuck wagon? The answer is - it's the wagon that carried the cooks, their equipment and supplies when out on a roundup or a drive. It was apparently named after an early cattle baron named "Charles Goodnight" - but I can't verify that as anything other than folk etymology.

What is a "handy" horse?

A handy horse is one that is quick on his feet and turns easily - it's a desirable trait in hunters, jumpers and horses working cattle. Western people often use "catty" to refer to the same trait.

"Handy" is also sometimes used to refer to obstacles added to a hunter course to test the handiness of a horse. In England "Handy Hunter" or "Handy Pony" classes are classes that use obstacles you might come across in the hunting field such as opening and closing gates, crossing narrow bridges, etc.

Why do cowboys call inexperienced riders "greenhorns"?

"Green" is a general term for anyone (human or animal) that's inexperienced, but why is an inexperienced hand a greenhorn?

Simple.

If you aren't very good at riding and are in a western saddle, the temptation is to grab the horn. A real cowhand would never do that - they don't need to. So it shows you up as a novice (except in those serious "oh shit" moments when you just hope nobody's actually watching).

When is a horse lathered?

Horses, like humans, sweat. A "lathered" horse is one on which the sweat has started to foam on the coat - which means it's not evaporating and not doing its job of cooling the animal. In other words, if a horse is "lathered" it should probably be rested.

Lather is most often seen under tack or harness.

What is borium and what does it have to do with horses?

Borium is an artificially created substance - it's tungsten carbide granules embedded in a steel or brass rod.

Borium is added to horseshoes, either in the form of small studs or as a line around the front edge. It's used on horses that work on the road a lot to improve traction and reduce shoe wear.

Why do we say "curb one's enthusiasm"?

A curb is a kind of bit - one used by western people on any well trained horse, but by English riders only on horses that are inclined to run away or in situations, such as hunting, when a horse can get particularly enthusiastic.

So to curb enthusiasm is to put a curb bit on to control a horse's excitement.

What is to "bake" a horse?

Bake is old cowboy slang for giving your poor horse heat exhaustion by riding them for too long or too hard in hot weather.

What is an air fern?

An air fern is a horse or pony (more commonly the latter) that seems able to survive on pretty much no food. Which might sound desirable, but air ferns also get fat very, very easily.

What is presence?

You might hear somebody say a horse has "presence."

Presence is basically charisma. A horse with presence is one that wants to show off, one that carries itself with a certain poise. A horse with presence is a bit of a ham. Needless to say, this is a desired quality in show horses and parade horses. In olden times, a king or queen might seek a horse with presence to ride on public occasions.

Why do horses have hair not fur?

Although we do sometimes talk about horses having fur, the correct term is hair. The reason? If it's thick and dense enough to make a good fur coat, it's fur. Otherwise, it's hair. (Cows also have hair not fur for the same reason).

Why are riding trousers sometimes called jodphurs?

The term "jodphurs" or "jods" is more common in the UK, but still heard in the US. But what's the etymology?

It's all the fault of the British and their love of polo. In 1897, Queen Victoria invited a number of people to her Diamond Jubilee. One of them was the younger son of the Maharaja of Jodphur, a man named Pratap Singh.

He brought his entire polo team with him and proceeded to kick some serious butt and defeat most of the British teams. He also brought the style of riding trousers popular in Jodphur.

The English combined the style with their traditional riding breeches to create modern jodphurs. In the US, "jodphurs" and "breeches" are used interchangeably, but technically they're breeches if they end just below the knee and are worn with tall boots and jodphurs if they go all the way down to the ankle and are worn with short riding boots (called paddock boots in the US and, you guessed it, jodphur boots in the UK).

Jodphurs can be worn with tall boots or chaps as well.

If you "take a horse to water" will it really not drink?

You've probably heard the saying "You can take a horse to water" to mean you can't get somebody to do what they don't want to do.

Needless to say, it's pretty hard to force a horse to drink, although you can encourage them (before a long ride, for example). So, this one's pretty on point.

What is a chute?

Two definitions:

1. In racing, an extension of the stretch to allow sprint races to be run in a straight line.

2. In rodeos and cutting competitions, the chute is any device or area in which an animal is held prior to competition. So, it can refer to the narrow pen a bucking horse or bull is held in before being released, a similar pen used to hold cattle for roping, the narrow gate into the arena used when barrel racing, etc.

What are the points?

I realized I've used this term but I'm not sure I defined it properly.

The points of the horse are the mane, tail, lower legs and tips of the ears. They are sometimes a different color from the horse's body.

You can see here that both the red-brown (bay) horse and the mottled (bay roan) have black points.