“Hold your horses” is an idiom that advises patience and avoiding rash actions. Its origins are traced to the American South or West in the 19th century. The phrase is used to caution against impulsive behavior and encourage thoughtful consideration of a situation before acting.
“Hold your horses” is an idiom that is often used as a colorful admonition to exercise a degree of patience or to avoid acting rashly. The imagery of the English proverb has to do with the need to rein in horses that are a little nervous and about to run away. It is not unusual for this phrase to be uttered when there is a perception that someone is about to act without thinking about the process or is about to respond to a situation without giving the response a reasonable amount of thought beforehand.
The origins of the phrase hold your horses are often credited to the first half of the 19th century in the American South or West. One school of thought attributes the origin to circa 1844 New Orleans, tracing the phrase to the slightly different “hold your hosses” that appeared in some printed publications of the time. “Hoss” was a relatively well-established slang term for “horse” during this era and tended to be used in frontier areas and in established towns and communities in the Deep South. Due to migrations from the south during the mid to latter part of the 19th century, people brought this and other colorful sayings with them, spreading the usage to other areas of the country.
There is also some difference of opinion as to when the phrase morphed into “hold your horses.” One idea is that the advent of the talking picture helped popularize the phrase, using the more appropriate “horses” rather than the slang term “hosses.” In any event, usage throughout the United States was well established by the mid-20th century and continues to be an easily recognized idiom today.
Parents, teachers, employers, and loved ones are likely to admonish someone who uses this idiom from time to time, as well as being the receiving party. An individual may be advised to “hold the horses” when tempted to respond angrily to some real or imagined slight, when about to make a purchase that is likely to throw the family budget into chaos, or when considering taking a job without fully understanding the responsibilities and benefits associated with the position. Typically, the idea behind telling a loved one to hold the horses is to step back from the situation, take a more comprehensive look at all the relevant factors, and regain some degree of objectivity before determining how to proceed.
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