Horse Breeds, Colors, Markings, & More

Grullas, ergots, and hinnies, oh my! The equestrian world contains a variety of different — often phonetically interesting — terms to describe everything from a horse's color to their body parts and gender. Whether you're a beginner searching for all the information you can get your hands on regarding horses, or you're an experienced pro looking to brush up on your knowledge, this glossary compiled by Riding Warehouse's knowledgeable crew is here to help. Read on for overviews on everything from horse breeds to colors and markings, parts of the horse, and more!

• American Paint Horse - Notably identifiable through their unique color patterns and markings. Traditionally features the conformational qualities of the American Quarter Horse.
• American Quarter Horse - Named for their ability to cover short distances of about a quarter mile at exceptional speeds, the American Quarter Horse possesses the skill and determination required by ranchers. The Quarter Horse excels at western disciplines and is a popular breed throughout the United States.
• American Saddlebred - Originally developed in the United States by riders who were looking for a general-purpose equine that was easy to ride, the American Saddlebred has evolved as the needs of equestrians changed over time. The breed is now largely bred for showing in gaited classes and more, including pleasure riding.
• Andalusian - Also known as the PRE, or Pure Spanish Horse. This breed originated as a war horse on the Iberian Peninsula. Strongly built but compact and elegant, these athletic horses are now often used in classical dressage.
• Appaloosa - Named for the Palouse River country in the northwestern United States, the Appaloosa is a distinctive breed due to its unique and colorful spotted coat. Also characterized by their often sparse manes and tails, Appaloosas are commonly used in pleasure riding, rodeo, and more.
• Appendix - The Appendix is a cross between the Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse. Due to the presence of Thoroughbred genetics, they are often leaner and leggier than a traditional American Quarter Horse. However, this is not a rule, and the build and personality of the Appendix varies among individuals.
• Arabian - Originated on the Arabian Peninsula thousands of years ago, Arabians are one of the oldest "light" breeds of horse. Now a versatile breed that excels in many disciplines and is widely known for its incomparable endurance and hardiness, Arabians have contributed to nearly all breeds existing today. The breed displays a gentle disposition and is known for their loyal nature.
• Connemara - A pony breed that originated in County Galway, Ireland. The Connemara is known for having an outstanding jumping ability and athletic versatility, along with a gentle disposition.
• Draft - A category of large and heavily muscled breeds that developed into heavy-carriage and farming horses over time. Examples of common draft breeds include the Percheron, Belgian, Clydesdale, and Shire, among many others.
• Friesian - Technically a light draft horse from Friesland in the Netherlands, these horses are known for their power and good bone structure. The typical Friesian has a long arched neck, chiseled short ears, and a Spanish-type head, with feathering on the lower legs. Now often used in harness and dressage, these horses are also popular in filmmaking.
• Grade Horse - A horse that has unidentifiable or unknown parentage. They include unregistered horses with mixed breeding.
• Gypsy Vanner - A small, solid breed developed by Gypsies on the British Isles. Originally intended to pull Gypsy caravans, this breed is built like a small draft horse and is now used in a wide variety of riding disciplines.
• Haflinger - Haflingers are small, general-purpose mountain horses that originated near the town of Halfling, Austria. Their long, easy stride somewhat resembles that of a draft horse, and they often look like a smaller version of a Belgian due to their light chestnut color and flaxen manes and tails.
• Miniature Horse - Known for their adorably small size, Miniature Horses are bred to be a smaller version of larger horse breeds. Their maximum height can range from 32 to 36 inches, and they are most commonly used as companions to other animals.
• Morgan - The Morgan is influential to many other breeds. They are distinguished by their compact, muscular, but refined build with an expressive head and well-arched neck.
• Mustang - Free-roaming descendants of early Spanish horses. Mustangs can have a wide range of body types, and when domesticated, can be successful in many different disciplines.
• Paso Fino - The Paso Fino was imported to the United States from Puerto Rico and Columbia. These horses are known for their smooth natural gait, called the "Paso," in which the same rhythm is kept throughout all speeds.
• Rocky Mountain Horse - Developed in Kentucky originally for multi-purpose riding and driving, today these horses are used for trail riding and working cattle. They are known for their four-beat ambling gait called the "single-foot."
• Shetland Pony - Shetland Ponies originated in the Shetland Islands north of Scotland and relatively close areas to the Arctic Circle. Modern Shetland Ponies are very small (no larger than 11.2 hands) and have developed from the draft-like island ponies that were imported to the Americas. They are now popular in a variety of riding disciplines.
• Standardbred - Developed in America, Standardbreds are known for their speed as trotters and pacers. They are often used to pull buggies and are known for their easy-going temperaments.
• Tennessee Walking Horse - As their name suggests, the Tennessee Walking Horse originated in — you guessed it — Tennessee. They were originally developed as a general-purpose riding horse, though they were also initially used for driving and farm work. The breed is known for their natural tendency to overstride and their unique running walk.
• Thoroughbred - Thoroughbreds are known for their speed, excellent work ethic, and bold, spirited temperament. Though famous for their competitiveness in racing, Thoroughbreds also excel as polo ponies, hunters, jumpers, dressage horses, and are even proficient in western disciplines.
• Warmblood - Warmbloods are a group of middleweight horse breeds that are a mix of hot-blooded and cold-blooded horses. Examples include the Belgian Warmblood, Hanoverian, Irish Sport Horse, and more. RW Sponsored Rider, Jackie Eckhaus, runs her very own Dutch Warmblood breeding program and competes in dressage with the breed as well. To learn more about Jackie and her breeding endeavors, be sure to check out our article on Breeding Dressage Horses!
• Welsh Pony - Welsh Ponies are a wonderful pony breed for children who need a horse bigger than a Shetland Pony but aren't quite ready for a normal-sized riding horse. They are often crossed with larger breeds to create larger sized ponies.

