The following are decidedly tongue-in-cheek definitions that only a horse person can appreciate! Our thanks to Debbie Wiegmann of Sebastopol, secretary of Golden Gate Arabian Horse Association and long-time BAEN Member, for sending them in and giving us all a good laugh.

Big Name Trainer - Cult Leader: Horse owners follow them blindly, will gladly sell their homes, spend their children's college funds and their IRA's to support them as they have a direct link to "The Most High Ones" (Judges).

Colic - The gastrointestinal result of eating at the food stands at horse shows

Colt - What your mare always gives you when you want a filly.

Contracted foot - The involuntary/instant reflex of curling one's toes up right before a horse steps on your foot.

Corn - Small callus growths formed from the continual wearing of cowboy boots.

Endurance ride - The end result when your horse spooks and runs away with you in the woods.

Fences - Decorative perimeter structures built to give a horse something to chew on, scratch against and jump over.

Founder - The discovery, of your loose mare-some miles from your farm, usually in a flower bed or cornfield. Used like- "Hey, honey, I found'er."

Gallop - The customary gait a horse chooses when returning to the barn

Gates - Wooden or metal structures built to amuse horses.

Green Broke - The color of the face of the person who has just gotten the training bill from the Big Name Trainer.

Grooming - The fine art of brushing the dirt from one's horse and applying it to your own body.

Hobbles - Describes the walking gait of a horse owner after their foot has been stepped on by their horse.

Hock - The financial condition that a horse owner goes into.

Horse shoes - Expensive semi-circular projectiles that horses like to throw.

Lameness - The condition of most riders after the first few rides each year; can be a chronic condition in weekend riders.

Lead Rope - A long apparatus instrumental in the administration of rope burns. Also used by excited horses to take a handler for a drag

Longeing - A training method a horse uses on its owner with the purpose of making the owner spin in circles-rendering the owner dizzy and light-headed so that they get sick and pass out, so the horse can go back to grazing.

Over-reaching - A descriptive term used to explain the condition your credit cards are in by the end of show season.

Proud Flesh - The external reproductive organs flaunted by a stallion when a horse of any gender is present. Often displayed in halter classes.

Quitter - A term trainers have commonly used to refer to their clients who come to their senses and pull horses out of their barns.

Race - What your heart does when you see the vet bill.

Rasp - An abrasive, long, flat metal tool used to remove excess skin from the knuckles.

Ringworms - Spectators who block your view and gather around the rail sides at horse shows.

Sacking out - A condition caused by Sleeping Sickness (see below). The state of deep sleep a mare owner will be in at the time a mare actually goes into labor and foals.

Saddle - An expensive leather contraption manufactured to give the rider a false sense of security. Comes in many styles, all feature built-in ejector seats.

Saddle Sore - The way the rider's bottom feels the morning after the weekend at the horse show.

Sleeping Sickness - A disease peculiar to mare owners while waiting for their mares to foal. Caused by nights of lost sleep, symptoms include irritability, red baggy eyes and a zombie-like waking state. Can last several weeks.

Splint - An apparatus that can be applied to various body parts of a rider due to the parting of the ways of a horse and his passenger.

Twisted Gut - The feeling deep inside that most riders get before their classes at a show.

Versatility - An owners ability to shovel manure, fix fences and chase down a loose horse in one afternoon.

Whip Marks - The tell-tale raised welts on the face of a rider-caused by the trail rider directly in front of you letting a low hanging branch go.

Yearling - The age at which all horses completely forget the things you taught them previously

Zoo - The typical atmosphere around most horse farms.