Horse Terms and Phrases | Straight From the Horses Mouth

Horse Talk

Posted by Red Horse on August 29th, 2009

So what do all of those horse terms, phrases and expressions really mean? Brad Krebs, president of the American Trakehner Association shed some light on them in the spring Trakehner Times. Here are a few of my favorites.

Horsing Around - comes from the idiom “horse play” describing young horses in various forms of rough or rambunctious play.

Horse of a Different Color - derived from people comparing registration certificates listing color and noticing that the certificate description did not match the color of the horse being observed. And I thought this referred to a gray horse or an odd color.

Straight from the Horse’s Mouth - a racetrack tipster known for picking winners once told his clients that he got his information from the horse itself.

One Horse Town - used first in the 1850s when there were many more horses than people in some American towns. if a town only had one horse, it was a very small town with little happening.

Chomping at the Bit - all horse people have seen this behavior when a bridled horse is anxious to get started with an activity. It is used today to describe anyone who is impatient and ready to get started with an activity.

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth - checking a horse’s teeth to determine the age of the horse in front of the person giving you the horse is considered rude. Meaning when given a present, you should be grateful for your good fortune.

Starting from Scratch - I thought this was a cooking term! Apparently it is derived from racing when the starter would take a stick and scratch the starting line across the track.

Stepping over the Line - crossing the scratch line on the race track. Today it means to cross the boundary of civilized behavior.

There are lots of others too!