Horses by age and sex
"His chief, his best occupations during this winter, had been riding, leaping, and breaking in horses: he had broken in a beautiful mare for Dora."
[Chapter 8, Ormond, by Maria Edgeworth]
There was different terminology to identify horses by their age or sex.
Brood Mare - a female horse, ideally over the age of five, kept for the purposes of breeding. Despite some dictionaries dating the term "brood mare" to 1829, I found it in print as early as 1809.
Colt - a young male horse between one and four years old.
Filly - a young female horse between one and three years old.
Foal - a very young horse from birth up to one-year-old.
"A Bay Gelding, about fifteen hands high; a very good figure, so steady in single harness that a lady might drive him; he is also a very pleasant, safe horse to ride."
[Morning Post, 5th April 1803]
Gelding - A castrated male horse above one-year-old. Castrating produces a calmer, more even-tempered and better behaved horse. Geldings were commonly used for riding and drawing a carriage because of their calmer temperament.
Mare - a female horse over the age of three. Like geldings, mares made good riding horses.
Stallion - A male horse that has not been gelded, or castrated. Stallions could be aggressive and unpredictable, particularly around mares and other stallions. Also called an "entire horse" at this time:
"To be sold, the property of a gentleman; a Chestnut Entire Horse, 15 hands 1 inch high, 7 years old and warranted sound; he is a very good hunter, and has been driven a few times in harness, and is perfectly quiet. Price 70 guineas."
[Morning Post, 8th June 1818]
A stallion above four years old (though preferably a few years older) could be used for breeding purposes. Male racehorses were usually stallions, as a successful career in racing made a horse more valuable for breeding. The owner of a regular stallion, covering or mating with a mare, might charge between five and twenty-five guineas in stud fees. Owners of the best racehorses and hunters could charge up to one hundred guineas due to greater demand.
Yearling - a horse of either sex that is between one and two years old.
Horses by Colour
"I have three unanswerable reasons for disliking Colonel Brandon; he threatened me with rain when I wanted it to be fine; he has found fault with the hanging of my curricle, and I cannot persuade him to buy my brown mare."
[Chapter 10, Sense & Sensibility, by Jane Austen]
The words that people used to identify horses often included the colour of the horse. By colour, we're specifically referring to the main colour of the coat, not including any white areas, so, for example, a black horse might have a white star on his nose and still be called black.
The following colours were those recognised in England at this time and may differ from modern definitions or those of other countries.
Bay - A bay horse is brown and black. The body of the horse is medium brown, while areas of their legs and head, and their manes and tails, are black, which are also known as its points. Bright bay is a paler shade than a standard bay. Blood bays have a red-brown coat, with black points. Bay horses seem to have been the most common and popular colour during the Regency period.
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Reading the Regency
Non-FictionA guide to Regency England for readers of classic literature or historical fiction set in the early 19th century. England, as it was in the early 1800's, can sometimes be as confusing to a modern reader as travelling to a foreign country. Their clot...
