T-Post or Tee-Post - A steel fence post which, when viewed from above, approximates the shape of the letter T. Also called a Star Post.
Tack - Gear used for working with a horse.
Tail Twisting - Swinging the tail in a circle, a sign of impatience or irritation in the horse. Also called "Tail Wringing."
Tail Wringing - A horse swinging its tail in a circular motion as an expression of extreme irritation. Sometimes spelled "Tail Ringing" and also called "Tail Twisting."
Tailormade - Produced by a professional or other skilled worker. Derived from a root meaning "a cutter." A tailormade suit is custom made by a professional suit-maker, as opposed to second-hand "ready-to-wear" clothing or a homemade outfit. Tailormade cigarettes are made professionally in a factory rather than hand-rolled.
Tally-book - A journal or notebook used to keep track of livestock.
Tallyman - A ranch hand who keeps track of the brand markings applied to the various animals, as well as noting any ear marks or tags.
Tallow - Animal fat, especially from sheep, used in making soap, candles and lubricants. By extension, fat on a person. "A tallowy shopkeeper."
Talus - A sloping mass of loose rocks and boulders at the base of a cliff or waterfall. Also called Scree.
Tank - A catchment for water -- whether man-made or natural. See "Tinaja."
Tapadera/Tapadero - A leather hood which covers a stirrup - also called a "stirrup hood." It functions both as a stop to keep the foot from slipping too far into the stirrup and as a shield to keep brush from pushing the foot out of the stirrup. In Spanish, "tapadera" means a lid, or something that covers.
Team Penning - An event in which three riders are required to cut three specific cattle out of a herd and move them into pen at the opposite end of the arena, usually within a specified time limit.
Teamster - A person who drives a team of draft animals such as oxen, horses, or mules. Teamsters may work by riding in a wagon or walking alongside the animals.
Teapot - A steam engine.
Tenderfoot - a newcomer to the cowboy life; also known as a "greenhorn."
Texas butter - Beef gravy.
Texas Fever - An infectious disease of cattle transmitted by the cattle tick. Fear of Texas Fever caused many areas to the north to be closed to Texas cattle, effectively ending the cattle drive era.
Texas gate - A gate made of barbed wire.
Texas Norther - See "Norther."
Texas Strawberries - See Arizona Strawberries.
Therapeutic Paper - See Gayetty's Medicated Paper.
Thill - (Sometimes pronounced "Fill.") One of two shafts extending from the body of a cart or carriage, between which a horse is hitched. Thills are sometimes referred to as "shafts" or "staves" and are designed for single horse driving.
Thong - A strap of leather; especially one used for fastening things. See Saddle Strings.
Thorn Apple - See Jimsonweed.
Thoroughbraces - Heavy leather straps on which the body of a stagecoach rested. Combined with the rounded bottom of the coach body, these simple leather shock absorbers gave the passengers a rocking, swaying ride.
Three Legged - A common stance of a horse at rest, in which one of the hind legs is raised and rested on the toe of the hoof.
Throat Latch - The area where the underside of a horse's head joins the neck. The term is also applied to the headstall strap that runs through the throat latch area.
Thrush - A degeneration of the frog with a secondary bacterial infection. It results from poor management and hygiene that permit horses to stand in wet conditions for prolonged periods and from failure to clean the hooves regularly. The affected area is moist and contains a black, thick discharge with a characteristic foul odor.
Tie-Down Roping - Capturing a calf with a lasso and binding its feet. Also known as Calf Roping.
Tie Strap Holder - See Latigo Keeper.
Tinaja, Tineja - (Pronounced "teh-NAY-hah.") A Spanish word for a large clay jar. In the desert Southwest the term is used for naturally occurring tanks in the rocks that trap and store storm water, sometimes for as long as a year.
Tinker - A craftsman who repairs or makes tinware.
Tobiano - A pinto of any color with some white crossing its back and a solid colored head.
Toe Clips - Projections on the front of a horseshoe, which help hold the shoe in place, thus lowering pressure on the hoof wall and reducing the possibility of the nails shearing off during hard stops.
Tom Thumb Bit - A curb bit with a jointed mouthpiece and swivel shanks. The combination of the jointed mouthpiece, leveraged rein attachment, and curb can make the Tom Thumb a very severe bit. It is so powerful (the name "Tom Thumb" being derived from the name of an early locomotive) that some heavy-handed riders have even broken their horse's jaw with it.
Top a Horse - To ride an untamed horse to a finish, getting him to submit to the rider.
Top Cow - A euphemism for a bull; used in the presence of women or other polite company. See "Surly."
Top Hand - A first-rate cowpuncher.
Top Railer - A supervisor or overseer; a person who sits on the top rail of a corral and advises the men who do the work.
Top-screw - A foreman or range or trail boss. Also called Big Auger, or Bull Moose.
Tow Sack - A bag made of course fabric ("tow"), such as a cloth flour sack.
Trace - 1. A leather strap connecting a horse harness to a wagon or to a whiffletree. 2. A trail or path.
Trail Herd - A herd of cattle driven along a trail, especially from their home range to market. Often a combined group of animals from several ranches.
Traps - 1. Abbreviated form of "Trappings," meaning a person's clothing accessories or items of tack for a horse. 2. Devices designed to catch and hold animals.
Travois - (Pronounced "tr-voy" -- derived from the French word "travail," a frame for restraining horses.) A frame slung between trailing poles and pulled by a dog or horse, formerly used by the Plains Indians of North America as a means of carrying belongings or even people.
Tree - The interior framework of a saddle, over which the leather or other covering is attached. Originally made of a light wood such as basswood, many trees are now made of composite materials such as plastic resins.
Treed - Cornered by an adversary; forced to turn and face attackers.
Triangle - A metal rod which is bent into a triangle shape with the ends of the rod apart. Struck with a metal rod or bar, it gives a high-pitched ringing sound and is commonly used as a sort of dinner bell.
Trick rider - An equestrian entertainer, usually performing gymnastics and other seemingly hazardous feats on horseback.
Trick Roping - A skill involving the spinning of a lasso or lariat in any of a number of complex patterns, including the "Wedding Ring", "Butterfly", "handshake", etc.
Trophy Buckle - See: Buckle, Trophy.
Trot - A medium fast diagonal gait, with the forefeet each moving in tandem with the hind foot on the opposite side. One of the horse's three basic gaits.
Trotter - A horse that trots; especially one bred and trained for trotting races, either under saddle or in harness. Breaking out of that gait during a race results in disqualification.
Tucker - See "Best Bib and Tucker."
Tuckered, Tuckered Out - Worn out; exhausted.
Twine Twirler - A calf or steer roper
Twitch - Any of several types of tools used to restrain a horse by exerting a clamping pressure on the upper lip. From an old English word, "twicchen," meaning to pull or pluck. The twitch is considered a humane method of restraint and is commonly used by horsemen and veterinarians alike.
Two-Bit - Worth twenty-five cents. Derived from the Spanish Piece of Eight, a coin designed to be broken into eight pieces, two bits would be worth a quarter of the coin's value. "Two bit" became a euphemism meaning of small value.
Two-step - A diagonal sideways movement of a horse while still facing in the original direction. It is executed by the horse crossing its legs while moving.
Tying Up - A seizing up of muscles as a result of rigorous exercise.

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