Saddle Up for Writers! If there’s a horse in your story, here’s some stuff you might need to know!

Whether you’re writing a historical romance about cowboys and the American West, a contemporary novel about a dressage competitor, or any story in which a horse may turn up at some point, you’d better know a hock from a forelock and a cinch from a bridle.

It's been quite a while since I've been on a horse, but as with many subjects, I know just enough about horses and riding to be dangerous. However, I do know it stops me cold when I read a novel where a heroine who’s never ridden before climbs onto a stallion for a leisurely trail ride. Or when the hero leads his horse to the pasture, then turns him out without removing the halter (unless it’s a breakaway type!). Or when a book cover depicts a supposedly "real" cowboy riding in English tack.

So, for what my limited experience as a wannabe equestrian is worth, here is a basic primer on horses and tack.

(FYI, in order to read the labels more clearly in the photos below, you may need to click the image to open in another window. And yes, that IS me!) 

My first and only dressage schooling show, April 2005.

Horse parts—what do you call them? 

Some terms you might need to know:

• muzzle: the front part of the nose including nostrils
• poll: the spot between and just behind the ears
• throatlatch: kind of what it sounds like, the neck area running from behind the jaw to behind the ears, where you’d buckle a bridle strap
• withers: the tallest point on the horse’s back, located at the base of the neck
• chest: the front of the horse (below the neck and in front of the forelegs)
• barrel: the round part of the horse’s body behind the forelegs and where you find the horse’s ribs
• elbow: joint at the top of the foreleg; points toward the rear of the horse
• knee: the front-facing joint on the foreleg
• cannon bone: the long bone between the fetlock and the knee or hock
• fetlock: the ankle on both front and back legs
• pastern: the joint between the ankle and hoof on both front and back legs
• loin: the rearmost part of the horse’s back; the area behind where the saddle would sit 
• croup: the hindquarters area between the loin and the tail
• flank: where the hind legs join the body
• stifle: the large rear leg joint, similar to the human knee; a common injury location for horses
• hock: the rear-facing joint halfway between the stifle and the ankle

Check out these websites for more detailed information: 

http://www.lovehorsebackriding.com/horse-body-parts.html 

http://www.habitatforhorses.org/kidscorral/vocabulary_I.html

Western, English—what’s the difference?

Now that you can refer to the main parts of a horse by their correct names, you need to know what kind of tack your characters will need. A saddle is just a saddle . . . right?

WRONG!

Okay, maybe you’ve figured out there’s a basic difference between English and Western tack. But to complicate things even more, there are important tack differences for each riding discipline within those two broad categories!

English Tack

Let’s start with English tack, which is what I’m using in these photos. This is a dressage saddle, with long, straight flaps and a deep seat. It enables the rider to sit erect, and the longer stirrup length (actually tucked up in this photo so it doesn't bang the horse’s sides) offers freedom of leg movement for the subtle cues the dressage rider uses to influence the horse’s gait, direction, and body position. 

For a complete explanation of the sport, visit this site.

Check out this Wikipedia article as well. 

The other type of English saddle is the hunt seat, which places the rider more forward in the saddle for jumping over obstacles, either cross-country or in an arena. The stirrup length is shorter, giving more bend in the knee. Since I have ZERO experience with hunter/jumper riding, let me refer you to an informative article on the discipline. 

This Wikipedia article may also be helpful. 

Giving one of the grandsons a ride at my lesson arena, also around 2005.

Here is what a basic English bridle looks like. There are variations related to type of bit (usually a snaffle, meaning two sections connecting at a center joint), single or double reins, martingale attached, etc., but those are topics best left to someone with a LOT more experience! This article from Dover Saddlery offers further explanation.

Western Tack

This horse was ready for her Special Olympics rider.

There are several variations on the Western saddle, so you need to know what kind of work your cowboy will be doing. As with English saddles, some seats are deeper or flatter, some allow closer leg contact, and some are made especially for comfort over long trail rides. Here’s an overview. 

