Horse Terminology

For those of you who are not horse people I thought I would define some terms so that you can understand what I am talking about and I don't have to define the terms every time I use them.

Stallion -An intact male adult horse.
Mare- A female horse - usually used for horses adged 3 years and older.
Broodmare- A mare used for breeding.
Gelding- A male horse that has been castrated. (The one preferred by most amateur riders)
Colt- A young male horse, usually aged 2 or younger, and usually still intact.
Filly - A young female horse, usually aged 2 or younger.
Foal- A baby horse that is still nursing (at his/her Dam's side).
Dam - A horse's mother.
Sire - A horse's father.
Weanling- A baby horse that is no longer at his Dam's side (nursing) and under 1 year old.
Yearling - A horse that is one year old (this is usually counted from Jan. 1 the year following their birth no matter when the actual date was).
Young horses are frequently referred to as 2 year olds or 3 year olds, but after that they are just a stallion, mare, or gelding and considered an adult horse.

Gaits- the paces of a horse. Warmbloods have three - walk (4 beat), trot (2 beat), and canter (3 beat).

Warmblood- this is a term used to describe a horse that is one of the many breeds of horses from various regions and countries around the world that have their own breed guidelines but are all crosses of a hot blood breed (usually Thoroughbred- TB) and a cold blood breed (draft horses) somewhere in their past. These horses are primarily used for the sports of Hunter, Jumper, or Dressage. They are usually very athletic horses with a even temperament that can be ridden by most riders.

Hunter - the sport of jumping horses over fences similar to those found in fox hunting, which is where the sport came from. Horses for this sport need to have very steady, rhythmical gaits with a lower and longer way of moving than the Jumper or Dressage horse.

Jumper - the sport of jumping horses over jumps that are higher and with more complicated patterns than the Hunter - also called Stadium Jumping - this is an Olympic Sport.

Dressage - this sport stresses riding horses according to a specific system to develop obedience, flexibility and balance. There are tests of increasing difficulty for the horse and rider that are patterns ridden in a rectangular arena. This is also an Olympic sport and the part that is ridden to music (called a Freestyle) is the most popular with spectators.

There are many more terms, but these are the most basic and most used in this blog.