The equine world has a lot of jargon; from racing to pleasure riding, horse people often use common words in colloquial ways, and that can be very confusing if you find yourself in a conversation with horse lovers! Here are 15 words that mean something different to horse people.

1. Bay

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(Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing)

To most people: A body of water indenting a shoreline.

To horse people: A brown horse with a black mane and tail.

2. Frog

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(Eclipse Sportswire)

To most people: An amphibian that’s either cute or creepy, depending on your phobias.

To horse people: A part of the horse’s hoof that acts as a shock absorber.

3. Green

(Wikimedia Commons)

(Wikimedia Commons)

To most people: A color usually associated with trees and plants. It’s green. You know what it is.

To horse people: A horse that’s not fully trained – riding a green horse can occasionally lead to an unscheduled dismount.

4. Hand

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(Wikimedia Commons)

To most people: The appendage at the end of arms. Usually each one has four fingers and a thumb.

To horse people: A unit of measurement of a horse – a hand is four inches, and horses are measured from the ground to the withers (the part of the horse where the back and neck meet.)

5. Paint

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(Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing)

To most people: Either a means to artistic expression or a chore you have to do this weekend. Both, maybe?

To horse people: A horse with a two-toned body, consisting of white patches on the base color.

6. Star

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(Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing)

To most people: A celestial body appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night. There’s a chance they grant wishes if you see one falling down.

To horse people: A small white patch of hair on a horse’s forehead.

7. Tack

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(Wikimedia Commons)

To most people: A handy office item used for affixing one thing to a wall or cork board. Do not step on one with bare feet.

To horse people: Essentially, what horses wear. Saddles and bridles are tack.

8. Groom

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(Eclipse Sportswire)

To most people: A man about to get married, often found at an altar.

To horse people:  A person who dedicates their life to taking care of horses, often thought of as a living saint.

9. Chrome

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(Eclipse Sportswire)

To most people: The shiny stuff on cars.

To horse people: Large white markings on horses; or, California Chrome, the fan favorite racehorse who won the first two legs of the 2014 Triple Crown.

10. Coach

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(Wikimedia Commons)

(Eclipse Sportswire)

To most people: A person who tells sports players what to do. Also a classic TV show that ran from 1989-1997!

To horse people: A tricked-out carriage – think Cinderella on the way to the ball. For horse racing fans, though, Coach means D. Wayne Lukas, trainer extraordinaire and cowboy hat aficionado.

11. Cob

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(Wikimedia Commons)

To most people: The best way to eat corn.

To horse people: A stocky equine roughly the size of a small horse or a large pony.

12. Sire

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(Eclipse Sportswire)

To most people: How you address a king, should you happen to run into one.

To horse people: The father of a horse. Should you happen to run into one, you don’t have to address him as such.

13. Tree

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(Wikimedia Commons)

To most people: Extremely large plants that are kind enough to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

To horse people: The center frame of a saddle, usually made out of wood and covered in leather.

14. Purse

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To most people: An accessory designed to simultaneously hold and empty your wallet. Those things get expensive!

To horse people: The amount of prize money up for grabs in a competition.

15. Hunter

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(Wikimedia Commons)

To most people: A person who hunts game or other wild animals for food or in sport.

To horse people: A discipline of English riding in which horse and rider are judged for their movement, manners, appearance, and precision.