Talk:Blinkers (horse tack)

This may also be the place to mention a "shadow roll"? Cgoodwin 05:52, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Estuary English
I rm To call something a blinder is estuary English for something 'very good'.\


 * Tell me how this is relevant to the thing -- not to the word. On WP we tend to put different things on different pages even if the same word refers to them. In this case, I'm suspicious because the word when applied to this thing (to blinders as used on horses) is plural -- plural in the same way that "pants" is plural.


 * Is this not merely slang? WP is not a dictionary, even a slang dictionary.

The idiom "blinders" is common throughout the English-speaking world; I've never heard of a single blinder in any context. You're welcome to respond to my comment. John Reid 12:51, 9 October 2006 (UTC)


 * "He played a blinder" - successful performance in a sporting contest. I agree the sense is incompatible with the article and the N American and not globally-known term 'blinders' meaning 'blinkers' lol. Hakluyt bean (talk) 23:27, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Incidentally, what do N Americans say instead of the term 'blinkered'? As in 'he had a rather blinkered view of the world'... Hakluyt bean (talk) 23:30, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * We call it "tunnel vision" or just "narrow."  Montanabw (talk) 18:30, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok, didn't know that. Thx. Hakluyt bean (talk) 21:46, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Racing equipment
Hmmm. This started off as a harness article about the blinkers part of a harness, not sure if we are getting pretty far afield. Wonder if it wouldn't work better to a) Make sure there isn't a separate article about shadow rolls already and b) if there isn't, check bridle to see what's there (may not be a bad idea to add a little section to bridle for all this sort of stuff, with appropriate wikilinks, the article as it sits today is mostly about basic riding bridles.  I know that shadow rolls are briefly mentioned in horse harness and might be mentioned in harness racing.   Montanabw (talk) 23:40, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Shadow nose rolls and the newly popular fleece winkers are certainly part of a bridle, although they are not mentioned in the bridle article. In Australia they usually only used in harness and flat racing. I think that the nose rolls may be more popular in the UK. There are also the Australian rubber cheekers, too, along with an assortment of other gear which is used in racing. Cgoodwin 02:49, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

I think what we need is perhaps a look at Horse tack and add a racing equipment section. That would be better than all the bits and pieces in random articles that no one can find. And, I say: Go for it! (I personally think the breakdown of articles into component pieces of tack is a bit overdone, but it was this way before I came on board and I haven't the energy to consider any way to intelligently merge some of this...but it was seriously weird that we had an article on blinkers before one on harness! But back to racing equipment, there may also be a place for a section on equipment in horse racing too.  Once we have those, we can perhaps toss in bits and pieces where needed.  Montanabw (talk) 04:59, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

British usage
In British horse racing "blinkers" is by far the most common term: I'd never them called blinders before I read this article.  Tigerboy1966  19:00, 2 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Neither had I, frankly, but some other person, (possibly one of the Aussies) felt very strongly about the issue and I chose discretion as the better part of valor. If you want to go to blinkers, I would agree, and maybe we can just let this discussion sit a couple days to see if anyone else cares. Maybe Ping Richard New Forest, as he's the harness and farmhorse guru.    Montanabw (talk) 21:46, 2 December 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm from the US and I've only heard them been called 'blinders'.--Craigboy (talk) 13:39, 5 March 2014 (UTC)


 * I think that US and UK have been mixed up in the opening sentence. Switched.  Tigerboy1966  22:41, 5 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Except that I too am from the USA and I've only heard them called "blinkers."  So there is probably some sort of regional issue here; I think it was Cgoodwin, an Aussie, who promoted "blinders" as UK English... don't know. I just tossed the US/UK designation altogether.    Montanabw (talk) 05:17, 6 March 2014 (UTC)


 * I'll settle for that.  Tigerboy1966  06:44, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

I've never heard then called anything but blinkers in the UK. The OED entry for blinker is:
 * 1."b. Leather screens attached to a horse's bridle on each side, to prevent his seeing in any direction except straight ahead."

First recorded usage for this meaning of blinker is 1789. The OED for blinder is:
 * "2. A blinker for a horse. Also fig., an obstacle to clear judgement or perception. Usu.pl. (Chiefly in U.S.)"

First recorded meaning for this usage blinder is 1807. So if the OED is to be believed "Blinkers" is the more universal word (see how blinker is used in the OED description of blinder) while "Blinders" is chiefly used in the US. -- PBS (talk) 18:43, 22 July 2014 (UTC)


 * And I'm in the US and can tell you that we say "Blinkers" too. Hence why I moved this article to that title over a month ago!  (LOL)   Montanabw (talk)  04:17, 23 July 2014 (UTC)
 * I suggest that the alternative "blinders" is mentioned in the first sentencem with the OED used as a source and then blinkers is throughout the rest of the article. At the moment usage it is a mishmash. -- PBS (talk) 07:12, 23 July 2014 (UTC)


 * I'll straighten out the language if you want to add the OED cite.  Montanabw (talk)  07:04, 24 July 2014 (UTC)