Chasing Dream (8 page)

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

1 John 4:16

Horse Talk!

Bay
—A reddish-brown color for a horse. A bay horse usually has a black mane and tail.

Blaze
—A facial marking on a horse (usually a wide, jagged white stripe).

Canter
—A horse's slow gallop; a more controlled three-beat gait.

Cutting horse
—A horse (usually a quarter horse) bred to separate cows from a herd. Some cutting horses also cut around barrels in barrel racing or compete in Western horse show classes and events.

English
—A style of horseback riding that is often considered more formal and classic than Western style. Riders generally sit on a flat saddle, post (rise from the saddle) on a trot, and hold the reins in both hands.

Farrier
—Someone trained to care for a horse's hooves. Farriers trim hooves and put shoes on horses, but many also treat leg and tendon problems.

Flanks
—The indented part of a horse's body between the ribs and the hip. Flanks may be tender to the touch.

Foreleg
—One of a horse's front legs.

Forelock
—The piece of hair that falls onto a horse's forehead.

Gait
—The way a horse moves, as in a walk, a trot, a canter, or a gallop.

Gallop
—A horse's natural and fast running gait. It's speedier than a lope or a canter.

Gelding
—A male horse that has had surgery so he can't mate and produce foals (baby horses). Geldings often make the calmest riding horses.

Habit
—An outfit for horseback riding or showing, usually including some kind of tailored jacket and hat.

Halter
—The basic headgear worn by a horse so the handler can lead the animal with a rope.

Hand
—The unit for measuring a horse's height from the withers (area between the shoulders) to the ground. One hand equals four inches (about the width of an average cowboy's hand).

Hindquarters
—The back end of a horse, where much of a horse's power comes from.

Hoof pick
—A hooked tool, usually made of metal, for cleaning packed dirt, stones, and gunk from the underside of a horse's hoof.

Hunter
—A horse that's bred to carry a rider over jumps. In a horse show, hunters are judged on jumping ability and style.

Lead rope
—A length of rope with a metal snap that attaches to a horse's halter.

Lope
—The Western term for
canter
. The lope is usually smooth and slower than the canter of a horse ridden English.

Mare
—A female horse over the age of four, or any female horse that has given birth.

Muzzle
—The soft portion of a horse's nose between the nostrils and the upper lip.

Nicker
—A soft, friendly sound made by horses, usually to greet other horses or trusted humans.

Palomino
—A horse that is cream or yellow-gold in color. Palominos may be found in a number of breeds, such as the quarter horse. Even backyard horses may be palominos.

Pinto
—Any horse with patches or spots of white and another color, usually brown or black.

Post
—To rise up and ease back down in the saddle when the horse is at a trot. This makes the gait more comfortable for the rider. English-style riders generally post at every step.

Quarter horse
—An American horse breed named because it's the fastest horse for a quarter-mile distance. Quarter horses are strong and are often used for ranch work. They're good-natured and easygoing.

Quirt
—A Western-style crop, or whip, with a short handle.

Saddle bags
—Bags or pouches that balance across the back of a saddle and are used to carry supplies.

Saddle horse
—A saddle horse could be any horse trained to ride with a saddle. More specifically, the American saddlebred horse is an elegant breed of horse used as three- and five-gaited riding horses.

Shetland pony
—A small breed, no bigger than 10.2 hands, that comes from the Shetland Islands off Scotland. Shetland ponies are the ideal size for small children, but the breed is known to be stubborn and hard to handle.

Sorrel
—A horse with a reddish-brown or reddish-gold coat.

Stallion
—A male horse that hasn't had surgery to prevent him from mating and producing foals.

Swayback
—A sagging back on a horse, or a horse with a deeply dipped back. Being swayback is often a sign of old age in a horse.

Three-gaited
—Used to describe an American saddlebred horse that has been trained to perform at a walk, trot, and canter.

Throatlatch
—The strap part of the bridle that helps keep the bridle on. It goes under a horse's throat, running from the right ear and loosely fastening below the left ear.

Trot
—The two-beat gait where a horse's legs move in diagonal pairs. A trot is generally a choppy ride.

Western
—A style of horseback riding used by cowboys in the American West. Western horseback riders usually use heavier saddles with saddle horns and hold both reins in one hand.

Whicker
—A low sound made by a horse. A whicker is sometimes thought to be a cross between a whinny and a nicker.

Whinny
—A horse's neigh, or to make a neighing sound. A whinny may be a horse's call to another horse or a cry of alarm.

Whorl
—A twist of hair that grows in the opposite direction from the surrounding coat. This patch is usually on a horse's forehead.

Withers
—The top of a horse's shoulders, between the back and the neck. The height of a horse is measured from the withers to the ground.

About the Author

Dandi Daley Mackall
grew up riding horses, taking her first solo bareback ride when she was three. Her best friends were Sugar, a pinto; Misty, probably a Morgan; and Towaco, an Appaloosa. Dandi and her husband, Joe; daughters, Jen and Katy; and son, Dan (when forced), enjoy riding Cheyenne, their paint. Dandi has written books for all ages, including Little Blessings books,
Degrees of Guilt: Kyra's Story
,
Degrees of Betrayal: Sierra's Story
,
Love Rules
,
Maggie's Story
, the Starlight Animal Rescue series, and the bestselling Winnie the Horse Gentler series. Her books (about 450 titles) have sold more than 4 million copies. She writes and rides from rural Ohio.

Visit Dandi at
www.dandibooks.com
.