Like any profession, horse riding and trail riding leaders use terms that you might not hear every day. In fact, we have made a list of them on this page, some of which you might be familiar with and others not so much. You probably know what a horse is, but what differentiates it from a pony? You might have heard that horses are measured in hands, but how long is a hand and to which point on a horse do you measure? Click that link to find out answers to these questions!
While you might not be familiar with the most technical aspects of horse riding in the Lake Worth area, you probably do hear some horse sayings — or idioms — that show up from time to time. In a recent article we told you about the origins and meaning of five different horse-related idioms: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” “Champing at the bit,” “Hold your horses,” and “A horse of a different color.”
Today we’re going to take a look at a few more phrases you probably know, and might even know what they mean.
As Strong As A Horse
Horses were the most common large animals that pre-industrial people came in contact with every day. While farmers might have oxen for farming and horses for riding, people in the city would only be familiar with horses. Not only were they common, but they were also the strongest animals that most people would encounter regularly.
The term “horse” came to mean just about anything that involved being strong or big. Horseplay meant rough play that resulted in injury due to not using one’s strength in the right way. And, believe it or not, horseradish got its name because its flavor is so strong!
Eat Like a Horse
Full-grown horses can eat up to 20 pounds of food a day, so it’s easy to see why people see them as big eaters. Of course, with horses eating pretty much every second they’re allowed, people are more likely to catch them eating and associate “horses” with “eating.”
Why do people say “eat like a horse” instead of “eat like an elephant” or “eat like a rhino”? Again, it all comes back to the animals they were in contact with most on a daily basis.
To Beat A Dead Horse
Once people started domesticating horses, the lives of the big animals got pretty tough. Being so strong — one might say as strong as a horse — and relatively docile, horses were forced to work in order to plow fields. To get them to move in when they didn’t want to, farmers or riders would whip them. Whipping a dead horse came to mean doing something entirely unproductive even if it worked before.
Since the invention of the internet, it seems that people are beating more dead horses than ever, doesn’t it?
What Will Come To Your Mind When You’re Horse Riding?
When you’re riding horses, either during horseback riding lessons every week or during an hour-long trailer ride, it’s difficult to not think about the ways that horses have influenced human culture — even our language. Let us know what’s on your mind after you book trail riding or horseback riding in Lake Worth!