To the uninitiated, the language used in the horseworld can be impenetrable and may appear deliberately exclusive. So Horse & Hound is here to do some tongue-in-cheek jargon busting…
What they say: what they mean
1. It’s very typey: I have no idea what breed it is
2. True to type: I have no idea what breed it is but I like it
3. He’s a bit sharp: it’s an unrideable lunatic
4. What an old-fashioned type: looks prehistoric
5. A real driving type: it would rearrange my kidneys if I rode it, moving like that
6. A proper show hunter: looks like the pony my granny rode in the 1930s
7. Has read the map: the horse is anticipating the aids, especially on corners
8. Forward going: no brakes at all
9. A good horse on the flat: can’t jump to save its life
10. My co-judge and I couldn’t agree: she’s been a cow all day
11. I enjoyed the championship: the classes were rubbish
12. I had some difficult decisions to make: I made a complete horlicks of the judging
13. Some were a little green: shouldn’t have been in the ring
14. Competition: the competition is whether the judge can stay on it
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