• Bay - A common color in which shades may vary from light, golden reds to dark mahogany with black lower legs, manes, and tails.
• Black - A truly black horse differs from a dark/bay or brown horse in that the entirety of the coat consists of black hairs, including the muzzle, flanks, and legs. No brown hairs will be present throughout the coat.
• Blanket - A type of pattern on an Appaloosa in which a large patch of white hair, resembling a blanket, covers the hindquarters. Spots consisting of darker hairs are spread throughout the white.
• Buckskin - These coats consist of a yellow shade ranging from golden to almost brown, with points such as the mane, tail, and legs being a black or dark brown.
• Chestnut - The redheads of the horse world. Shades run from light golden reds to darker, chocolatey shades. Manes and tails are commonly the same color as the coat or may even be lighter or darker.
• Cremello - A dilution of a chestnut coat to a cream color caused by the presence of the cream gene in the horse's DNA. The body will be a creamy color while the mane and tail are white.
• Dapple Gray - A variation of a gray color in which a dappled effect is created by darker gray rings with lighter gray hairs inside those rings, which are found throughout the coat. This effect is most commonly found in younger gray horses and often fades out with age.
• Dark Bay/Brown - Very dark colored horses that may appear black at first glance, but upon closer inspection have brown hairs throughout the coat, muzzle, or flanks. The mane and tail are always black. Dark bay or brown horses may also be called seal brown.
• Dun - A dun may appear similar to a buckskin, though horses of this color will always have a dark dorsal stripe running down the length of the back. Some dun horses will even have a dark barring on their legs.
• Flea-Bitten Gray - A gray coat with small, brown colored freckling throughout the coat. The amount of freckles varies between individuals and may increase the older the horse gets.
• Gray - Gray horses are born a solid color, and are initially identifiable by sparse white hairs around the eyes and elsewhere throughout the coat. More white hairs will appear as the horse grows up. The graying effect may occur on any background or base color.
• Grulla - A deviation of a dun, these horses have a smokey blue, slate, or mousey colored coat with black points. Unlike roans or grays, grullas have no white hair mixed in with the darker hair.
• Leopard - An Appaloosa variation in which the horse has a white coat with Dalmation-like spots throughout.
• Overo - A variation of a pinto color in which irregular patches of white hairs are scattered over a predominately dark base color.
• Palomino - This popular golden color develops through a genetic dilution of chestnut coats. The hair has a golden hue with white to yellow manes and tails.
• Pinto - Colored hair on a white-based coat or white hair on a base of a darker color, in addition to usual white markings on head and lower legs.
• Roan - As opposed to grays, roans are born with the amount of white hairs they will have in their coat throughout their lifetime. Roaning may occur on any background color and often in non-uniform patterns on the body. Heads, necks, and lower legs may be more solid colored.
• Sorrel - Lightly shaded chestnuts with a mane and tail the same color as or even lighter than the body.
• Tobiano - A pinto variation with patches of colored hair irregularly spaced on the body. Legs are white from the hock and knees down.
• White - A truly white horse is born with already white hair. Most white-appearing horses are grays that become progressively whiter with age and are not true white horses.

• Bald-Faced - White hairs cover the entirety of the face extending from the front and over to the sides.
• Blaze - A wide patch of white hairs extending down the front of the face and covering the full width of the nasal bones.
• Coronet White - A strip of white hairs encircling the coronet band.
• Distal/Ermine Spots - Dark spots of hair present on a white coronet band.
• Fetlock/Ankle White - White hairs extending up from the coronet to the fetlock.
• Snip - A grouping of white hairs on the muzzle usually between the nostrils.
• Pastern White - White hairs extending up from the coronet to the pastern.
• Sock - Also known as a half-stocking. A white marking extending up from the coronet to approximately the middle of the cannon.
• Stocking - White hairs extending up from the coronet all the way to the knee.
• Star - A grouping of white hairs on the forehead.
• Strip - A narrow patch of white hairs that extends from the forehead to the muzzle.

