Non-horsey parents say the darndest things....

[hiddenlake]

My dad is a senior citizen now but when I was young he and mom never understood my horse craziness. They supported me financially and I will be forever grateful, but they just never got into my horsey life. Fast forward twenty (cough) years-- I have a daughter of my own and we've owned several horses.

Over dinner at a restaurant with dad this evening, I mentioned the cost of the horse blankets I had been shopping for earlier in the day. He asked me why I couldn't just buy a blanket at the local department store. I explained how horse blankets are fit to the shape of a horse, the straps keep the blanket on, etc.. My daughter then politely told him how her horse is clipped and he needs to stay warm.

So dad pondered this for a moment. Suddenly he brightened and said "why don't you buy him an electric blanket then?"

I think I might have stared blankly at him for a moment...he's a really bright guy and quite lucid, but...an electric blanket? Once I asked him where we would get an extension cord long enough to let the horse out on 24 acres, he realized that maybe that wouldn't work.

I love my dad, but I guess it's probably for the best that he and mom didn't get too involved after all. :lol:

[Milocalwinnings]

My dad is a senior citizen now but when I was young he and mom never understood my horse craziness. They supported me financially and I will be forever grateful, but they just never got into my horsey life. Fast forward twenty (cough) years-- I have a daughter of my own and we've owned several horses.

Over dinner at a restaurant with dad this evening, I mentioned the cost of the horse blankets I had been shopping for earlier in the day. He asked me why I couldn't just buy a blanket at the local department store. I explained how horse blankets are fit to the shape of a horse, the straps keep the blanket on, etc.. My daughter then politely told him how her horse is clipped and he needs to stay warm.

So dad pondered this for a moment. Suddenly he brightened and said "why don't you buy him an electric blanket then?"

I think I might have stared blankly at him for a moment...he's a really bright guy and quite lucid, but...an electric blanket? Once I asked him where we would get an extension cord long enough to let the horse out on 24 acres, he realized that maybe that wouldn't work.

I love my dad, but I guess it's probably for the best that he and mom didn't get too involved after all. :lol:


Aww haha.

My parents are very non-horsey and have said some pretty um... funny (*cough* embarassing *cough*) things but of course, I can't remember any of the really good ones right now. :rolleyes:

[goeslikestink]

not the brightest spark in the world is he-- haha excuse the pun

[Robin@DHH]

I have a friend whose elderly horse was shivering one morning out in his
stall. She came into the house and stripped the electric blanket from the
bed (which still had her husband in it) and rushed to the barn with the
blanket. Old horse sighed as the warm blanket settled on him.

I also once took the electric blanket we had at our house to the barn with
me on a cold Minnesota winter day and wrapped my instructor in the blanket
while she watched me ride. I was plenty warm while riding but the poor
instructor was getting pretty cold sitting still before I came up with that idea.

[gloryeyes]

"Why do you still take lessons? Don't you know how to ride by know?"
:winkgrin:

[BeastieSlave]

When #1 kid was about 9 she rode past DH (who was standing at the rail) during a flat class at a show. He told her to "pop a wheelie" and everyone just fell out! :lol: The kid was mortified ;)

[marta]

when my mom visits the barn (very rarely) she constantly tells me to be careful when handling the horses. constantly. i don't know what she thinks is happening when she's not there to remind me;)

[RHdobes563]

So dad pondered this for a moment. Suddenly he brightened and said "why don't you buy him an electric blanket then?"

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[PonyPile]

My mare has a case of the snots..Yesterday when I went out, my ma had just finished taking a kleenex to the mare. My mom says to me, "I never would have thought wiping a horses nose is something I would ever do in my lifetime" :lol:
She is not a horse person, but she likes them.

[Gestalt]

when my mom visits the barn (very rarely) she constantly tells me to be careful when handling the horses. constantly. i don't know what she thinks is happening when she's not there to remind me;)


Sounds just like my mom :lol:

[dalpal]

Heck, I think your dad has a million dollar idea if he could figure out how to make it last a long time on batteries.

