hoss

[Gordon, Matthew J.]

Could those of you with a phonemic distinction in the low back vowels confirm that the vowel in 'hoss' (the derivative of 'horse' made popular by Bonanza and Keith Jackson) is open o (i.e., the same as 'bought' ) and not the vowel of 'hot'?
The word doesn't appear in the dictionaries I have handy.
Thanks.

If you're curious, I'm asking because I came across a poem in which 'hoss' is rhymed with 'sauce' and I wanted to be sure these rhyme for everyone, not just those of us who have the 'cot/caught' merger.