Fixed weights to be carried by horses according to their age, sex, race distance, and time of year.

Process of familiarizing a horse with the starting gate and teaching it racing practices.  A horse may also be schooled in the paddock.  In steeplechasing, more particularly to teach a horse to jump.

To withdraw a horse from a race before it starts.  Trainers usually scratch horses due to adverse track conditions or a horse’s poor health.  A veterinarian can scratch a horse at any time.

A secondary mount of a jockey in a race in the event his primary mount is scratched.

Two small bones (medial and lateral sesamoids) located above and at the back of the fetlock joint.

Fractures of the sesamoid bone ranging from small chips to the entire bone.  Surgical repair is often arthroscopic.

A group of horses being exercised together.

1) A suspension

Female horses (fillies and mares), according to their age and the time of year, are allowed to carry three to five pounds less when meeting males.

A roll, usually of sheepskin, that is secured over the bridge of a horse’s nose to keep it from seeing shadows on the track and shying away from or jumping them.

A rope or strap attached to a halter or bridle by which a horse is led.

The stable area.  A row of barns.

A horse in need of more work or racing to reach winning form.

Third position at the finish.

The distinct colored jacket and cap jockeys wear in a race designating the owner of the horse.

1) The male parent.  2) To beget foals.

A mare that has aborted a fetus after being pronounced in-foal.

A racing strip that is saturated with water; standing water is visible, however, the base is still solid.

A racing strip that is wet on both the surface and base and is beginning to dry out.

Condition of a turf course with a large amount of moisture.  Horses sink very deeply into it, causing flying divots.

A term to describe a horse that is free from injury.  Opposite of lame.

Injury to the inside of the knee or hock caused by a strike from another foot.

A generic term for test barn.  See "test barn."

A term referring to a tired horse that begins to run less aggressively, backing off on the "pull" a rider normally feels on the reins from an eager horse.

1) Either of the two small bones that lie along the sides of the cannon bone.  2) The condition where calcification occurs on the splint bone causing a bump.  This can result from a fracture or other irritation to the splint bone.  A common injury is a popped splint.

A race in which the owner usually must pay a fee to run a horse.  The fees can be for nominating, maintaining eligibility, entering and starting, to which the track adds more money to make up the total purse.  Some stakes races are by invitation and require no payment or fee.

Finished second or third in a stakes race.

A horse whose level of competition includes mostly stakes races.

A male horse used for breeding.

The right to breed one mare to a particular stallion during one breeding season.

A percentage of ownership which entitles the owner a lifetime breeding right to a stallion, one mare per season per share.

A horse that moves about its stall constantly and frets rather than rests.

1) A type of credit a horse receives from the racing secretary if it is excluded from an over-filled race, giving it priority in entering future races.  2) A white marking on the forehead of a horse.

An allowance or handicap race restricted to horses that have started for a specific claiming price or less.

A horse that can race long distances.

A horse being taken in hand by its rider, usually because of being in close quarters, often resulting in being thrown off stride momentarily.

A horse moving up in class to meet better competition.

Officials of the race meeting responsible for enforcing the rules of racing.

Final straight; portion of the racetrack to the finish.

Manner of going.  Also, distance covered between successive imprints of the same hoof.

Fee paid by owner to nominate a horse or maintain eligibility for a stakes race.

Alternate race used to replace a regularly scheduled race that does not fill or is canceled.

A foal in its first year of life, while it is still nursing.

A ligament that originates at the back of the knee (front leg) and the back of the top part of the cannon bone (hind leg), attaching to the sesamoid bones.  The lower portion of the ligament attaches the lower part of the sesamoid bones to the pastern bones.  Its function is to support the fetlock.  The lower ligaments that attach the sesamoid bone to the pastern bones are the distal sesamoidean ligaments.

Horse with a prominent concave shape of the backbone, usually just behind the withers (saddle area).