cutting-horse

Noun

cutting horse (plural cutting horses)

1. A horse which has been trained to assist its rider in managing livestock by separating selected animals from a herd.
   • The average cow can dodge and turn quicker than the ordinary horse. . . . Cunning and ingenuity, combined with the required alertness, a perfect rein, coupled with years of actual work, produce that rarest of range mounts—the cutting horse.1911, Andy Adams, chapter 21, in Wells Brothers