[Vandy]

Great story :)

Reminds me of the time I had a flyer posted in the barn for a blanket drive we did for a local horse rescue. The flyer said something like "Donate your old sheets and blankets to _____ Horse Rescue". A well-meaning lady who had just started taking lessons with me showed up one day with half a dozen big Macy's bags full of brand new (human) bed sheets and comforters :lol: :lol:

[Alagirl]

Heck, I think your dad has a million dollar idea if he could figure out how to make it last a long time on batteries.

yep, probably not for turnout, but for the oldtime in the paddock or barn...:yes:

[dressagetraks]

I will never forget my non horsey Dad's response to my excited birth announcement following the birth of my first foal, a purebred Trakehner. "So, do you think he'll ever be good enough to run in the Kentucky Derby?"

:lol::D:lol:

[Gray Horse H/J]

I was buying my horse a new blanket, a pretty heavyweight one. My barn is not heated and it gets COLD in there - plus he's outside all day. My boyfriend asked why I needed such a warm blanket, so I mentioned how cold the barn gets. "Oh," he said. "Why not just get him a space heater for his stall?"

The look on my face must have been one of pure horror.

After seeing that look, he quickly figured out why a space heater in a stall is an absurdly bad idea.

[billiebob]

I had to explain to my dad that no, my red bay OTTB is NOT an Arabian like the Black Stallion. Also had to explain to a few friends that he didn't run in the Kentucky Derby and he won't be anytime soon! The best one came from my grandmother, though. My horse's dad won the Preakness, and that turned into MY horse won the Preakness!!! I'll have to remember that one the next time I have to kick him into a trot :)

[everyequine]

Great story :)

Reminds me of the time I had a flyer posted in the barn for a blanket drive we did for a local horse rescue. The flyer said something like "Donate your old sheets and blankets to _____ Horse Rescue". A well-meaning lady who had just started taking lessons with me showed up one day with half a dozen big Macy's bags full of brand new (human) bed sheets and comforters :lol: :lol:

That's sweet....:yes: wrong kind, but still sweet. Did they get returned to the lady, or donated to a human shelter? Still her kindness was there. :yes:

My brother who is a year and a half older than me, rides motocross. He was asking me about my lesson, and I told him about jumping!! (I think I was maybe 11?) He asked me how do you get them to land? Do you pull back on them?? I said No, they land on their front feet! He thought since bikes land rear tire first, that horses must do the same thing!!

[KayPink]

Once I asked him where we would get an extension cord long enough to let the horse out on 24 acres, he realized that maybe that wouldn't work.

haha that really made me laugh :lol:

[2DogsFarm]

a friend sent me this link:

http://www.blazewearusa.com/product.php?i=7

Looks like your Dad had the right idea :winkgrin:

[Vandy]

That's sweet....:yes: wrong kind, but still sweet. Did they get returned to the lady, or donated to a human shelter? Still her kindness was there. :yes:
She actually donated them to a small animal rescue, which was very appreciative ;)

I also had a lesson mom who called horse blankets as "jackets", which always made me giggle. Her daughter corrected her all the time, but it never stuck.

[FindersKeepers]

I got a call from my mom this fall. She passes a QH breeding farm on her way to and from work.

8am on a Tuesday morning, I get a frantic call "The farm with the baby horses...well I just drove past and all the babies are laying down!! Should I call someone? Should I call the vet?"

She was under the impression horses only lay down when horribly ill and would die. I told her that they lay down and take naps a lot... she was remembering a colic from a million years ago, when we were all yelling at the horse to stay up, and keep walking, while waiting for the vet to arrive... and for some reason this burned into her mind as a horse lying down meant it was dying.

But bless her, for being so concerned about those babies!!!

[Vandy]

Ha, FindersKeepers, your mom is not alone. I used to work for a big farm where you could see the pastures from a fairly busy highway, and I can't tell you how many times passers-by drove up and hysterically announced to whoever was there that we had dead/dying horses in the pasture (i.e. they were lying down). I suggested to my boss that we should put up a giant billboard facing the road that said "They aren't dead, they're just sleeping."

