| Term
or Phrase |
Translation |
| 15.2HH |
14.3HH
—
Just a bit
too big to qualify for a pony card |
| 16.0HH |
15.2HH
(with shoes on) |
| All
offers considered |
I’ll
be in
traction
for the next six months, and my spouse has just left home and taken the
kids |
| Always
in the ribbons |
(1)
As long as there
are no
more than six horses in the class. (2) The shows we attended gave away
complimentary rosettes to everyone who entered. |
| Anyone
can ride |
Dead
lame |
| Athletic |
(1)
Likes to run
around the
pasture, but hasn’t done a thing. (2) Runaway. See also
“Bold” and “Good mover.” |
| Attention-getting |
No
one will miss you with this horse’s stunning bad habits |
| Barrel
prospect |
Runs
in circles
—
fast |
| Big
boned |
Without
a mane and
tail, this
horse could easily be mistaken for a cow |
| Big
stride |
Whoa,
dammit, whoa!! |
| Big
trot |
Can’t
canter
within
a two-mile straightaway |
| Black |
Brown |
| Bold |
Runaway.
See also
“Good mover” and “Athletic.” |
| Bombproof |
(1)
Won’t
move,
under any circumstances, without a crop AND spurs. (2) Lame on all four
legs, deaf and blind. |
| Breathtaking |
Spectators
gasp when
they see
this horse buck, rear, etc. |
| Broodmare
prospect |
Not
sound or broke,
but might
be fertile |
| Can
be registered |
Owner
may remember
which stud
got loose |
| Can
be stubborn at
times |
Mule |
| Children’s
hunter |
14.2HH |
| Clips,
hauls and loads |
Clippity
cloppity is
the
sound his hooves make as he hauls butt across the parking lot when
you're
trying to load him |
| Coursing
3’ |
When
drugged to the
eyeballs
and lunged for six hours immediately beforehand |
| Cow
bred |
Too
bad the horse is
afraid
of cows |
| Cutting
prospect |
Cuts
and runs when
startled |
| Dead
quiet |
Lame
in all four legs.
See
also “Quiet.” |
| Draft
type |
Exceedingly
big,
coarse and
hairy. See also “Warm blood type.” |
| Dressage
prospect |
He’s
a
fire-breathing dragon over fences |
| Easy
breeder |
For
stallions, will
mount
anything that stands still long enough. For mares, always seems to be
in heat. |
| Easy
keeper |
Fat |
| Easy
to catch |
Ancient
and dead lame |
| Elegant |
Skinny |
| Endurance
prospect |
Keeps
going and going
and
going, just the like the Energizer bunny |
| Eventing
prospect |
Big
and fast with no
brakes |
| Excellent
disposition |
Has
never left the
stable |
| Finances
force sale |
Horse
drove owner to
the poor
house |
| Flashy |
Your
life will flash
before
your eyes when you ride him |
| Free
jumps |
Jumps
out of his
paddock and
jumps on the longe line, but does not jump under saddle |
| Fun
trail mount |
You’ll
never
be
bored, but you might have to walk back to the barn on your own two feet |
| Gaited |
Make
that
“gated” — has run through the arena gate,
the pasture gate… |
| Good
ground manners |
But
don’t
try to
ride him |
| Good
mother |
Thank
goodness,
because
it’s the only thing she’s good at! |
| Good
mover |
(1)
Runaway. See also
“Athletic” and “Bold.” (2) Only
stumbles occasionally these days |
| Great
for the farrier |
Owner
was reaching
trying to
find good qualities to advertise |
| Great
project |
Has
big-time issues
(see also
“lots of potential”) |
| Green |
Anything
from
“has
had a rider on — once — and bucked him
off” to “only jumping 2'6"” |
| Gymkhana
prospect |
Hyper
and needs a tie
down |
| Halter
prospect |
Not
broke to ride.
Probably
not halter broken, either |
| Hand
raised |
And
spoiled rotten!
