Author Archives: Rebecca Berry

What makes a chestnut horse a chestnut? I have written about roans, palominos, bays and Appaloosas and today I thought I’d add to the collection and talk about chestnuts. Chestnuts...

This week's theme is horses and numbers. What got me onto the topic in the first place was the word martingale. Confused? You're not alone. My original goal was to...

There are many things in this world with the word horse attached to them. Most we understand such as a sawhorse or horseradish, which I've written about. But then we...

This is the second installment of "UK versus North America," which I’ve just deemed a mini-series. Last time, I started the post discussing whether you keep your horse at livery...

I’ve been avoiding the phrases "horse sense," "horse play" and "horse around" for a long time for a number of reasons. Mostly because they aren’t in common use anymore and,...

I made an observation while writing my last two articles and I admit, what you’re about to read is from the point of view of a slightly bitter woman. Just...

Last week, I wrote about the Duke of Wellington and his horse, Copenhagen. This week, it seems only fitting to write about Napoleon and his horse, Marengo. But first a...

I’ve written about the Duke of Wellington’s influence on footwear, aptly named Wellingtons or Wellies. Now, I thought I might look into Wellington’s horse, an off-the-track-Thoroughbred by the name of...

When I was in university I took a biological anthropology class, and while in that stuffy classroom learning about monkeys and prehensile tails, I also learned something interesting about horse...

I’ve always regarded the UK as the birthplace of horse sports. I’m sure that is entirely correct, but it’s how I feel. I love British TV and all things horsey...

I saw a TikTok video today of a woman talking about how hard she pronounced the ‘L’ in "caulk" to the man working in the hardware store. I know exactly...

When I was seven my parents almost bought me a pony named Captain Crunch. I loved him, not only because I was a kid and because I loved the cereal...

Brace yourself. This is about to get confusing. I work at an animal shelter a few days a week and the other day one of my co-workers was telling me...

I collect a lot of random facts when writing these posts, leaving me with bits and bobs that aren’t long enough to stand alone. So, this week I present you...

While writing about horse colours, I learned that the Appaloosa is Idaho’s state horse. I was unaware there is such a thing as a state horse, which is odd because here in...

I had my hair done today, the usual cut and colour, and my hairdresser asked if I wanted to try bangs, to which I replied, “No.” But it got me...

Horses come in a wide variety of colors, and we never seem to question why horse colors have bizarre names. Well, I’ve had enough and I’m going to get to...

I know it’s nowhere near mud season, but it rained the other day, which got me thinking about gum boots. You can buy cheap ones or expensive “fashionable” ones and...

I hate working with numbers. I always have and I always will. I much prefer the subjective world in which words live. With words and I can write and talk...

This was not my plan for this week’s post. I had intended to dazzle you with the etymology (ie, a study on the origin and history of words) of a...