[Seal Harbor]

Ha, FindersKeepers, your mom is not alone. I used to work for a big farm where you could see the pastures from a fairly busy highway, and I can't tell you how many times passers-by drove up and hysterically announced to whoever was there that we had dead/dying horses in the pasture (i.e. they were lying down). I suggested to my boss that we should put up a giant billboard facing the road that said "They aren't dead, they're just sleeping."

That is hysterical. Although I have been around horses most of my life and when one is down outside I have to stare at them a bit to make sure they are, indeed, breathing. :D

[eqrider1234]

my dad calls tack trunks chests, so when he was ordering our covers everyone fell over laughing when he asked my trainer if she wanted him to measure her chest :lol:

[nightsong]

I had a dopey friend who laid a quilt on his car's hood because it wouldn't start on cold mornings. Didn't help.

[amdfarm]

OMG, these are great and some are very sweet, too.

About every spring and fall (shedding and coat growing seasons) my dad is convinced that I've gotten two new horses and asks about them every. single. year. when he sees them quite regularly. They're appaloosas. :winkgrin: But only one of them changed drastically enough to even ask. His mother never changes except from going light to dark from summer to winter and it's not drastic at all.

My mom calls their halters, collars. I think that's why she dubbed my stallion as the "big black puppy." He escaped quite a few times last winter and I decided to keep his "collar" on to make him easier to catch. And yes, I believe she's referred to their lead ropes as "leashes" also.

For those of you w/ more than two or three horses. Does your non-horsey parents know all of their names? I've always wondered if my parents were not of the norm in that respect. I have a dozen, but they only know THREE names that go w/ the right horse/pony. Otherwise they're clueless and refer to them by color, which is never right either. I guess they do try, but seem to not care to actually learn their names. I've made lists for them and everything in case something were to happen to me they'd know who was who. My horsey friends know their names and which is which, so I'm not real worried.

And along w/ the big black puppy, dad dubbed my Percheron mare as the "big black b!tch". He was doing chores for me for a few days while I was gone and not understanding how herd dynamics work he thought she was just mean at feeding time. Nope, she's alpha and doing her job as herd leader. She redeemed herself, but he still refers to her as that at times. And again, he doesn't know her REAL name which isn't real hard, she's known by one letter of the alphabet. "T" for Tina. :yes:

[fourmares]

I had a boyfriend who every time I came home from a show (hunters) would ask if I won any races... every. single. time... ya, it didn't last.

[oleary157]

hahaha these are all awesome.

Once my cousin found out I actually rode show horses she was shocked. She knew I worked at a barn and a tack shop but didn't know I rode. She assumed that by showing horses I meant showing off prize winning horses to people (Direct quote).

My friend was trying horses at this farm and she tried like 5 on this one day and of course her mom videotaped them all. On the FIRST horse my friend comes across the diagonal and sits two beats to switch her diagonal, but her mom was fussing with the camera so she missed it. So she looks up, realizes that she missed it and yells "CAN YOU DO THAT AGAIN, I MISSED THE LEAD CHANGE!" the trainer looked at her and said "I think you should wait for the canter" I nearly died laughing when I watched it!

[trubandloki]

I suggested to my boss that we should put up a giant billboard facing the road that said "They aren't dead, they're just sleeping."

There was a small private barn with a very old horse that I sometimes drove by that did just this. Their pasture was on a corner and I guess they got tired of people telling them their horse was dying out there. They took a full sheet of plywood and neatly painted on it "I am old and I like to take naps in the sun. I really am OK".

Amdfarm, my parent's can not remember the name of the horse I have had for over 10 years. Most of those 10 years he was the only horse I had. They come up with all kinds of strange names that are for sure not his name though.

[Pat]

I had a boyfriend who every time I came home from a show (hunters) would ask if I won any races... every. single. time... ya, it didn't last.


I've lost count of how many times I've gotten "that one" from a number of folks. Darlin', I'm *almost* short enough to EXCERCISE a race horse, but if you split me in half (by weight, of course) you'd get 2 jockeys. So how many races do you actualy think I've ridden in?

Sigh

Some of my aunts and uncles have asked if I'm "still into horses". Sheesh. It's not something I'm going to 'get over' or 'grow out of'. Maybe they are just jealous that this particular grandchild found something she just plain loves and made a life out of it!??!! (I'm one of 14 and not *every* one of us is flat out happy as an adult.)

