Do you ever use the word "overface"?

[ducks4you]

When my gelding threw me in 2004, and people asked me what happened, I told them that he was "overfaced."

I kept repeating the term, nobody questioned it, they just nodded with understanding. FINALLY, DH asked me, where in the heck did I come up with that word?!?

I have read "overfaced" now numerous times, in the Net and on two forums, mostly regarding horses. I never learned to spell it in school. I don't think that classical writers, like Dickens ever used the term.
So whatcha think--is it a new word, like "prioritize"?
Is it just a word used in horse communities?
I'd like to know what you think.
BTW, I defined it regarding my gelding, in that he experienced a situation to which he had not been prepared.

 

[goodhors]

I would say "overfaced" is a very OLD horse word. For us, the meaning is similar to yours, putting a horse in a situation that he is not prepared for and expecting horse to manage it.

The most common use I hear of overfaced is in jumping. This is heard when folks cram a horse into doing height when he hardly knows how to manage strides and approaches to his fences! "Gosh he QUIT on me and fence is ONLY 3ft!! Stupid horse." Well YEAH, he has no skills to go over bigger fences yet!!!! I hate people who do that to a nice horse. The typical next step is to use their whip to force forward and horse crashes the jump.

It takes time, building both confidence, muscle, to get a horse going smoothly, reliably over SMALL fences of 12 to 18 inches. Then you build on skills with small height increases, more challenging courses of jumps with turns and decorated fences. This is NOT a 30 day training period.

I also will hear overfaced with cattle work, young horse, stubborn cattle that he can't move in cutting or stock horse work. We use overfaced with young driving horses, folks who expect more than horse is ready to face with traffic or ring competions that have other horses and vehicles in with him. On our personal horses, we say after 100 hitchings the young horse has reached "green horse" status in Driving. That 100 hitchings are repetitive, building his basics in making him solid with commands and responses to driver. He is reliable mostly, willing to believe that we will care for him and not let him get hurt when asked for "forward". He will try the steep hill, both up and down, probably do puddles with no resistance and many other things. We do Combined Driving, so our horses need to be very reliable, willing, and accepting of the odd things we ask of them. Driving wrecks are nasty, we DO NOT want them happening to us. So building a good horse is important, time consuming, no hurry-up stuff done here.

Guess hearing the word will depend on whom you hang out with. Lots of older jumper riders, trainers using it. Not so much with Western folks. Hearing it more in the carriage driving circles now that expectations of the horse are so much higher.

 

[patandchickens]

I'd say that's a perfectly normal and common horsey word, and OLD.

I think it's just one of those things that is normal in one sphere of life and not around much in others -- like "yaw" or "compositae" or "scansion". If you're talking with (respectively) a pilot or boat person, or botanist, or English major, those are perfectly normal and unremarkable terms; if you're not, you get a lot of blank looks.

I am guessing these were not horse people (at least, not lifelong English-riding-background horse people) you were talking with?

Pat

 

[michickenwrangler]

I've been riding English for almost 25 years and I've never heard of it.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Overfaced is a very common old horse word here and used often. Everyone in horses here would know what you meant. It's more common in jumping but even ropers here know it, I have heard them use it for horses that get jumping about when a roping gets too fast or a range calf gets them unsettled.

 

[LauraM]

I've been an instructor for nearly 30 years, and heard that term back when I was in the first year of Pony Club as a young rider. It's very common around here, though most people around here would expect it to be related to jumping, and not just any situation. The term is used almost exclusively in regards to a jumping situation, particularly trying to make a horse jump something that is beyond his ability (mentally or physically) to get over.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I guess rethinking this the term also has to do with the future behavior of a horse given that they have been overfaced. So a horse that gets upset or bulks at a certain thing, or anticipates in a negative way can also be said to have been or is overfaced at ... {insert oxer jumps, creek crossings, whatever}

 

[w c]

It's often used to describe a horse that was pushed to jump higher than it was ready. It's also common to use when a person buy s a horse that is too strong, too quick or too athletic for them...or too big gaited so the person is flying out of the saddle at each step.

I wouldn't use the word to describe a horse that just didn't want to do something or wouldn't go forward when asked.

Most non horse people have never heard the term. They might understand 'overmounted' or better, most would understand 'rushed in training'.

 

[()relics]

Yep...I understand it as putting your horse in a situation that is unfamiliar to him and Expecting he won't make you pay for your mistake.

 

[Niftynates]

"Goodhors" posted the answer that I was looking for! As for "priortize", I can only offer what is in my head. Now, that it's a year after you posted your question, you no doubt know that prioritize is not particular to horse talk. Language is constantly being updated, by speakers, conceiving shortcuts, new words to cover situations for which there was no word, or that required a phrase to convey the meaning of the situation. Add to this, words that just seem cute, and cool, as "threepeat". Language purists, and lexicographers, gag and puke at these ugly corruptions. These classicists, don't swing much meat, or get much respect. They always lose the battle to keep the language "pure." This is a huge and interesting subject. To be perfectly pedantic, I refuse to use, new words such as "conceptual", or misuses, as "impact", etc., etc.