• Foal - A horse under the age of 1 year old that has not yet been weaned from its mother.
• Weanling - A horse under the age of 1 year old that has been weaned, or separated, from its mother. Weaning most often occurs between the ages of 4 and 6 months old.
• Yearling - A horse that is one year old, or between the ages of 1 and 2.
• Colt - An intact male horse aged 3 years old or younger.
• Filly - A female horse aged 3 years old or younger.
• Mare - A female horse aged 4 years old or more.
• Gelding - A castrated male horse.
• Stallion - An intact male horse aged 4 years old or more.
• Mule - The product of a mating between a donkey stallion and a mare, or female horse.
• Hinny - The product of a mating between a stallion, or male horse, and a female donkey.

• Back - Begins at the withers and extends to the loin and last thoracic vertebrae. This is the area where a saddle is placed.
• Barrel - The body or center part of the horse. Reaches from the front to hind end and contains the rib cage and organs.
• Cannon - The boney area between the knee or hock and fetlock.
• Chestnut - A large callus on the inside of a horse's leg above the knee or below the hock.
• Coronet - Also called a "coronary band." A band of soft tissue that separates the pastern from the hoof.
• Crest - The top portion of the neck from which the mane grows.
• Croup - The top of the hindquarters, also known as the "rump."
• Dock - Built of coccygeal vertebrae, muscles, and ligaments, this is the location from where the tail grows.
• Elbow - A joint below the horse's shoulder and above the forearm, which helps in the movement of the forelimbs.
• Ergot - A small callus on the back of the fetlock joints.
• Fetlock - The joint connecting the lower leg to the horse's pastern. Often thought of as the horse's ankle, though it is physiologically more akin to the ball of the foot.
• Flank - The meeting point of the barrel and hind legs behind the rib cage.
• Forearm - The upper portion of the horse's forelimb above the knee and below the elbow.
• Forehead - The center of the horse's head between the poll and eyes.
• Gaskin - The muscular area on a horse's hind leg above the hock.
• Heel - A soft and elastic structure of the horse's hoof that expands as pressure is applied with movement.
• Hock - One of the hardest working joints of the body, which carries the horse's weight and helps the hind leg push off the ground. Comparable to a human's ankle.
• Hoof - Composed of a hard, outer portion called the "capsule" and an inner portion made up of soft tissue and bone. The hoof is responsible for weight bearing and allows the horse to stand, making it an immensely important structure. For more information about the hoof and its common ailments, check out our article on Horse Hoof Problems!
• Jaw - A strong joint in the horse's head that allows them to chew tough vegetation with a powerful grinding motion.
• Knee - The equine equivalent to a human wrist, this joint connects the forearm and lower leg.
• Loin - The area directly behind the back extending from the last rib back to the croup.
• Muzzle - A part of the face encompassing the chin, mouth, and nostrils.
• Pastern - The area that connects the coronet band to the fetlock.
• Point of Hip - The highest and most cranial portion of the horse's hip joint.
• Poll - A joint directly behind the ears where the atlas of the head meets the occipital crest.
• Shoulder - The horse's scapula which extends from the withers down to the point of the shoulder joint at the front of the chest.
• Stifle - Comparable to the human knee and allows the hind leg to have forward movement. This area connects the hip to the hock.
• Throatlatch - A point where the throat connects to the head on the underside of the jaw.
• Withers - A point above the horse's shoulder blades and is the highest point of the thoracic vertebrae. The location from which a horse's height is measured.