Fort Worth Stockyards, cowboy herding longhorns in the parade.

The Western bridle is slightly different from the English bridle. Most do not have nosepieces. Instead of a full browband, some bridles are one-ear or two-ear headstalls. The curb bit (straight shank) is typical.

Reins may be closed or split, depending on the type of riding.

Here is an overview of different types of bridles and bits. 

Do you know your horse colors?

• Chestnut or sorrel: Both refer to a reddish-brown horse. For some reason, English riders tend to use “chestnut,” while Western riders use “sorrell.” Radar, the horse I’m riding in these photos, is a chestnut.
• Bay: A brown or reddish-brown horse with black points (muzzle, legs, mane, tail, tips of ears).
• Gray: Commonly mistaken for white; if the horse’s skin is black, it’s a gray. The variations include dapple grays, flea-bitten grays (speckled with black or brown), and steel grays.
• White: A true white horse (Dominant White) has pink skin, hazel or brown eyes, and white hair. 
• Black: Pure black with no brown or other colors (other than white markings).
• Dun: Sandy yellow or light reddish-brown, usually with darker legs, and always with a dark stripe down the middle of the back.
• Buckskin: Similar to the dun but without the dark stripe; all black points.
• Palomino: Gold coat with white or cream-colored mane and tail.
• Roan: Solid color with single white hairs mixed in.

For more complete descriptions of horse colors along with photos (and including the grulla as described in Mary Connealy’s Now & Forever), see this site.

Okay, your turn. 

Hey, Seekervillagers, do you have experience with horses and riding? If so, share a little about your background. Also mention if you’re willing to serve as a resource for other writers.

Non-horsey-types, what questions do you have that our Seekervillager horse experts could help with?

Read any good horse stories lately? Share some of your favorites.

Today’s giveaway!

For a chance to win the three-book set of Myra’s Horsemen of Cross Roads Farm series, mention your interest in a comment and we’ll drop your name in the horse trough! 

A Horseman’s Heart. North Carolina’s a long, long way from Texas, but horse trainer Kip Lorimer needs to get out of town fast because the woman who long ago destroyed his last remnants of trust has just caught up with him—again. Special-ed teacher Sheridan Cross has trust issues of her own, so when Kip shows up with a horse to donate to the family’s equine therapy program, she can’t help but be suspicious. A cowboy a thousand miles from home and living out of a horse trailer? What’s wrong with this picture?

A Horseman’s Gift. Filipa Beltran is tired . . . sick and tired of living out her parents’ dreams. After years of guitar lessons and the seemingly endless string of part-time jobs to pay for them, Filipa makes a drastic decision to abandon the hope of becoming a professional musician and move forward with her life—on her terms. The past year has been nothing short of crazy for Nathan Cross. Once set on becoming a big business mogul, Nathan is headed back home to carry on his late father’s legacy running an equine therapy program. . .and trusting God to sort out his future. When Nathan discovers childhood friend Filipa is also back in town—to stay—he finds it hard to swallow. Maybe she wasn’t the girl he thought, or else she wouldn’t sacrifice everything her parents dreamed of for her. Can Nathan and Filipa find contentment in their God-given gifts?

A Horseman’s Hope. Love is definitely out of the question for Grace Lorimer while she works her way through college to earn her occupational therapist certification. Besides, her mother’s string of failed relationships and broken promises proves romance is not worth risking her heart—even when she begins to care deeply for single dad Ryan O’Keefe. Four years after his girlfriend, Shana, became pregnant, Ryan still can’t believe he’s a father. . .and can’t imagine being anything else. His daughter is the light of his life. Now if only Shana could embrace motherhood and the three become a real family. . . . Then Ryan receives shocking news about Shana, and his world is torn apart as he faces losing his daughter. Suddenly old feelings for Grace resurface, but is a whirlwind marriage of convenience the answer?

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