British to Canadian translation required - horse terms!

C

Cabaret

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 April 2014
Messages
57
Location
Toronto, Canada
Visit site
So now that we've made the decision to move to the UK, in between my moments of terror and excitement, I've been reading around here to get a feel for things.

I have a few maybe "numpty" (as I think you call it) questions:

What do the following things mean:
-OTT
-Take the mickey
-B&E
-Poppet
-Chuffed
-LWVTB
-IW
-Case of the kevins

Also, I understand BE is British Eventing, and BD is British Dressage, but who on earth allowed British Show Jumping to be BS??

And why do you use the word "whilst" instead of "while"?

Tell me at least I used the word numpty correctly! I think I've figured out that OH is other half, YO is yard owner (we call our yards stables, or barns), and RS is riding school.

Please help this soon-to-be-Canadian-expat! Any other terminology I should be aware of? Thanks!
 
Hi!!!
As a foreigner who lived in UK for nearly 10 years (and I now miss it as I moved countries yet again) I can tell you that some English phrases are hilarious :)
I'll try to help you a bit here.
OTT means off the track (as in racing track,horses retired from racing)
Take the Mickey, take the piss-mock, tease also being unreasonable
Chuffed-happy, satisfied
LWVTB loan with a view to buy (a horse) it's kind of a trial period
The rest I don't know so let's wait till some true Brits help you (and me)
Enjoy UK!!
 
Cabaret said:
So now that we've made the decision to move to the UK, in between my moments of terror and excitement, I've been reading around here to get a feel for things.

I have a few maybe "numpty" (as I think you call it) questions:

What do the following things mean:
-OTT
-Take the mickey
-B&E
-Poppet
-Chuffed
-LWVTB
-IW
-Case of the kevins

Also, I understand BE is British Eventing, and BD is British Dressage, but who on earth allowed British Show Jumping to be BS??

And why do you use the word "whilst" instead of "while"?

Tell me at least I used the word numpty correctly! I think I've figured out that OH is other half, YO is yard owner (we call our yards stables, or barns), and RS is riding school.

Please help this soon-to-be-Canadian-expat! Any other terminology I should be aware of? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Ott is over the top
Take the Mickey is to muck someone about
Poppet is sweetheart, darling
Chuffed is happy, pleased
loan with View To Buy
Case of the Kevin's having a tantrum.

Dunno about IW!?
 
Cabaret said:
So now that we've made the decision to move to the UK, in between my moments of terror and excitement, I've been reading around here to get a feel for things.

I have a few maybe "numpty" (as I think you call it) questions:

What do the following things mean:
-OTT
-Take the mickey
-B&E
-Poppet
-Chuffed
-LWVTB
-IW
-Case of the Kevin's

Over The Top (ie excessive)
Tease or treat somebody like an idiot
B&E don't know I'm afraid
Term of endearment for a small child but when used by a man to a woman can be regarded as demeaning
Pleased
Loan With a View To Buy
IW don't know. FWIW means For What It's Worth when offering an opinion
A Kevin is a badly behaved grumpy teenager

And yes, you used ninety correctly.
Click to expand...
 
If IW is actually LW, then it stands for lightweight (similarly MW and HW are medium weight and heavy weight)

Can refer to rugs (refers to how thick they are) and horse type - especially cobs and hunters (generally refers to body type or how much bone they have)
 
B&E is the additional test you have to take to be able to tow a trailer - unless you passed your driving test before 1997 :)
 
OTT can also mean over the top, as in going too far with something.
Poppet is a term of endearment, often meaning isn't she sweet, isn't she a poppet .
Case of the kevins, sort of the opposite to being a poppet, being a brat, having a tantrum.
B&E is part of the requirements to tow a trailer.
BS changing from BSJA was not a great idea and still sounds wrong.

There will be many new terms for you to learn, enjoy the journey and hope you enjoy the UK, even the wet weather which you will hear a lot about!!
 
zoofishly said:
If IW is actually LW, then it stands for lightweight (similarly MW and HW are medium weight and heavy weight)

Can refer to rugs (refers to how thick they are) and horse type - especially cobs and hunters (generally refers to body type or how much bone they have)
Click to expand...

I think you're right - I likely wrote down LW, not IW, but my hand writing is about as good as my British! ;)

Your "hunters" are very different from our North American hunters. I'm starting to figure it out a bit. And you wear tweed jackets! I don't know if I've seen a tweed jacket other than on my grandfather.

And I'm guessing I won't need my horse's 500gm fill winter turnout anywhere near London...your winters don't quite look like our Canadian winters!
 
Last edited:
Cabaret said:
And I'm guessing I won't need my horse's 500gm fill winter turnout anywhere near London...your winters don't quite look like our Canadian winters.
Click to expand...

Depends on your horse! My TB was in a 450g rug when I had her, and cobby ended up in a 300g and he's like a radiator! Our winters are not as cold but they are wet which makes them feel colder :)
IW may well be Ifor Williams as someone else mentioned.
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
Depends on your horse! My TB was in a 450g rug when I had her, and cobby ended up in a 300g and he's like a radiator! Our winters are not as cold but they are wet which makes them feel colder :)
Click to expand...

I had the 500gm turnout on top of his 300gm fill stable rug...he ends up looking like the Pillsbury dough boy, or Michelin man when turned out in weather like that!
 
Cabaret I'm from Canada too (Montreal) and have lived here nearly 15 years :), don't forget bell boots are overreach boots here, halters are headcollars, saddle pads are numnahs. Can't think of anything for now but these are the ones I usually slip up with and then my friends laugh at me!

And no, the winters here are NOTHING like Canadian winters. No -20C snow or ice storms here!!!
 
Blankets are Rugs
Wraps are bandages
Halter is headcollar
Bell boots are overreach boots
Pellets are cubes
Cinch is girth
Arena is school
Ribbon is rosette
Tie down/Training fork is martingale
Hunt seat is just normal form of equitation in the UK
Stock seat is Western Riding .. not so common but flourishing in the UK

hope that helps
 
I used to subscribe to an American vet web site and one poster there was saying how she kept her TBs in Saskatchewan and on that particular day had unrugged them because the temperature had soared to minus 9 degrees from the normal minus 25! Can you imagine a UK TB surviving that?
 
We may not be as cold, temperature wise, as Canada, but I have Canadian relatives who thought they'd freeze to death on a visit over here. It was summer and the English were out in t-shirts. Our cold weather has a very damp feel to it and so you can feel very cold at comparatively higher temperatures because it 'gets into your bones'.
 
Having never been to Canada, what's the difference between the hunters?

Also, the British-isms you'll need to find out very much depend on which part of the country you're in...they can vary quite a lot within a few miles!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top