The really funny one is the conversation(s) with the father and son STB trainers with zero show horse experience. Dudes just could NOT understand how "you make money at that." More than once I pointed out that Ammys do it for FUN, and they PAY the Pro's to help them have that fun. If the Ammys made (real) money (prize money naturally doesn't count) then they wouldn't be Ammys. duh. No matter how I explained it to them, they never did wrap thier brains around the concept of training, lessons and commissions. I like to think that the bulk of the professionals out there do it for love of horses first, but I also know they aren't running a charity!

[Pat]

For those of you w/ more than two or three horses. Does your non-horsey parents know all of their names?


My mother knows thier names, I think. But I don't think she can tell ALL of them apart. THe "odd" ones, probably, but all the dark bays? SHe knows that the pinto is Mack, the chestnut is Maverick, and the 'white pony' (hey, I call her that) is Jessie. But the rest are two pairs of look alikes, 2 dark TB's with no white and 2 medium dark bays (part arab and an STB) of the same shade, similar markings and size.

Heck, from a distance I can't always tell Dallas the Wonder Ayrab apart from Princess the STB. Particularly now as I've let everybody's manes go to complete heck and everybody's socks are covered in mud.

[Tiffani B]

I have an awesome horse show dad... after my parents got divorced, he started going to horse shows, coming to watch my lessons, etc., all things my mom wouldn't let him do when I was a kid. One of his new favorite jobs was going to the store to pick up bagged shavings for horse shows.

Well, one day he called me and asked me if I needed him to get more shreddings.

Shreddings?

Gotta love my dad! :lol:

[Doodlebug1]

ohhh, these are funny. My mom is not horsey at all and she has embarassed me from the age of about 4 and has never stopped (I'm now 33). Here in the UK we had a brand of trailer called Rice, so we turn up to a show and my mom asks someone why 'Rice' is such a popular name for horses as she thought the trailer logo was the horse's nameplate :uhoh:

Walking a course with me about 20 years ago we get to a big spread fence and she spent ages looking at it - it turns out she didn't realise the horse jumped the front pole and the back pole in one - so she was trying to figure out how the horse jumped between them, I guess she was imagining like a kangaroo :confused:

Oh, there are just so many...

But - the lady who donated comforters was on the right track - I use them all the time. Really - a standard double bed size fits a horse really well and folds around the neck, as long as you have a well fitting rug on top to secure it it is a really cheap way of adding extra warmth - my horses love their comforters. Target is so cheap (summer weight is fine in England so they are always on sale in the autumn) that we salvage clean bits and turn them into dog beds at the end of the winter and buy new ones the next fall.

[jengersnap]

"Why do you still take lessons? Don't you know how to ride by know?"
:winkgrin:

VERY horsey hubby has been given the look of death for quiping that one at me on more then one occassion ;) Just because they threw him up on a racing thoroughbred as a kid and he managed to stay on and stay with it ever since does not mean we're all "naturals" :rolleyes:

[Sandy M]

My mother pleasure rode a little (on vacations), had taken lessons as a child, occasionally rode the school horses where I took lessons. But she had one quirk - it didn't matter what sex a horse was, she ALWAYS managed to reverse it. Every gelding was a "she" to her, and every mare a "he." You'd think when a horse was named "Big John" (and she was good about names), she might remember that it was a gelding, or that "Lotta" was a mare, but no...... ROFLOL

[JumpQH]

I have two horses right now. A chestnut, and a buckskin. My boyfriend can't tell them apart! :lol:

[BuddyRoo]

My old BO...and by that I mean both previous and elderly...was a very experienced horsewoman. Granted, she had some odd ideas. She had been around TB's her entire life.

In her mind, no other breed was a "real" horse. And everything was chestnut.

I have a Morgan/Arab/QH mare who is a red dun. And then I have a dark bay BS paint.

She never did learn their names...afterall, they weren't "real" horses and more than once told me to get myself a "real" horse...