• Back at Knee - A condition commonly called "calf-kneed," in which the horse's knees are positioned behind the vertical line created by the shoulder. The cannon bone angles backward, and when viewed from the side causes the leg to look bowed backward at the knee.
• Base Narrow - Occurs when the width between the horse's forelegs is narrower at the hoof than the width at the shoulder. The horse is often said to be "standing close."
• Base Wide - Also called "standing wide," this is the opposite of base narrow. The distance between the horse's hooves is wider than the width at the shoulder.
• Camped Out - A stance in which the horse stands with its legs far in front of the vertical line created from the shoulder. This can place excessive pressure on hooves, knees, and fetlocks.
• Camped Under - A stance in which the horse stands with its legs far behind the vertical line created from the shoulder. This causes increased strain on tendons and ligaments.
• Capped Hock - An inflammation of the synovial bursa at the point of the hock, most often created by repeated trauma from stable vices such as kicking stall walls.
• Club Hoof - An abnormally upright angled hoof paired with long, contracted heels and a prominent coronet band.
• Contracted Heels - A condition in which the space between the heel bulbs narrows and moves closer together, causing excess stress on the structures contained inside the hoof.
• Cow Hocked - A condition in which the points of the hock turn inward when viewed from behind.
• Ewe Neck - The neck has the appearance of being concave, with a dip just before the withers. It appears to have more muscling on the bottom of the neck as opposed to the top.
• Knock Knees - A condition in which the horse's knees rotate outward, which can cause the horse to develop arthritis and suffer from knee injuries due to the strain placed on the knees.
• Monkey Mouth - An underbite which occurs when the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw, and will result in the horse requiring consistent dental care.
• Mutton Withers - Withers that are lower and less prominent than a typical wither height. This can cause the horse to have a decreased range of motion in their limbs, and can also cause saddles to slip forward.
• Offset Knees - Also called "bench knees," this occurs when the cannon bones are set outside of the knee and not centered and extending directly below the knee in a straight line.
• Over at the Knee - Also known as "buck knees," this is caused when the line created when viewed from the side of the horse appears to have the knee in front, with the cannon extending out behind it.
• Parrot Mouth - A defect in which the lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw, creating a severe overbite. This can make it difficult for the horse to chew and will require consistent dentistry.
• Post Legged - A condition in which there is an insufficient angle between the hock and stifle, giving a straight, or post-like appearance to that area of the hind leg.
• Roached Back - A condition in which the lumbar vertebrae are unusually tall, giving the appearance of a domed or humped back.
• Sickle Hocked - An extreme, abnormal angle in the horse's hind leg where the limb is angled so that the hoof rests excessively far forward.
• Sway Back - A condition that most commonly affects older horses and broodmares, in which the ligaments supporting the lumbar region begin to sag, causing the back to take on a swayed appearance.
• Toe In - Also known as "pigeon toed," this occurs when one or both of the horse's hooves point inward. This can cause an undesirable "paddling" motion in the horse's gait.
• Toe Out - The opposite of a horse that toes in, this occurs when one or both of the horse's hooves point outward. This often causes less interference with the horse's movement than toeing in.
• Underrun Heels - A condition in which the angle of the horse's heel wall is less than that of their toe. Also called a "collapsed heel."

• Walk - The slowest of the gaits. A four-beat gait in which all four feet hit the ground in a consistent 1-2-3-4 cadence.
• Trot - A two-beat gait in which the horse moves opposite forelimbs and hindlimbs together in diagonal pairs. The trot should have a regular 1-2-1-2 beat.
• Canter - Also known as a lope, the canter is a three-beat gait in which two diagonal legs move together to create one beat as the other two limbs operate separately to create the other two beats individually. In this gait, the horse will be on one of two "leads." The independently operating legs are known as the "leading legs."
• Gallop - The fastest gait is a four-beat gait that is the result of an extended canter. In the gallop, the fourth beat is created as the horse starts off with the non-leading hind foot. The leading hind foot then hits the ground slightly before the opposite front foot, ending with the leading front foot coming to the ground, completing the stride. In both the canter and the gallop, there is a period of time called the "suspended phase" in which all four feet are off the ground. The suspended phase lasts longer in the gallop than in the canter.
• Ambling Gaits - Four-beat gaits that are faster than a walk but not as fast as a gallop. These gaits do not have a suspension phase and may only be performed by certain breeds of horses. The tolt, running walk, and rack are examples of ambling gaits.
• Pace - A two-beat gait where the forelimb and hindlimb on each side of the horse are moved together at the same time.

• Interfering - Occurs when the horse's limbs (often hooves) bump against or interfere with each other as the horse moves.
• Overreaching - Occurs when the horse's hind foot extends forward during movement and makes contact with a forelimb or front heel.
• Daisy Cutting - When a horse's action can be described as sweeping outward in a "long and low" stride. Knees are not lifted much, nor are the hooves lifted any more than necessary.
• Paddling - Occurs when instead of moving straight out and back in a stride, the horse's leg swings out and gives the illusion that they are "paddling" their legs. This often occurs due to a conformational defect and results in less effective movement.
• Cross-Firing - In the canter or gallop, a movement in which the horse is on a different lead in the front and in the back. This can throw the horse off balance and can be an indication of a lack of fitness.

We hope that this glossary sheds some light on common horse terminology and can serve as a helpful resource in the never-ending equine educational journey. If you have questions regarding the terms we covered or any other horsey inquiries, our savvy customer service team is always happy to help and may be reached at 1-800-620-9145 or info@ridingwarehouse.com. To learn more about common equine terminology, be sure to check out our other equestrian glossaries covering additional topics such as frequently-used riding terms, tack, and more. Happy learning, and as always, happy riding!