Word of the Week

Rowel - The pointy part of the spur that is used to guide and encourage the horse forward.  All different shapes and sizes, rowels can have from six to twenty spikes, sharp or filed down.

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Splint Boots – These protective gear, positioned on your horses forelegs between his fetlocks and knees, are routinely used on working horses.  They guard his delicate splint bones in case he clips or kicks himself.

Frog – If you’ve ever picked up a horse’s foot and looked at the underside, you will find a frog.  I kid you not!  It’s the cushiony V- shaped area of tisue that sits in the middle of the sole. 

It’s purpose is making contact wih the ground to absorb impact and aid in blood circulation in and out of the foot.

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Cricket – You may, at first reading, think we’re speaking about a bug, the nice sort that rubs its legs together creating a lovely evening song. Well, in the horse arena, a cricket is something totally different, something that can’t be stepped on.  On closer examination of a western bit, a spade to be exact (that’s the one with the long cheeks, usually made of silver, and weighing more than anything I’d want to carry around in my mouth all day long) you’ll find a little, roundish ball in the middle of the mouthpiece that resembles an almond, only slightly larger.   The horse, playful creature that he is, rubs his tongue back and forth under it, creating a sound common to what his friend, Jiminy Cricket, would make, thus getting its name.  It has no real use except to entertain and calm the horse.  AKA: Roller