See also
“Home bred” |
| Has
been shown |
But
didn’t
win
anything |
| Health
forces sale |
Horse
made current
owner crazy |
| Home
bred |
Has
never left home |
| Hunter
prospect |
(1)
Won’t go
slow
enough for Western Pleasure. (2) Should be on the track |
| Imprinted
at birth |
See
“hand
raised” |
| In
training |
Horse
needs
professional help |
| Jumper
prospect |
Jumps
out of his
pasture
regularly |
| Kid
safe/Kid broke |
As
long as your kid
has a
Velcro butt! |
| Lack
of time forces
sale |
Owner
can’t
afford
to spend any more time in the hospital |
| Light
cribber |
We
couldn’t
afford
to build any more stalls and fences for this equine Chainsaw |
| Lots
of potential |
Hasn’t
done
a thing |
| Loves
children |
Especially
for
breakfast! |
| Loves
to cuddle |
Will
knock you over
when she
tries to use you as a scratching post |
| Loves
people |
Especially
when they
are
feeding him and not asking him to do anything that resembles work |
| Loves
to work |
If
he
doesn’t get
out every day, he’ll tear down the barn. Get your longe line
ready… |
| Must
sell |
Price
negotiable. See
also
"Any offers considered" |
| Needs
a bit of
finishing work |
See
“green” and "great project” |
| Needs
advanced rider |
Such
as a professional
bronc
rider |
| Needs
a strong rider |
Preferably
with nerves
of
steel |
| Needs
quiet rider |
Will
run off at the
slightest
provocation |
| Never
stops at fences |
Including
the arena
fence,
the paddock fence, the neighbors’ fences… |
| Nicely
started |
Lunges,
but we
don’t have enough insurance to ride him |
| No
time for him |
Horse
is lucky to be
fed |
| No
vices |
(1)
No attributes,
either.
(2) Especially when he wears his muzzle |
| Parelli
trained |
Owner
bought a rope
halter
and some videos |
| Pony
type |
Small
and hairy |
| Price
available upon
request |
If
you have to ask,
you
can’t afford him |
| Priced
to sell |
Owner
can’t
get rid
of this horse fast enough |
| Private
treaty |
See
"price
available upon request” |
| Professionally
trained |
Owner
shelled out big
bucks,
regardless of how little the horse knows now |
| Protective
mother |
Will
attack anyone who
comes
within a three-stall radius |
| Proven
broodmare |
As
long you care more
about
quantity than quality |
| Quarter
Horse type |
Stout |
| Quiet |
Lame
in both front
legs. See
also "Dead Quiet” |
| Pasture
horse |
Will
kick a new door
in his
stall to get outside |
| Ready
to start |
Riding
age, but
hasn’t done a thing |
| Recent
vet check/X-rays |
Some
other poor buyer
paid
big bucks to find out what is wrong with this horse |
| Reining
prospect |
(1)
Skids to a stop
right
before running into the fence. (2) Spins and runs when startled. |
| Sacrifice |
Family
won’t
come
back home until he’s gone |
| Sadly
outgrown |
Owner
traded up |
| Schoolmaster |
Been
there, done that,
annoyed at having to do it again and again |
| Serious
inquiries only |
Overpriced |
| Service
ably sound |
Even
with very
expensive
care, almost always lame |
| Show
quality |
But
has never been to
a show |
| Shown
successfully |
(1)
Horse and rider
got in
and out of the arena in one piece (mostly). (2) Won a reserve
championship five years ago at a show with unusually low entries due to
a hurricane |
| Sound
|
Sound
today… |
| Spirited |
Psychotic |
| Sport
horse |
Cross-breed,
probably
with
draft blood |
| Stallion
prospect |
Rank
stud colt that
owner
doesn’t want to spend the money to geld
|
| Started
on cows |
Turned
out in pasture
with
cows |
| Started
over fences |
Walked
over ground
poles.
Tripped |
| Started
under saddle |
Has
had saddle on (but
no
rider) |
| Still
growing |
14.2HH
now, but hope
springs
eternal |
| To
good home only |
Not
really for sale
unless
you will pay twice what he is worth and sign a 10-page legal document
allowing current owner to tuck in beddy-bye every night |
| To
loving home only |
Expensive |
| To
show home only |
Very
expensive |
| Trail
horse |
(1)
Ring sour (2)
Current
owner is a good enough rider to keep this horse between him and ground
for most rides. You may not be so skilled/lucky |
| Vet
checks welcome |
Please
help us figure
out
what the heck is wrong with this horse |
| Warm
blood type |
Big,
coarse and hairy.
See
also "Draft type” |
| Well-bred |
(1)
Too bad he
didn’t inherit any of his forebears’ good traits.
(2) Sire and dam are also brother and sister |
| Well-mannered |
Hasn’t
stepped on,
run over, bitten or kicked anyone in almost a week |
| Western
pleasure
prospect |
Too
slow for gymkhana |
| Will
mature to 15.2H |
14HH
now at the age of
four |
| Will
mature to 16HH |
Currently
14 hands,
dam is
14.2HH, sire is 14.3HH |
