horse

/hɔrs/

/hɔs/

Other forms: horses; horsed; horsing

A horse is a large, four-legged animal with hooves, a long nose and tail, and a mane of hair along its upper back. Part of learning how to ride a horse includes giving commands and using the reins to guide it.

Horses are very strong and fast, which is why humans have domesticated them for thousands of years — horses can be helpful on farms, for riding, and for pulling wagons and carts. Some people ride horses simply as a hobby, while others race them in competitions. Horses are one of the very few animals that can sleep either lying down or standing up, a trait that helped them run quickly from predators in the wild.

Definitions of horse

1. noun

   solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
   synonyms: Equus caballus

   types:

   roan

   a horse having a brownish coat thickly sprinkled with white or gray

   stable companion, stablemate

   a horse stabled with another or one of several horses owned by the same person

   gee-gee

   a word for horse used by children or in adult slang

   dawn horse, eohippus

   earliest horse; extinct primitive dog-sized four-toed Eocene animal

   mesohippus

   North American three-toed Oligocene animal; probably not directly ancestral to modern horses

   protohippus

   Pliocene horse approaching donkeys in size

   male horse

   the male of species Equus caballus

   female horse, mare

   female equine animal

   mount, riding horse, saddle horse

   a lightweight horse kept for riding only

   pony

   a range horse of the western United States

   polo pony

   a small agile horse specially bred and trained for playing polo

   wild horse

   undomesticated or feral domestic horse

   hack

   a horse kept for hire

   hack, jade, nag, plug

   an old or over-worked horse

   pony

   any of various breeds of small gentle horses usually less than five feet high at the shoulder

   bangtail, race horse, racehorse

   a horse bred for racing

   steeplechaser

   a horse trained to run in steeplechases

   stalking-horse

   a horse behind which a hunter hides while stalking game

   harness horse

   horse used for pulling vehicles

   workhorse

   a horse used for plowing and hauling and other heavy labor

   post horse, post-horse, poster

   a horse kept at an inn or post house for use by mail carriers or for rent to travelers

   pacer

   a horse trained to a special gait in which both feet on one side leave the ground together

   high stepper, stepper

   a horse trained to lift its feet high off the ground while walking or trotting

   chestnut

   a dark golden-brown or reddish-brown horse

   liver chestnut

   a solid dark brown horse

   bay

   a horse of a moderate reddish-brown color with a dark tail and mane

   sorrel

   a horse of a brownish orange to light brown color

   palomino

   a horse of light tan or golden color with cream-colored or white mane and tail

   pinto

   a spotted or calico horse or pony

   entire, stallion

   uncastrated adult male horse

   gelding

   castrated male horse

   broodmare, stud mare

   a female horse used for breeding

   remount

   a fresh horse especially (formerly) to replace one killed or injured in battle

   palfrey

   especially a light saddle horse for a woman

   warhorse

   horse used in war

   prancer

   a mettlesome or fiery horse

   hack

   a saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc.

   cow pony

   a light saddle horse trained for herding cattle

   quarter horse

   a small powerful horse originally bred for sprinting in quarter-mile races in Virginia

   Morgan

   an American breed of small compact saddle horses

   Plantation walking horse, Tennessee walker, Tennessee walking horse, Walking horse

   a horse marked by stamina and trained to move at a fast running walk

   American saddle horse

   a high-stepping horse originating in Kentucky

   Appaloosa

   a hardy breed of saddle horse developed in western North America and characteristically having a spotted rump

   Arab, Arabian

   a spirited graceful and intelligent riding horse native to Arabia

   Lipizzan, Lippizan, Lippizaner

   a compact and sturdy saddle horse that is bred and trained in Vienna; smart and docile and excellent for dressage

   mustang

   small hardy range horse of the western plains descended from horses brought by the Spanish

   buckskin

   horse of a light yellowish dun color with dark mane and tail

   crow-bait, crowbait

   an emaciated horse likely soon to become carrion and so attractive to crows

   dun

   horse of a dull brownish grey color with a dark tail and mane

   gray, grey

   horse of a light gray or whitish color

   Equus caballus gomelini, tarpan

   European wild horse extinct since the early 20th century

   warragal, warrigal

   Australian wild horse

   Equus caballus przevalskii, Equus caballus przewalskii, Przevalski's horse, Przewalski's horse

   wild horse of central Asia that resembles an ass; now endangered

   Indian pony, cayuse

   a small native range horse

   plough horse, plow horse

   a horse used to pull a plow

   Shetland pony

   breed of very small pony with long shaggy mane and tail

   Welsh pony

   breed of small ponies originally from Wales

   Exmoor

   stocky breed of pony with a fawn-colored nose

   thoroughbred

   a racehorse belonging to a breed that originated from a cross between Arabian stallions and English mares

   pony

   an informal term for a racehorse

   yearling

   a racehorse considered one year old until the second Jan. 1 following its birth

   two year old, two-year-old horse

   a racehorse that is two years old

   three year old, three-year-old horse

   a racehorse that is three years old

   dark horse

   a racehorse about which little is known

   mudder

   a racehorse that runs well on a muddy racetrack

   nonstarter

   a horse that fails to run in a race for which it has been entered

   cob

   stocky short-legged harness horse

   hackney

   a compact breed of harness horse

   draft horse, draught horse, dray horse

   horse adapted for drawing heavy loads

   packhorse

   a workhorse used as a pack animal

   dobbin, farm horse

   a quiet plodding workhorse

   pacemaker, pacer, pacesetter

   a horse used to set the pace in racing

   trotter, trotting horse

   a horse trained to trot; especially a horse trained for harness racing

   type of:

   equid, equine

   hoofed mammals having slender legs and a flat coat with a narrow mane along the back of the neck
2. noun

   troops trained to fight on horseback
   “500 horse led the attack”

   synonyms: cavalry, horse cavalry

   type of:

   military personnel, soldiery, troops

   soldiers collectively
3. noun

   a chessman shaped to resemble the head of a horse; can move two squares horizontally and one vertically (or vice versa)
   synonyms: knight

   type of:

   chess piece, chessman

   any of 16 white and 16 black pieces used in playing the game of chess
4. verb

   provide with a horse or horses
   types:

   remount

   provide with fresh horses

   type of:

   cater, ply, provide, supply

   give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance
5. noun

   a framework for holding wood that is being sawed
   synonyms: buck, sawbuck, sawhorse

   types:

   trestle

   sawhorses used in pairs to support a horizontal tabletop

   type of:

   framework

   a structure supporting or containing something
6. noun

   a padded gymnastic apparatus on legs
   synonyms: gymnastic horse

   types:

   pommel horse, side horse

   a gymnastic horse with a cylindrical body covered with leather and two upright handles (pommels) near the center; held upright by two steel supports, one at each end

   buck, long horse, vaulting horse

   a gymnastic horse without pommels and with one end elongated; used lengthwise for vaulting

   type of:

   exerciser, gymnastic apparatus

   sports equipment used in gymnastic exercises