So, You Think You Love Horses?

Some Reflections on the Nature of Horses and Man

• Jack Boots

  An English Horse Guard Wearing Jack Boots

  
  
  [Military Equipage] A Jack Boot is a long high topped dress boot with a flare and open area in the rear top. Believe it or not these receive 200 hours of polishing prior to a royal birthday review. They date from the 18th century but are still part of the dress of the British Household Cavalry Regiments.

• Jennet

  [Horse Breed] A Jennet is traditional small, ambling, Spanish riding horse. Jennets were more a type than established breed and in their original form are no longer existent, having passed from fashion. The ability to amble is genetic and Jennets may have contributed to modern gaited South American breeds. There are now what are called Spanish Jennet Horses that mirror the characteristics of the original Jennet type and are more closely regulated as a true breed.

  Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium)

  
  

  Jimsonweed (Credit: Wikipedia Commons)

  
  [Toxic Plant to Horses] Jimsonweed is a tall toxic shrub with hanging, trumpet-shaped flowers that horses generally will avoid eating. However, it can be mixed with hay in a dry form and poisoning might occur. The toxins are tropane alkaloids: atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine. The effects are hyperthermia, tachycardia, bizarre behavior, urinary retention, and painful photophobia. Physostigmine is an antidote.

• Jockey Club

  [Equestrian Organization] There are organizations by the name of the Jockey Club in several nations. The original English Jockey Club was formed in 1750 and was an organizing and regulating body for both horse racing and the Thoroughbred horse breed. A similar organization was established in the United States in 1893 and maintains the registry of Thoroughbred horses.

• Jodhpurs

  [Riding Apparel] Jodhpurs are riding breeches that are cut full through the hips and close-fitting from knee to ankle. They often are reinforced by leather patches in the inside of the thighs and the knees and they are designed to the worn with boots. Common blue jeans often have seams that rub the legs during horseback riding but jodhpurs are specifically made for riding and more comfortable.

• Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense)

  [Toxic Plant to Horses] Johnson grass is a toxic invasive species of grass that when wilted and eaten in quantity contains sufficient amounts of hydrogen cyanide to kill a horse.

• Jointed Eggbutt Snaffle Bit

  
  

  Jointed Eggbutt Snaffle Bit

  
  [Equine Equipage] A jointed eggbutt snaffle bit is a non-leverage bit with a hinged mouthpiece and a joint in the egg shaped ring. The ring is designed not to pinch the horses mouth. It is considered a mild bit.

• Jointed Full Cheek Snaffle Bit

  
  

  Jointed Full Cheek Snaffle Bit

  
  [Equine Equipage] A jointed full cheek snaffle bit is a non-leverage bit with a hinged mouthpiece and a joint in a round ring with bars extending both sides top and bottom. The ring is designed not to pinch the horses mouth and the bars to aid in steering.

• Jousting

  [Equestrian Sport] Traditional jousting was a martial sport between two armored horsemen using lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. It was extremely popular during the middle ages but fell out of fashion with the decline of the mounted knight. Jousting was a dangerous, occasionally fatal, sport. French King Henry II, of Valois died in 1559 of injuries sustained while jousting. Today, jousts are reenacted as a part of Renaissance pageants. What struck me as I watched them was just how "into it" the horses were. They very much seemed to enjoy rushing the opponent. In a different modern form of jousting, a lone rider uses a lance to spear a small suspended ring. In 1962 the state of Maryland was the first state to have an official sport when it designated this form of jousting as the sport.