I was given advice by author Deanie Humphrys-Dunne to include a glossary of terms with the Free Rein series. Being based in Australia, there are terms that are included that may not be familiar to readers from other countries. A lot of readers of the Free Rein series are from:
- America
- Canada
- and the United Kingdom
So! I thought it might be nice to cover some Australian terms in some posts here. The first word that is commonly found in the Free Rein series books is agistment.
Agistment or grazing rites are terms used to describe land that is provided for horses to graze on, at a fee. In Australia it is not uncommon for people to pay a monthly fee to be able to keep their horse at grass. Because we have mild weather and most areas where horses are kept don’t have snow, horses are able to be kept at grass all year round without the need to be stabled / kept in a barn.
Agistment might otherwise be known to readers as boarding a horse or livery. Agistment can refer to a horse staying on grass for a fee. Or, it may include a horse being fed, rugged and stabled by another person, at a cost.
An agistee is a person who pays a fee to have their horse kept on someone else’s property. In the Free Rein series, it is agistees who pay to keep their horses on the King’s property, Genesis.
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