Glossary of Equine Terms – P

Pacer to Purebred.

Pacer: A horse which moves its legs in lateral pairs, rather than the conventional diagonal pairs.

Pack Horse: Horse used to carry goods in packs placed in packs on either side of its back.

Paddock: Small enclosure in which horses are turned out for grazing.

Paint Horse: Breed of horse exhibiting pinto coloring. See also Tobiano and Overo.

Palomino: Coat color in which the body can be varying shades of gold, with a silver or white mane and tail.

Parietal Bones: The bones on the top of the skull.

Parrot Mouth: Overbite in a horse. The top jaw extends forward over the lower jaw.

Part-bred: Result of breeding a Thoroughbred with a horse of another breed i.e. Welsh part-bred.

Paso Fino: Breed of horse, originally from Spain, known for it’s comfort and endurance.

Pastern: The sloping bone in the lower leg which connect the hoof to the fetlock.

Passage: Dressage movement in which the horse trots in an extremely collected and animated manner.

Pedigree: Details of parentage and ancestry recorded in a studbook or registry.

Pelham: Curb bit with a single mouthpiece to which two reins may be attached. Aims to combine the two bits of a double bridle into a single mouthpiece.

Percheron: Breed of draft horse, originally bred in the Normandy region of France, but popular throughout the world.

Peruvian Paso: Breed of horse originating from breeding stock brought from Spain during the Conquest period, displaying a comfortable ambling gait. National horse of Peru.

Piaffe: Dressage movement in which the horse trots in place, with forehand elevated and croup lowered.

Piebald: English term for body color of white with black patches.

Pigeon Toed: Conformation fault in which the feet are turned inward.

Pinto: Term for coat color of white with patches of another color. See also piebald and skewbald

Pirouette: Dressage movement in which the forelegs of the horse describe a small circle, while the hind legs remain in place, one of them acting as a pivot.

Points: (i) External features of the horse making up its conformation. (ii) in relations to coat color, the points are the lower legs, mane and tail. For example, bay with black points is a bay with black lower legs as well as the customary black mane and tail.

Poll: The highest point on the top of the horse’s head.

Pommel: The center front of an English saddle. In some designs the pommel is cut back.

Pony: A small horse, standing 14.2 or less.

Port: Raised section in the center of the mouthpiece on some curb bits. The amount it is raised affects the severity of the bit (low ported bits being milder)

Posting Trot: The action of the rider rising from the saddle in rhythm with the horse’s trot. (Also called Rising Trot)

Prepotency: The ability to consistently pass on character and type to the progeny.

Primitive: A term used for the early sub-species of Equus caballus: the Asian Wild Horse, the Tarpan, the Forest Horse and the Tundra Horse.

Purebred: A horse with both parents being of the same breed.

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