Cantle of the Saddle- the back part of the saddle against which the rider finds support for his buttocks and loin. Much like old-time western saddles, the Chilean saddles have a wide and tall cantle that is cupped in form to offer a comfortable seat to the huaso who places a great deal of weight in this portion of the saddle. In Chile, the cantle of the saddle is known as “la copa”.

Carpus Valgus (knock kneed) - this is a frontal misalignment of the forearm (ulna and radius) and the cannon bone (third metacarpal), whereby an angle is formed on the exterior portion of the foreleg. Typically, a horse that is carpus valgus looks to have his knees towards the midline of his body and he stands base wide with his hooves farther apart from each other than is normal. When such a horse is in motion, in the suspension phase he will make an inward semi-circling trajectory with his hoof.

Carpus Varus (bow-legged) - this is a misalignment of the forearm (ulna and radius) and the cannon bone (third metacarpal), whereby an angle is formed on the interior portion of the foreleg. Typically, a horse that is carpus varus looks to have his knees very far away from the midline of his body and he stands base narrow with his hooves closer than normal to each other. When such a horse is in motion, in the suspension phase he will make an outward semi-circling trajectory with his hoof.

Caudal- this is an adjective pertaining to the posterior end of the animal.

Cavesson- this can be a synonym for a nose band that circles the upper part of the muzzle of the horse, which is sustained in place by a strap that loops behind the horse’s ears. This noseband can serve the purpose of preventing the horse from opening his mouth, as it limits the opening of the jaw and it is also used as a means of tying down the head with a standing martingale that runs from to the lower part of the cavesson to the breast plate or rings in the middle of the girth below the sternum of the horse. The training cavesson has metal rings placed in one central and two lateral positions over the bridge of the nose in order to attach fixed reins, or a longe line.

Center Fire Rigging- this is a rigging that places the attachments for the cinch exactly halfway between the fork and the cantle. This was typical in old Spanish saddles in the Americas, and it is still common in pack horse riggings.

Chalicomorph form- this is a body form that is best suited for browsers that need a longer and more flexible neck, long flexible lips and muzzle, longer hind legs than forelegs that give rise to hips that are generally taller than the withers and a more convex dorsal line, all with the purpose of being able to harvest the leaves of various heights from the shrubs and small trees that serve as their main source of nutrition.

Chestnut (color) - this is a homozygous recessive hair coat color with various shades of red that maintain the same or lighter color in the points (mane, tail and extremity of the legs).

Chestnut (anatomy) - this is a tough callus on the inside of the legs above knees and below the hocks that are probably remnants of the pads found on multi-toed equid ancestors of the modern horse.

Cladogenic transformation- this is when the ancestral genera and their descending genera that are progressively transformed over time, coexist for a good many years side by side until the more adapted genus prevails.

Closed registry- this is a registry where there are no influences from outside breeds and the only offspring that may be registered are those that are the product of two registered parents.  The Chilean Horse has had a closed registry since 1893.

Collection-this is a term used to describe a body posture that enables the horse to best balance his body in order to be more stable and agile in carrying out his discipline. It involves arching the back, keeping a greater amount of weight distributed on the hind legs that are held well under the body and an arching a neck that also breaks at the poll in order to have a close to vertical position of the facial profile.

Cow Hocked- this is a defective conformation for most saddle horses, by which the hind legs are rotated outwards, causing the points of the hocks to approach each other. This is not a problem of hind leg alignment, but rather a problem of hind leg rotation. For carriage and draft horses, a slight tendency to be cow hocked can be desirable so that they do not interfere with the tracers, however this is not a good trait for Chilean stock horses which should have their hocks well separated.

Cow Horse- this refers to a horse that has the physical and mental attributes to work cattle. It can either be a versatile ranch horse that does many jobs with cattle or it can be a competitive horse in a specific cow working event such as Chilean Rodeo, cutting, working cowhorse, team penning, calf roping, team roping, campdrafting, etc.

Cow Savvy- this is an instinctive desire to work cattle. This is a trait that can be selected for and horses with cow savvy will express a great interest in cattle and have inborn desire to play with the cattle in the field, which can be harvested into a pleasurable discipline when trained in stock handling events.

Cremello- this is a creamy white color that results when two horses with the dilution gene (Ccr) are bred and the resulting progeny receives the gene for the chestnut color plus this dilution gene from both parents. Usually cremellos will have blue eyes (walleyes) and pink unpigmented skin, but they are not albinos.

Crowding- a horserace over a narrow raceway (either on a flat, elevated mound or defined by lines) whereby the competitors were allowed to try and push themselves off the defined racecourse, making the race a combination of speed and lateral strength.

 Crupper- this is a piece of tack that loops under the horse’s tail which is attached to the back of the saddle in order to stop it from slipping forward. Traditionally, this is part of the tack of horses in Doma Vaquera in Spain and is also used by the chagras horsemen in the highlands of Ecuador, but horsemen from around the world that ride in very broken terrain also often use it. It is also a standard part of the tack for pack horses. Not commonly seen or used in Chilean saddle horses.