Answer the questions.  Check the answers.  Then see how you rate.

    1.     As you walk out to the pasture full of horses, your partner tells  you that her
           horse is a bay gelding.  You look at the horses and notice which horse it is
           straight away.  Which horse is it?

            a. Male horse with a brown body and black mane and tail.
            b. Female horse with a brown body and black mane and tail.
            c. Male horse with an orange-brown body and cream mane and tail.
            d. Female horse with a red body, white mane and tail.

    2.     Once you reach the gate, your partner realizes that she has forgotten
            something.  “Can you run back to the tack room and get the headstall,
            please?”  Of these four items, which would you get?

            a.       A headpiece made of leather and without a bit.
            b.       A braided cotton rope.
            c.       The leather straps that hold the stirrups onto the saddle.
            d.       A halter hooked to a long line of rope.

    3.     You come back with the headstall, but the horse doesn’t want to get caught. 
            “Can you go get me some omolene please?” she asks.  What do you get
            when you go back to the barn?

            a.       Sweetened oats.
            b.       Dried grass packed into cubes.
            c.       A long rope with a halter on the end.
            d.       Special horse cookies.

    4.     Once the horse is caught, you both start grooming it.  Your partner hands
            you an object which looks sort of like a bent screwdriver.  “I know what this
            is,” you exclaim, “it’s a ________.”

            a.  Teeth scraper   
            b. Tail brush
            c.  Hoof pick
            d.  Mane detangler

    5.      Your partner asks you to pass the curry comb.  You think for a minutes and
            then realize that a curry comb can be made of several materials.  What is it
            never made of?

            a. metal
            b. stone
            c. plastic
            d. rubber

    6.     You want to make your partner happy, so you agree to go for a trail ride.
            Your partner hands you a saddle and a saddle pad.  What do you do?

            a. Walk up to the horse’s right side and put the saddle pad on the horse’s back with
                the saddle on top.
            b. Walk up the horse’s left side and put the saddle on, then gently place the pad on
                top.
            c. Walk up to the horse, drop the saddle on the ground and walk away.
            d. Throw the whole works up on the horse all at once.

    7.     Your partner takes one look at the saddle and gasps, “You need to tighten
            the girth or you’ll fall off!”  So you:

            a. Change the buckle on the side of the bridle.
            b. Tie the reins tightly around the saddle horn.
            c. Shorten up the band that goes under the horse’s belly.
            d. Put the stirrups up into the next notch.

    8.      Once in the saddle, you look down at the ground and say to your partner,
            “Golly, this horse is tall!”  Your partner replies, “That’s because she’s 16
            _____ high.”

            a.       Hands
            b.       Feet
            c.       Meters
            d.       Horse units

    9.    Your partner heads down the trail.  You….

            a. Kick your horse in the ribs, holler “yee-haw” and take off after her.
            b. Gently squeeze your legs into the horse’s sides, move your upper body a little
            forward and think “let’s go.”
            c. Fake a sudden fever and get off before you get bucked off.
            d. Say a short prayer to the horse gods.

10.   Your partner says “Let’s canter.”  You agree to try because you know

         a.  A canter is just a little faster than a walk.
         b.  A canter is the fastest gait and you love speed.
         c.  When you canter you also get to post.
         d.  You’ve always dreamed of being a rodeo star.

ANSWERS:

1. a. Geldings are castrated male horses.  But you knew that.  There’s no way to keep
   all the color names straight, so don’t feel bad if you got this one wrong
    
2. b. This was an easy one.  The word “head” was right in the answer.  You deserve a
   break or two on a hard quiz like this.
    
3. a. Omolene is a brand name for sweetened oats.  I left off the capital letter just to
   make it trickier.  Were you fooled?
    
4. c. Wait, it’s not a bent screw driver…it’s a hoof pick.  Okay, for 2 extra points, what
   are those bumps on the legs of a horse called…the ones your sidekick squeezes to
   get the horse to pick up its leg so (s)he can use the pick.  If you know the answer is
   chestnuts, you are smarter about horses than you think.
    
5. b. Stone. Surely you guessed right on this one!  The word “comb” gives it away.
   Nobody ever made a comb out of a rock. 
    
6. c. Drop the saddle on the ground.  Unless you know how to saddle a horse, it’s
   best to let your partner do it.  If you put the pad and saddle on wrong and the
   horse’s hair gets pulled funny, you’ll be riding a cranky horse.
    
7. c. The girth goes under the horse’s belly.  If you’re on the right side of the horse,
   reach with your right hand; on the left side, reach with your left hand.  Always
   keep your eye on the horse’s back feet.
    
8. a. Hands.  This is an olde English terme, so you can be excused for not knowing it.
    
9. b is the answer; though d., saying a prayer to the horse gods, wouldn’t hurt either.
    
10. None of the Above. Try to avoid cantering (that’s when a horse is running full out)
    unless you really know how to ride.   

    HOW DID YOU DO?

   10 right:  You are a closet horse person; you might as well come out and buy yourself a
    matching bay gelding.

    7-9 right:  Your partner is probably not too embarrassed by you.

    3-5 right:  Above Average, at least you’ve been paying a little bit of attention to all that
    horse talk going on around you.

    0-2 right:  Nothing to be ashamed of.  Nobody’s perfect!