The specific lingo of horseracing is at the heart of communication at Jonjo O’Neill Racing. Words, phrases and expressions have different meanings than on the outside, similar to the way English and American English are the same but also are utterly different.
This glossary is the soundtrack of our working day, interlaced with cussing, laughter, grumbling and more expletives in a tumbling sea of lilting accents and dialects, spoken to humans and horses alike as if the latter understand words too. Speech that is chased by the wind, swaddled by scarves, visible as little clouds during a hard frost, barked into mobile phones or walkie-talkies, whooped and whispered from within stable walls or catcalled across a grassy paddock.
The string – the collective term for the horses in a trainer’s yard.
Got a leg – a racehorse has four legs but this means one has damaged a tendon, usually in front.
A niggle – the start of the above.
Broken down – a serious injury to a tendon.
A bus – a very lovely horse to ride, easy to hold and well mannered.
A bear – the opposite of the above.
Keen – a horse who is hard to hold on the gallop.
Strong – same as the above.
Dirty – describes a horse that is naughty and wilful to ride, and will drop their rider at every opportunity.
A good horse – one with a lot of ability.
A machine – same as the above.
An aeroplane – ditto.
Smelly – a bad jumper.
Yoke – could mean anything and everything, mostly used by head lad Johnny Kavanagh – causes a lot of confusion.
Yardie – short for yard staff; do not ride out but muck out, turn out, perform all yard duties and go racing.
A spare lead-up – an extra horse to do at the races.
Work round– at evening stables, the staff do the horses up in an allocated yard, hopscotching the horses until all are finished.
A drop – a cash tip given by an owner.
Dropped – falling off a horse.
Wind op – a veterinary procedure to help a horse to be clearer and more effective in their breathing and thus run better – including cautery of the soft palate, Hobday, tie forward, tie backwards, etc. Ben Brain BVM&S MRCVS is an expert in this field.
Can’t breathe – will lead to the above.
Makes a noise – ditto.
A pig – an unwilling, ungenuine racehorse
A dog – same as the above.
Up the scutts – riding with very short length of stirrups, like a Flat jockey.
Leg long – riding with very long length of stirrups, like a cowboy.
Fresh – a horse who is lacking in substantial work; even a quiet ride can become a lunatic. Usually leads to the above.
Rubbers – nothing rubbery, just rectangular towels that go beneath the saddle pads. Torn, old and threadbare ones become useful rags.
Off roading – when a horse runs off the gallop onto the grass, most likely due to spooking.
Lot – the name for the groups in which racehorses are exercised – the first group to go out is called First Lot, the second group is called Second Lot and so on.
An early lot – a horse ridden out before first lot, often in the dark during extra busy times.
The Long – the eight-furlong Polytrack gallop.
The Short – the five-furlong Polytrack gallop.
Bedding up – occurs every Tuesday and Friday morning, when new shavings are put in the stables after mucking out.
Give it a pick – let a horse snack on grass after exercise or a lead-out.
Lay up – catch up with the one in front of you in the string.
Lay over – move over towards either side of the gallop.
LOOSE ONE! – someone has fallen off so there’s a riderless horse galloping about somewhere.
Upsides – to canter or gallop next to each other
Leg up – to get on a horse with assistance.
Jocked up – to be put on a horse to ride.
Jocked off – to be put on a different horse to ride.
Jog – trot.
Lob – a steady canter.
Hack – same as the above.
Work – a common term meaning to gallop the horses, mostly upsides.
Jump off – begin to canter at the bottom of the gallop or can be used as an instruction to dismount.
Take a pull – slow down.
Grab hold of it – to make a horse work harder and more effectively.
Big sends – go very fast.
Pull up your jerks – shorten the length of your stirrups.
WELL SAT! – often victoriously called out when a rider defies gravity and doesn’t fall off when they really should have.
Slip a finger in the neckstrap – to hold on to the said part of equipment round the horses’ neck, which is joined to the martingale. This keeps the rider’s hands down and will help them to retain their balance.
The rounds – the three-furlong circular gallop where, at the beginning of the season, neckstraps should be always deployed due to the freshness of the horses.
The Stud – an old, spooky Cotswold stone barn in the middle of the estate where, during the summer months, the schooling fences are restuffed. Also used for storage and has been used for barbeque parties in the past.
Schooling – to practice jumping over hurdles and fences.
For a more general glossary of racing’s daily language, there is Horse Racing Terms by Rosemary Coates. A hardback guide, which fits snugly in the hand, full of beautifully bright and amusing illustrations and clear explanations of racing terminology and horsey expressions. A jolly read that will invoke any armchair racing fan into punditry.
