Pace - The pace is a two-beat lateral gait in which a horse moves both right feet and then moves both left feet. In a pace the front and rear foot are picked up and then set down simultaneously making only one beat. A pacing horse will move its head side to side to counter the motion of its feet.
Pace-walk - The pace-walk is a lateral four-beat gait in which the horse will pick up both the front and rear foot simultaneously, then moves the rear foot faster than the front foot and sets the rear foot down before the front foot. This allows the pace-walker to have an up and down head shake, and have a four-beat cadence. The pace-walk is much closer to a flat foot walk than a pace, having both a head shake and a four beat cadence.
Pacing - Continuous stall or pen walking. Often an unhappy horse's reaction to confinement.
Pacy - Slang term that is used to refer to a horse that is moving in a fashion that is between the gait desired at the time and a pace. Most common when referring to a horse that is walking with a rhythm that is more lateral than a correct flat foot walk.
Paddock - A small pasture.
Paint (1) - A breed of horse with large blocks of white and black or white and brown.
Paint (2) - Coat pattern on any breed of horse that is similar to that on a Paint Horse.
Palomino (1) - A breed of horse that has a golden body color and a light to white mane and tail.
Palomino (2) - A horse with coloring similar to that of a Palomino Horse.
Panic snap - A safety snap often used in horse trailers and cross-ties. The design allows the snap to be released even if there is great pressure on it.
Parade horse - A horse trained to carry ornamented tack in parades.
Parascarid - The ascarid of the horse.
Parasite - Internal: a living multicelled organism inside another animal, usually intestinal worms; external: an organism that lives on the outside, most usually the louse.
Park horse - A horse with a brilliant performance, style, presence, finish, balance and cadence and usually animated gaits.
Parrot mouth - An unsoundness of the teeth characterized by an extreme overbite.
Passage - Very collected, elevated, and cadenced trot characterized by a pronounced engagement of the hindquarters, more exaggerated flexion of the knees and hocks, and a graceful elasticity of movement.
Pastern - Area and joint between fetlock and hoof.
Pasture breeding - When a stallion is pastured with mares and breeding takes place as in the wild.
Pattern - A prescribed order of maneuvers in a particular class such as reining or trail.
Pawing - A bad habit usually caused by nervousness and/or improper ground training; can also be a sign of colic.
Pecking order - Social rank of each horse in a group; one horse is the boss and the others find their place.
Pedigree - A listing of a horse's ancestors.
Pelham bit - A combination of snaffle bit and curb bit requiring two reins, used in English riding.
Pen - The show ring or an outdoor living space that is at least 24 feet long and 24 feet wide. Also to corral cattle, as in team penning.
Performance horse - A horse especially accomplished in showing, jumping, and dressage.
Performance - Exhibition of gaits or other required routines.
Periople - External covering of the hoof wall.
Piaffe(R) - Highly collected and cadenced trot in place.
Picket line - Rope tie rail.
Piggin string - A short, narrow rope used to hogtie a calf or steer.
Pirouette - Circle executed on two tracks with the radius equal to the length of the horse, with the forehand moving around the haunches and maintaining the exact rhythm and sequence of footfalls of the gait being used.
Pitch - To loosen the reins abruptly and completely, or to toss a rope.
Pivot - Crisp, prompt turn on the hindquarters.
Placenta - the membrane attached to the inside of the uterus which takes nutrients from the mare's blood to the fetus through the umbilical cord.
Pleasure - Rail class designed to showcase smooth movers.
Pocket - A comfortable, secure place in the saddle. In timed events, the area where you collect the horse and start your turn around a barrel or pole.
Points - The coloring of the legs, mane, and tail.
Pole barn - A barn built on poles set in the earth.
Poll - The junction of the vertebrae with the skull located between a horse's ears; an area of great sensitivity and flexion.
Pommel - The wide uplifted front of the saddle (forming the fork in the western saddle).
Pony Club - A national organization that teaches youngsters to care for and ride horses.
Pony - Technically, a horse under 14.2 hands, but for practical purposes, individuals of one of the classic pony breeds such as Shetland, Welsh, Connemara, Pony of the Americas (P.O.A.), etc.
Post - To rise from the saddle in rhythm with the horse's trot.
Posterior pituitary extract - Hormone produced by the pituitary gland causing milk letdown and contraction of the uterus at foaling.
Potomac fever - Disease caused by a rickettsia (Ehrlichia equi), with acute projectile diarrhea, laminitis, and usually death: its means of spread from animal to animal has not been determined.
Pre-potent - A stallion that passes on more than the usual number of traits.
Premolars - The teeth that are located in front of the molars.
Presence - Personality, charisma. A proud carriage and alert attitude that causes the individual to stand out in the crowd.
Professional - The definition varies among associations but most term professional the following activities of a person over eighteen: being paid for riding, driving, or showing at halter; for training or boarding; for instructing; for conducting seminars or clinics; in some situations for being employed as a groom or farrier; for use of name or photo in connection with advertisement; for accepting prize money in classes.
Progesterone - The hormone produced by the corpus luteum, which helps to maintain pregnancy and control the estrus cycle.
Prop - In timed events, a pole or barrel.
Proud flesh - Protrusion of tissue from wound that will not heal.
Puarter - Usually refers to the portion of the wall of the hoof such as inside rear quarter, inside front quarter, outside rear quarter, etc.
Pulse - Heart rate. Normal adult resting heart rate varies among horses but is usually 40 beats per minute
Pupae - The stage of development between the bot egg and the bot fly.
Purebred - A horse with both sire and dam of the same breed.
Put down - To euthanize.
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