But anyway...whenever she had a story to tell me about my horses, she would talk about my "chestnut" mare. Not having one of those, it always confused me. For YEARS I was never sure exactly which horse she was talking about because according to her, I owned two chestnut mares who were not real horses. LOL

[Rienzi]

I was talking with some relatives and relatives of relatives on Christmas day. Conversation went something like this:

R: Oh, you got a horse. What kind?
Me: He's a Thoroughbred.
R: A Morgan?
Me: No, a Thoroughbred. You know, the kind that race in the Kentucky Derby.
R: A Quarter horse?
Me: No, Thoroughbred is a breed. I don't mean purebred, I mean Thoroughbred.
R: A Morgan?
Me: No, it's a breed like a Morgan, but it's not a Morgan, it's a Thoroughbred.

etc., etc.

[FatDinah]

A reporter was writing a story about my trainer who had won at Arabian Nationals. She asked what made this horse so good and he said, "She has wonderful gaits."
The reporter asked if that was "gates" or "gaits"
She also asked if she was an Arab because she had black legs (she was a bay).

Plus, I saw a story in our local paper about the horse lifestyle. It quoted someone describing Tennessee Walking Horses as talking about the "gated horse community."

[SmartAlex]

This isn't a "said" but a "did"...
My uncle was left to do chores at our house. He grew up around horses, on a dairy farm, but is still non-horsey and gets very nervous around horses. I came home to find he had turned my old Arab pony out in the pasture with his halter on upside down and backwards...throat latch where a browband should be, the connector between the throatlatch and the bottom of the noseband running up his face, throatlatch where the noseband should be. Now, this guy can put a halter on a cow, how come he can't figure out how to put one on a horse that is so old and patient he could probably do it himself?

[Doodlebug1]

[QUOTE=
Plus, I saw a story in our local paper about the horse lifestyle. It quoted someone describing Tennessee Walking Horses as talking about the "gated horse community."[/QUOTE]

Oh we get that all the time:

'Zara Phillips today competed in a dressage competition where she jumped clear over what was described as a testing track....'

You would think that somewhere out there would be a journalist with some degree of equestrian knowledge, but apparently not. This isn't a very happy example but here's how bad they are:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Zara-Phillips-Devastated-After-Fall-From-Horse-Tsunami-II-In-France/Article/200810415129012

:mad:

[dressagetraks]

I was talking to some family members at the Thanksgiving gathering recently about my just-arrived Veneziano mare. :) Now, they have all been emailed pictures of Twister, had stories of Twister, even had specific note and picture given to the tornado blaze that gives her her barn name. So we were all sitting around eating, and I was talking about the horses, which subject I hadn't even started. A relative asked me. So the topic is and has been for a few minutes definitely HORSES. Got it?

Okay, so someone commented, "Your new little (she's 16.2) black horse looks cute (cute? Oh, well, E for effort)." I said, "She's really neat," and turned to my youngest brother, who lives in what used to be Mom's trailer on my farm, therefore walks by the horse pasture multiple times a day whenever he goes from trailer to his car in the driveway. I said, "Have you seen Twister yet?" She'd only been there 2 weeks, after all.

His immediate reply, without any sort of couple of seconds "I was daydreaming and not really following the conversation" pause, was, "Not all the way through. I saw the first bit once, but I didn't really like it." :no:

[Taska]

A co-worker decided to get me a "horsey" gift this Christmas. She goes to Dovery Saddlery and picks out a horsey-themed calendar, note pad and post-its. While the sales clerk is ringing up the sale she asks my co-worker what kind of horses I have, "Oh," replies my co-worker very knowledgably, "she has Bryers."

When she gave me the (very nice & thoughtful) gift she asked me why the clerk seemed so surprised, and were Bryer horses rare?

I should add I have two very nice, very real and live, Paint geldings : )

[victoriAH!]

Its pretty hilarious what non-horsey people say/do sometimes :)

I usually get "So how was your race this weekend?" my reply ".. uh, it was a dressage show.. on the pony." It's the thought that counts I guess!

