Glossary of Equine Terms – F

Farrier: Skilled craftsman who shoes horses.

Feathering: Long hair on the lower legs and fetlocks. Abundant on heavy horse breeds.

Fell Pony: One of the nine native breeds of Britain. Originating in the fells of northern England.

Fetlock (Joint): Lowest joint on the horse’s leg.

Figure-Eight Noseband: (Also called a Grackle noseband) Noseband with thin leather straps which cross over at the front and buckle both above and below the bit.

Filly: Female horse under four years old. A female foal is called a “filly foal”.

Firing: Treatment in which the skin over a leg injury is burned with a hot iron to produce scar tissue.

FistulousWithers: Inflammation of the bursa at the height of the withers. May become infected and result in foul-smelling discharge.

Five-Gaited: Horses shown at the walk, trot and canter, as well as the “slow gait” and the “rack” are called five gaited.

Fjord/Fiord: Norwegian Fjord Horse. Ancient breed of horse, retaining the characteristics of the primitive wild horse, the Przewalski.

Flexion: When the horse yields the lower jaw to the bit, with the neck bent at the poll. The term also describes the full bending of the hock joints. Vets perform “flexion tests” when diagnosing lameness.

Flexor Tendon: Tendon at the back of the horse’s leg.

Floating: (i) The action associated with the trotting gait of the Arabian horse. (ii) The action of rasping the horse’s teeth (US).

Flying Change: Change of canter lead performed by the horse to rebalance during turns and changes of direction.

Foal: Colt, filly or gelding up to one year of age.

Forearm: The upper part of the foreleg, above the knee.

Forehand: The horse’s head, neck, shoulder, withers and forelegs. Horses in lower levels of training, who have not yet learned to balance themselves in self carriage and are heavy in the bridle are said to be on the forehand.

Forelock: The mane between the ears, which hangs forward over the forehead,

Foundation: Foundation Quarter Horses are Quarter Horses whose bloodlines have not had any Thoroughbred blood added since 1940. Must be registered with the AQHA and have less than 10% Thoroughbred blood.

Founder: Term used to describe the detachment and rotation of the coffin bone which happens in severe cases of laminitis. If this happens, the horse is said to have foundered. Causes severe lameness.

Four-In-Hand: A team of four harness horses.

Friesian: Elegant breed of horse originating in the Netherlands. Always black in color with wavy mane and feathering at the fetlocks.

Frog: Triangular, rubber pad on the sole of the foot which acts as a shock absorber.

Full Mouth: A six year old horse, with all his permanent teeth is said to have a “full mouth”.

Furacin: Brand name for nitrofurazone, an antibacterial medication.

Futurity: Incentive breeding program to promote a particular breed or type of horse.

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