Horse nomenclature

Overview

Horses are commonly given a compound name consisting of two words, one describing the color and the second describing some other distinguishing feature such as gait or age.

Horse coats

• ак (ak) white.
• ала (ala) multicoloured, variegated, motley, piebald (black and white), skewbald (white and any colour but black).
• бора (bora) grey.
• доруг (dorug) bay (reddish-brown); кара-доруг (kara-dorug) dark bay.
• калдар (kaldar) sorrel (reddish-brown with yellowish markings).
• кара (kara) black.
• карала (karala) (< kara ala) dark piebald, dark skewbald.
• кыр (kïr) roan (dark coat sprinkled with grey); liver-chestnut.
• кыскыл (kïskïl) chestnut.
• кула (kula) tawny, lightbrown with black mane and tail.
• ой (oy) dun, isabel; кара-ой (kara-oy) dark dun.
• сара (sara) light bay.
• сарала (sarala) (< sara ala) light skewbald, yellowish.
• сарыг (sarïg) yellow; blond, light bay.
• шилги (šilgi) reddish, ginger, chestnut.
• шокар (šokar) motley, dappled, spotted.
• хоор (xoor) light-chestnut, fallow, tan, pale-coloured.
• хувала (xuvala) light bay.

Gaits

• базар (bazar) ambling.
• челиш (čeliš) trot.
• чыраа (čïraa) ambler.
• саяк (sayak) ambler.

Age

• дай (day) colt, young horse of two or three years.
• дөнен (dönen) four-year-old (livestock).
• кулун (kulun) (suckling) foal, colt.
• сарбаа (sarbaa) one-year-old foal (born in autumn).

Qualities

• чүгүрүк (čügürük) able to run fast, racing, swift.
• эмдик (emdik) not broken-in, unridden.
• хертеш (xerteš) curved, arched (said of a horse's back).
• оглаа (oglaa) shy, easily scared.

Examples

• Эмдик-Бора (Emdik-Bora): Unridden Grey
• Эмдик-Ой (Emdik-Oy): Unridden Dun
• Чыраа-Бора (Čïraa-Bora): Ambling Grey
• Базар-Ой (Bazar-Oy): Ambling Dun
• Хертеш-Ой (Xerteš-Oy): Arched-back Dun
• Оглаа-Дай (Oglaa-Day): Shy Colt
• Доруг-Дай (Dorug-Day): Bay Colt
• Кула-Дай (Kula-Day): Tawny Colt
• Шокар-Дай (Šokar-Day): Dappled Colt