Oh, and of course from my dad, Why do you still take lessons? Haven't you learned everything yet, time to move on to something else.
Hm, sorry dad but there's too much for me to learn in my lifetime, and I certainly am not going to move on any time soon :)

[rideforthelaurels16]

A very sweet and very clueless guy friend of mine always used to ask me about my horse and was genuinely interested in what it is I do (and of course, eventing is NOT an easy one to explain.). When I told him I was going to interview to be a working student with an Olympian because my ultimate goal is to be a professional rider and make it to the Olympics, he says to me; "Oh, don't worry about it, I'm sure you're good enough. And heck, even if you don't make it to the Olympics you're DEFINITELY good enough to win the Triple Crown!" :lol: He tried.

[SimplyRed]

That is hysterical. Although I have been around horses most of my life and when one is down outside I have to stare at them a bit to make sure they are, indeed, breathing. :D

Sigh. We pulled into the barn this past saturday to see an old lesson horse named Dolly laying in her pasture, flat out on her side. This is unusual for Dolly and her posture was rather awkward. So as soon as we saw her we parked and went out to her pasture to check on her, and she wasn't breathing. It seems old age finally got the best of sweet ol' Dolly. The day before she was happily trotting around the arena with a little girl on her back... She will be missed by many of the people at our barn; anyone who rode her or even brought her in from the pasture. She was a darling old mare who could make a rough day better. I miss her, but we all know she had a nice full long life and she didn't suffer any. :sadsmile:

[Sabovee]

My mom is very unhorsie. She's terrified of them.

I asked her to hold my horse at a show one time while I used the porta-john, figured she'd be okay for half a minute. I came back with her terrified holding the horse at the end of the reins. Horse was looking at her rather apathetically. So I say...
"Mom! What's wrong? Did something happen??"
She replies..
"It growled at me!"

Which we later concluded meant the horse had made a horse "buzz" (not sure if that's what everyone calls it - when they blow out their nostrils).

Apparently that to my mom meant the horse was pi$$ed. :)

[IrishDeclan]

My dad is also a bit clueless when it comes to the horses. Several years ago, my Mom had just gotten a new horse. We drug my Dad out to the barn to meet the new addition. Digger was standing in a paddock, and my Dad went over and looked at him for a minute. Then he turned to us and informed us that he was really pretty and that he looked alot like Teddy (my horse). Unfortunately Digger was a slabsided 16.0 hand New Zealand TB, chestnut, blaze, 3 high white stockings.... and Teddy was a 16.2 hand chunky monkey Irish Sport Horse, blood bay, not a stitch of white on him. :lol: We politely agreed with him and never insisted that he come out to the barn ever again. :winkgrin:

[nightsong]

Yes, newspapers are OFTEN clueless. I saw an article on the little donkeys that populate tje Grand Canyon (apparently left over from prospectors' pack animals and their descendants) that called the animals "burrows." I sent them a letter to the editor that said that a burro is an ass, a burrow is a hole in the ground, and ANY journalist should know the difference.

[FLeckenAwesome]

SimplyRed, I'm sorry... That's sad. But it sounds like she went peacefully and had a great day the day before. Hugs!


My family is non-horsey and non-animal too! But they did try. My dad came to my first horse show with my new horse.... a dressage show... I was in the middle of my test when they showed up... Yelling and waving "Hi, Hi,....we're here..HOLLY, we're HERE"! til someone finally told them they weren't supposed to do that ;) It was fine though... my horse was a big nervous knot as was I and that helped cause I was just laughing inside... debating whether just to give them a big wave to get them to shut up so I could continue or continue to ignore them.

My husband though... bless his heart! He does try! I showed him two pics one day asking which one he liked better... and his reply "I like this one better... Fleck's more round and on the bit"! :eek::eek: Huh?!?! WHERE did that come from?!?! So I asked him how he knew about that... and he sheephishly replied that he was using the bathroom and was bored and read my Dressage Today ;) Hee hee.... It was awesome!

