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Our columnist takes a look at how horsemen have created their own language.
Every day on farms and racetracks, at shows and events, all across the United States and Canada, horsemen and horsewomen utter remarks, questions and phrases that make perfect sense to them but might just as well have been spoken in Swahili to an outsider.
Here are some that I happen to know. There are any number of horse-related sayings and statements that I wouldn’t know, but see how you do with these. Score 1 point for each you fully understand without resorting to Google or some horse book.
- “I saw a long one at 7 and missed big time, but he chipped and saved my butt!”
- “Purple’s not so bad. Hang it in the sun for five years, and you can tell everyone that it’s blue!”
- “Cor for technique; Capitol for scope.”
- “I nailed the twos but missed three of the ones.”
- “Can you fix this keeper? It keeps slipping.”
- “The water’s really spooky, so keep him in front of your leg.”
- “He still looks poor. Maybe you should try giving him a Powerpac.”
- “Sally never misses a distance.”
- “Number 12: You’ve got two minutes!”
- “Did you put the Desitin/Furazone mix on her scratches before you turned her out?”
- “Lucky he’s scopey, because he’s a pretty bad knee hanger.”
- “The judge at H killed me!”
- “One is the sailboat, 2 is the yellow oxer, 3 is the pine trees…”
- “No FEH class for him at Waredaca this weekend. He got a hot nail.”
- “He’s a good jumper, but he’s only a 4 mover.”
- “Anybody seen my five way?”
- “This is his third Rolex.”
- “Did you get into the George clinic?”
- “I’d rather have full or 7/8ths. Less than that is apt to be too clunky for my taste.”
- “He’s by Nothing out of Nowhere.”
- “How did he get those scrapes on his hock. Do you have mats in your stalls?”
- “The gender gap in Pony Club seems like it’s 20 or 30 to 1.”
- “That new colt that Carol bought seems to jump by Braille.”
- “Boyd, Phillip and Leslie and a token American; that would be an interesting U.S. Olympic team!”
- “I think my paddock is 64 percent wood, 20 percent baling string and 16 percent duct tape.”
Although all horse sports share many terms and phrases, there will always be specific phrases among the specialties. For example, an event rider may not know some of the phrases that pertain to reining, driving or saddle seat riding. There are many horse care and veterinary medicine terms that are so specific and technical that even the average lifetime horseperson will not know them all.
This phenomenon of very specific lingo is found in thousands of specialties—from dog shows, ski racing, scuba diving and rose breeding to buying and selling antique glassware. Still, they’re fun to play with. See how many you can add to my list of 25.
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