What Is A Cinch Hobble?

Some western saddles are rigged with two cinches. The back cinch is used for vigorous use such as roping, trail riding in tough terrain, etc. It stops the saddle from slipping forward.

A cinch hobble is a strap that ties the back cinch to the main cinch to prevent it from slipping back towards the horse's sensitive parts, which can make the horse buck.

What Is Bone?

Well, we all know that, but in the horse world it can mean something slightly different.

A horse that has "good bone" has a solid skeletal structure particularly in the lower legs. Sometimes horses are advertised as having X" bone - in this case, the inches are the circumference of the foreleg just below the knee, as measured with a string or a tailor's tape.

The more "bone" a horse has, in general, the more weight it can carry and stay sound. Light or poor bone means thinner legs that aren't going to be up to as much. Thoroughbreds and other horses bred for speed tend to have lighter bone.

So, bone is one of the things a horseman might take into consideration when assessing how much weight a horse should carry.

What Is Balking?

"He balked" is something you might hear an equestrian say quite often. Or "When she's in a bad mood, sometimes she balks about going into the canter."

Balking is refusing to move forward, which may or may not be accompanied by moving sideways or backwards instead. A horse may balk because of a scary object ahead, because of pain, or just because he doesn't want to do what he's being asked. Balking is a common way in which a horse will test an unfamiliar or experienced rider.

The UK spelling is "baulking," and Brits may also use "napping" to describe this behavior.

What Is A Latigo?

A latigo is very similar to a billet - it's the strap used to secure the cinch to a western saddle.

Traditionally, cinches are tied to the latigo with a cinch knot. However, modern latigos are almost always equipped for buckles (i.e., with holes) - mostly because a cinch knot is hard to tie and with many more casual riders around who don't have the time to learn it buckles are safer. It's probable that the earliest saddles, however, were indeed tied on.

What Is A Billet?

In non-equestrian terms, a soldier's living quarters.

In equestrian terms, the billet or billets are the straps on an English or saddle seat saddle to which the girth is secured. A saddle has three billets on each side, although only two are used (the third one is a spare - because the last thing you need, trust me, is your girth coming off mid ride).

Billets often become worn and routinely have to be replaced. Because of this, it's not uncommon on older saddles for the billets (which are hidden) not to quite match the color of the saddle itself.

What are brushing boots?

Brushing boots are protective boots normally worn on the front legs.

Some horses are so narrow they will actually catch the inside of a front leg (generally only in front, brushing in the hind end is much, much rarer) with the opposite hoof. This is called brushing or "speedy cutting." The boots protect the horse from damage.

Brushing boots are also sometimes used on jumpers to prevent damage caused by hitting a rail, but there are also specialist boots for this. (And some stadium jumpers don't believe in putting boots on the front leg because they want the horse to feel the rail when he hits it as an encouragement to jump better next time).

The boots on the right side of the horse (viewer's left) are standard brushing boots, front and rear. Image courtesy of Maloq.

What is a bell boot?

A bell boot or overreach boot is a plastic, leather or rubber boot that is placed around a horse's front hoof. (Almost always both feet).

The purpose is to prevent a common injury. Some horses, when ridden, are unable to get their front feet out of the way before their hind feet land in the same spot - this is caused by a fault in conformation or action. Additionally, when a horse lands from a jump, it's common for the hind feet to land very close to the front feet.

This can cause the horse to catch the back of a front foot with the toe of a hind foot, resulting in a "pocket" cut that's very likely to become infected and/or scar. Overreach scars are fairly distinctive and any horse that has one should be ridden in bell boots. Most horses, however, need them only for jumping.

Image modified by Nordlicht8 from photos from Maloq, via Wikimedia Commons.