Twenty-Three Things That Don’t Seem Weird to Horse Lovers
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Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing, all others by WikiMedia Commons unless otherwise noted.
People who love horses sometimes seem like they live on an entirely different planet from other people. Below are just a few examples of things that won't make horse people bat an eyelash but confuse everyone else to their core. Have one of your own? Be sure to add it to the comments!
1. Walking around in muddy boots. They’re no big deal until you’re just about to head into the show ring or the paddock.
Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing
2. Horse slobber on your shirt. That just means you’re loved!
3. Minor bruising all over your body. Thanks to barn chores, you don’t even know where half of your black-and-blue marks came from anymore.
4. Early mornings. If you want to be at the track for your favorite horse’s workout, an alarm clock like the one below won’t bother you.
5. Late nights. Anything from a pregnant mare to a colicky gelding is enough of a reason to stay up late. Sleep is optional until you know your horse is OK.
6. You have a peppermint, carrots and/or apple budget. In fact, the people at your local grocery store no longer give you weird looks for buying these in bulk.
7. Spending more money on your horse’s accessories than you do your own. Your jewelry may come from a gumball machine, but your horse’s $150 personalized saddle pad will be the envy of all the other riders out there.
8. Sounding completely unintelligible to non-horse people. The sentence “We’d been going in an eggbutt snaffle, but he seemed so much happier schooling in the D-ring that I’m switching permanently,” makes perfect sense to you. To non-riders, it’s gobbledy-gook.
9. Having a semi-permanent case of helmet-head. If your friends think hat hair is tough, they haven’t seen anything yet.
10. Baby-talking to an animal that weighs more than half a ton. To the uninitiated, your horse is a giant, fast moving, powerful beast; to you, he’s the sweetest little pony in all the world and who wants a peppermint? Who does? You do! Who’s a good boy??
11. Having really strong feelings about draw reins. In fact, there’s a 75 percent chance that a debate will break out in the comments section about this very subject.
12. Following several horse-run accounts on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram. Sure, horses can’t actually tweet … but seeing what Juba did today is so much fun!
13. Incessantly talking about horses in non-barn environments. This gets especially bad if two or more horse people find each other at a social event.
14. Taking a stand on whether or not to wear riding or cowboy boots as street fashion. See also: harshly judging the equitation or outfit of the model any time a magazine has a photo shoot involving a horse. “WHY IS SHE WEARING OPEN-TOED SHOES?!”
Latest shoot with @emilymw94 at the horse centre. #equestrian #fashion #fashionblogger pic.twitter.com/yZOyQRlPgO
— Charlotte Portlock (@Cportlockphoto) July 27, 2014
15. Really judging any movie about horses that gets any minor detail wrong. Then wondering how much being an advisor on these movies could earn you.
16. Not getting excited for sales at clothing stores, but freaking out when things are half off at your favorite tack shop.
17. Having to clear tack off the seat of your car whenever someone needs a ride.
18. Wearing 50 layers of clothes during winter ... not to go play in the snow but to go check on your horses.
19. Spending more on horse blankets than you ever spend on a coat.
20. Skipping a night on the town because you have an early ride time at the local horse show.
21. Living on Ramen noodles while your horse is on a $200 supplement.
22. Dreaming of relocating to Florida for the winter because the warm weather makes it easier to ride your horse.
23. Knowing that your life is better because of the horses in it, no matter what anyone else thinks.