| walkover |
 | A race in which only one horse competes. |
| washed out |
| A horse that becomes so nervous that it sweats profusely. Also known as "washy" or "lathered (up)." |
| weanling |
| A foal that is less than one-year-old that has been separated from its dam. |
| weigh in (out) |
| The certification, by the clerk of scales, of a rider's weight before (after) a race. A jockey weighs in fully dressed with all equipment except for his/her helmet, whip and (in many jurisdictions) flak jacket. |
| weight-for-age |
| An allowance condition in which each entrant is assigned a weight according to its age. Females usually receive a sex allowance as well. (Compare with a handicap race.) |
| wheel |
| Betting all possible combinations in an exotic wager using at least one horse as the key. See part wheel. |
| white |
| A horse color, extremely rare, in which all the hairs are white. The horse's eyes are brown, not pink, as would be the case for an albino. |
| white line |
| When looking at the sole of the foot, the thin area between the insensitive outer hoof wall (insensitive laminae) and the inner sensitive laminae. |
| wind gall |
| See arthritis. |
| wind puff |
| See arthritis. |
| wind sucker |
| See cribber. |
| wire |
| The finish line of a race. |
| withers |
| Area above the shoulder, where the neck meets the back. |
| wobbler syndrome |
| Neurological disease clinically associated with general incoordination and muscle weakness. Can be caused by an injury to the spinal cord in the area of the cervical (neck) vertebrae or is associated with malformation of the cervical vertebrae. |
| work |
| To exercise a horse by galloping a pre-determined distance. |
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