Common Species Names - Equine

Lay people and professionals use terms to describe in one word the status of an animal. The term may relate to the sexual status of an animal (intact or sexually functional, or altered or sexually nonfunctional) or the age status of an animal. Terms have also been derived to denote the process of giving birth and the grouping of animals.

equine (ē-kwīn) includes horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules

stallion (stahl-yuhn): intact (not sexually altered) male equine older than 4 years

colt (kōlt): intact male equine younger than 4 years

mare (mār): intact female equine older than 4 years

filly (fihl-ē): intact female equine younger than 4 years

gelding (gehld-ihng): castrated male equine

ridgeling (rihdj-lihng) or rig: cryptorchid equine (one or both testicles have not descended from the abdomen)

foal: young equine of either sex

weanling: young equine younger than 1 year

yearling: young equine between 1 and 2 years old

foaling: giving birth to equine

herd: group of equine

band: group of horses consisting of one mature stallion, his breeding mares, and the immature male and female offspring of his mares

brood mare (bruhd mār): breeding female equine

maiden mare: female equine never bred

barren mare or open mare: intact female horse that was not bred or did not conceive the previous season

wet mare: intact female horse that has foaled during the current season

agalactic mare (ā-gahl-ahck-tihck mār): intact female horse not producing milk

pony: equine between 8.2 and 14.2 hands when mature (not a young horse)