Fall - For a horse, shoulder and hindquarter on the same side touch the ground; for a rider, separation between the rider and horse necessitating remounting.
Farrier - A skilled horse shoer.
Far side - The horse's right side.
Fault - Scoring unit to keep track of knockdowns, refusals, or other offenses.
Favor - To limp slightly.
Feed bag - A sack usually of canvas and leather held on the horse's nose by a strap behind its ears allowing it to eat grain without a manger or other container.
F.E.I. - Federation Equestre Internationale or International Equestrian Federation, the organization governing international competitions.
Fender - Part of the Western saddle that protects a rider's leg from the rigging.
The wide leather strap, on the western saddle, between the saddle seat and
the stirrup on which the riders leg rests.
Fermented feed - Fodder preserved by storing in piles or air-tight structures causing it to ferment and heat; also any feed that has become damp accidentally, causing it to ferment.
Fetlock joint - Between the cannon (metacarpus or metatarsus) and the pastern (first phalanx) including the sesamoid bones; sometimes referred to as ankle.
Fetlock - The tuft of hair on the back side of the fetlock joint.
Fiador - Knotted rope throatlatch, used in conjunction with a basal, browband headstall, and horsehair reins. The knots of the fiador are the hackamore, the fiador, and the sheet bend.
Fiberoptic - Bundles of glass fibers that transmit light and permit one to see around corners.
Figure eight noseband - Noseband popular with eventers; straps cross in an 'X' on the bridge of the horse's nose for better leverage and control.
Filly - Female horse 4 years and under that has never produced a foal.
Flag - Rhythmic motion of stallion's tail when he ejaculates.
Flank (1) - In roping, to hold a calf by its flank and leg and place it on its side.
Flank (2) - The area of a horse's barrel between the rib cage and the hindquarters.
Flash noseband - Cross between a cavesson and a figure-eight noseband.
Flat - Class without jumping.
Flat foot walk - A true flat foot walk is a four-beat gait in which each foot is picked up and set down in an even cadence. The rear end movement should be smooth and close to the ground without any snap or pop. Each stride should reach forward and slide in as it is set down, over striding the track of the front foot. The head shake is in time with the rear feet and should be smooth. The tail should set still and flow.
Flaxen - A golden mane or tail on a darker-bodied horse.
Flehmen - A reaction to odd smells or tastes; horse curls upper lip upward.
Flex - To bend the horse to the inside. Also, to give in the poll and yield to rein contact.
Flexion - Characteristic of a supple and collected horse, there are two types of flexion: 1. vertical or longitudinal, which is often mistakenly associated with "headset," when in reality it is an engagement of the entire body: abdomen, hindquarters, back, neck, and head 2. lateral, which is side-to-side arcing or bending characteristic of circular work.
Flexor tendons - Tendons located at the rear of a limb.
Flexor - Muscle responsible for closing the angle of a joint.
Float - (v.) To file a horse's teeth to remove sharp points; (n.) a filelike instrument used to float teeth.
Floating - The process of filing off sharp edges of a horse's teeth.
Fly back - A bad habit in which a horse will suddenly pull back, often resulting in a broken halter or tie.
Flying change - A change of lead at the lope, without slowing to the trot.
Flying lead change - Change from one lead to another without changing gait.
Foal - (n.) A young, nursing horse of either sex. (v.) the act of foaling, when a mare delivers her young.
Foal colic - Abdominal pain in a mare, following foaling. due to the rapid contracting of
the uterus.
Foal heat - Estrus that occurs in most mares 9 days after foaling.
Foaling - The process of a mare giving birth.
Follicle - Fluid-filled blisterlike sack on ovary which contains the ovum (egg).
Forage - Any type of roughage or to graze.
Forehand - That portion of the horse from the heart girth forward.
Forelock - The hair growing between a horse's ears that falls on the forehead; a horse's "bangs.".
Fork - Part of the swells of a saddle that makes up the gullet.
Founder - Another word for laminitis, a serious disease affecting a horse's hooves and often caused by a horse's eating too much grain or green pasture.
Four-beat lope - An incorrect lope, where the horse strikes the ground in a broken rhythm.
Free walk - Walk on a loose rein to allow the horse to stretch its neck and lower its head.
Frog - Wedge-shaped pad in the sole of the hoof which acts as a shock absorber for the
hoof. It contacts the ground first at each step and aides in pumping blood.
Fox Trot - The fox trot is a broken diagonal gait with a distinctive rhythm that is created by a horse moving its front foot a split second before its opposite rear foot. The fox trot is a smooth gait because the horse is in contact with the ground at all times. A horse that is foxtrotting correctly will never have more than two feet off the ground at any given time. On both the front and back ends the horse will sit one foot down as it picks the other foot up and for a moment both feet will be touching the ground.
Futurity - A show class or event for young horses that requires entering long (often years) before the actual event.
Here at Calcutt & Sons we ensure that we produce and offer the highest quality of goods for our clients
