*The MANUAL of HORSEMANSHIP of THE BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY and THE PONY CLUB

THE IDENTIFICATION OF HORSES

AND PONIES

Breeds. Colours. Markings. Age. Height. Sex.

BREED

For a horse to be correctly described as belonging to a certain breed it is necessary that the horse in question shall be recorded in the Stud Register of the breed society concerned or have the right to be so recorded.

     The following are some of the recognised breeds of light horses and ponies:  Thoroughbreds, which figure in the General Stud Book.  Hackneys,  Cleveland   Bays,   Arabs    and Anglo-Arabs, Shetland, New Forest, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Dales, Fell, Highland, Welsh and Connemara ponies.  For all of these stud registers exist.

Half-breds

     The term half-bred is used to denote a horse, one of whose parents is a thoroughbred.

Type

     Hunters, hacks, polo ponies, cobs, and vanners are types of horse as distinct from breeds.

COLOUR

     The deciding factor in assessing the colour of a horse or pony, particularly where doubt exists, lies in reference to the colour of the "points".  Points, in this connection, are considered to be: the muzzle, tips of the ears, mane and tail and the extremities of the four legs.  White in itself is not a colour, being merely the indication of lack of colour (pigmentation).

HORSEMANSHIP

     A black horse is black in colour with black points.

     A brown horse is a dark horse or nearly black in colour with brown points.

     A bay horse is a brown-coloured horse with black points.

     A chestnut horse is a ginger or reddish colour with a similar mane and tail.  "Light", "dark" and "liver" chestnuts are variations met with.

     A grey horse is one in which both white and black hairs occur throughout the coat.  An "iron grey" is one in which black is pronounced.  A "light grey" is one in which white hairs pre-dominate.  A "fleabitten grey" is one in which the dark hairs occur in tufts.  A horse is never correctly described as a "white horse".

     Dun horses vary from mouse colour to golden, generally have black points and show either "zebra" marks on the limbs or a "list", i.e. a dark line along the back.

     Roan horses, which may be of a "strawberry" or "bay" or "blue" colour, show a mixture of chestnut or bay and white, or black and white hairs throughout the coat.

     A piebald horse is one showing large irregular patches of black and white, i.e. black and white like a magpie.

     A skewbald horse is one showing large irregular patches of white and any other colour except black.

Horses which conform to no fixed colour may correctly be described as "odd coloured".  The term bay-brown is also permissible in a horse that appears to conform partly but not exactly to bay or brown.

MARKINGS

The head

     A star is a white mark on the forehead.

     A stripe is a narrow white mark down the face.

MANUAL OF HORSEMANSHIP

     A blaze is a broad white mark down the face which extends over the bones of the nose.

     A white face includes the forehead, eyes, the nose and part of the muzzle.

     A snip is a white mark between the nostrils, which in some cases extends into the nostrils.

     A wall eye is one which shows white or blue-white colouring in place of the normal colouration.

The legs

     A stocking is a white leg extending as far as the knee or hock.

     A sock involves the fetlock and part of the cannon region.

     A white fetlock, white pastern, or white coronet involve the part named only.

     The term ermine is employed where black spots occur on white.

BRANDS

     Brand marks--generally indications of previous ownership--are often seen on the Welsh, New Forest, Dartmoor and Exmoor pony breeds, and frequently on horses imported from America and Australia.

     Brands are generally placed either on the flat of the shoulder, the saddle region or the quarters.

AGE

     The age of a horse is determined by reference to the front (incisor) teeth.  There are six of these teeth in each jaw.  A horse has two complete sets of these teeth, namely, the milk (or temporary) teeth, and the permanent teeth.  The milk tooth is small and white, has a distinct neck and a short fang.  The per-manent tooth is of a browner yellowish colour, is much larger and has no distinct neck to it.

HORSEMASTERSHIP

     The changeover from milk to permanent teeth occurs at certain definite ages and the ageing of a horse is based mainly upon this fact combined with the following additional indications:--

     At one the horse looks young, has a fluffy tail and shows six new unworm milk teeth in each jaw.

     At two the horse still looks young but has lost the fluffy hairs of the tail.  The jaws still show a complete set of milk teeth but they are now worn.

     At three the centre two milk teeth in each jaw have been replaced by permanent teeth which are larger and show a sharp edge.

     At four two more milk teeth in each jaw have been replaced, namely, those lateral to the centre two.

     At five the corner milk teeth have been shed and show as new shell-like teeth at the corners.

     At six there is a "full-mouth" but the corner teeth have lost their shell-like appearence.

     At seven a hook appears on the top corner tooth.  A similar hook may show at thirteen years of age which may lead to confusion.

     At eight the hook has disappeared, the tables of the teeth show wear and the black hollow centres have disappeared.

     From eight onwards there is no certainty although, among other things, an intimate knowledge of the changes in the outline to the "tables" of the teeth and slope of the jaws enables an opinion to be formed.

     In the male a tush appears behind the corner incisor at four years of age.

     Thoroughbred are aged from the 1ST January:  other horses, from the 1ST April.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

*The MANUAL of HORSEMANSHIP of THE BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY and THE PONY CLUB

The British Horse Society makes acknowledgement to Educational Productions Ltd. for permission to reproduce illustrations by Joan Wanklyn from the book "Riding" by Mrs. V. D. S. Williams, and to Moss Bros. of Covent Garden and Geo. Parker & Sons, for the loan of bits illustrated on pages 29 and 30.

CONTENTS

Arrangement of this book.

     The book is divided into three parts dealing with Equitation, Saddlery and Horsemastership.

      Part I deals primarily with riding, the position of the rider and control of the horse or pony.

     There follow two appendices about elementary dressage.  Appendix I describes a system of training and Appendix II contains definitions of the various terms and movements.  The appendices deal with more advanced riding and movements than the earlier sections of the book.

     Part II deals with the fitting as well as with the care and cleaning of saddlery.  It also describes how        to put on and take off a saddle and bridle.

     Part III includes the handling and care of horses and ponies at grass and in stables;  also veterinary      notes, the identification of horses and ponies and road transport.

     

     The training of young horses and ponies is dealt with in a separate book "Training the Young Horse and Pony", also published by The British Horse Society.

     An index will be found at the end of the book.

Published by

THE BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY

NATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTRE

KENILWORTH, WARWICHSHIRE, CV8 2LR


PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY
NORTHBOURNE PRESS GROUP LIMITED 
COVENTRY CV2 3FU