[willowoodstables]

my dad calls tack trunks chests, so when he was ordering our covers everyone fell over laughing when he asked my trainer if she wanted him to measure her chest :lol:

My hubby calls mine the "tackle box". Of course he probably isnt far off if you think all the hidden gobblygook in it LOL. I picture myself dragging this mother down the dock to the boat to go fishing LOLOL

[CLB15]

My parents basically understand the horse thing. My mother took up riding a few years ago after spending so much time at the barn with me, and my father's mom rode for years and loved hearing my stories about horses (so he had no choice but to learn to appreciate the details). Others though... not so much.
After 14+ years I still get the "oh, so you're still into horses?" from the family.
The "how was your race?" questions are too cute- at least they understand that it was some sort of competition. I've always just replied that they went well or poorly (if I tried to explain how I had 2 refusals (what does that mean?), or *gasp* only got a 50% and was hoping to get 60% (you think a D- is a good thing?) they'd look at me like I was nuts anyway).
For the "why are you still taking lessons, don't you know enough already?" I usually counter with why does a football or hockey team need coaching, don't they already know how to play the game? Or, an iceskater has learned all the patterns and leaps so why does she still need instruction?
My horse, with a girly name, girly eyes, and girly tack was still called a "good boy" (repeatedly!) by the photographer who took my highschool Sr. pictures, even though my friends and I kept referring to her as a girl.

[jengersnap]

I sent them a letter to the editor that said that a burro is an ass, a burrow is a hole in the ground, and ANY journalist should know the difference.


Ahh, but so many journalists do not know their ass from a hole in the ground :lol:

[BlueEyedSorrel]

My birthday was yesterday. One of my aunts called to wish me a happy bday and asked what "exciting plans" I had made for the day. My plans included a half day in the lab, lunch with some labmates, a trip to the tack store to self gift and an evening with my horse. My aunt made a huge deal asking why I wasn't going to go out celebrating with friends. Well, because I did the group celebration before the holidays since scheduling anything between xmas and new years is impossible and more importantly, because to me an evening at the barn is the most perfect way to spend my birthday. My aunt thinks that because I am not constantly surrounded by a posse, I must be in danger of having no friends:rolleyes:

BES

[tm]

Oh, and of course from my dad, Why do you still take lessons? Haven't you learned everything yet,

Stop calling them lessons! Call then "training sessions." Everyone who plays a sport works with a trainer, and they get that it's an ongoing thing that way. :)

[Rienzi]

jengersnap, TOO funny!!

[Rhond7]

First, SimplyRed - I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. And at the holidays, too. I'm so sorry.

Second, about journalists - I've worked in both TV and print news and know that most journalists know nothing about horses, even when they cover regions where horses are important. And the reporters aren't given time to learn much, either. News staffs are stretched to the max anyway. Granted, that's no excuse, but we all know that the news is the first draft to history. Once a news story is in print, it goes into the files or database for future reference. That's assuming that the reporter has time to do any "homework" before going out on assignment. Still, that old article is the reference for the latest story.

Third, on to the fun stuff -- back in the late 1960s, my mother and grandmother had Had It with my love of horses. My grandmother had said, "We're going to get you out of those barns with all those men and make a lady out of you." So, the one time I had the nerve to sass her, I said, "Didn't hurt Jackie Kennedy much." I thought Grandma was going to turn purple at that one.

Rhonda

[Pretttywaste]

I will never forget my non horsey Dad's response to my excited birth announcement following the birth of my first foal, a purebred Trakehner. "So, do you think he'll ever be good enough to run in the Kentucky Derby?"

:lol::D:lol:


LOL I *love* when people ask (and they ALWAYS do) if I race my horses.

The BF and I have this huge ongoing inside joke about my Haflinger running in the breeders cup lol.

[Pretttywaste]

That is hysterical. Although I have been around horses most of my life and when one is down outside I have to stare at them a bit to make sure they are, indeed, breathing. :D

Haha me too.


And then my next urge is to sit on them. DO NOT ask me why, I have no idea.
I usually don't actually do it I promise lol.

[Pretttywaste]

This isn't a "said" but a "did"...
My uncle was left to do chores at our house. He grew up around horses, on a dairy farm, but is still non-horsey and gets very nervous around horses. I came home to find he had turned my old Arab pony out in the pasture with his halter on upside down and backwards...throat latch where a browband should be, the connector between the throatlatch and the bottom of the noseband running up his face, throatlatch where the noseband should be. Now, this guy can put a halter on a cow, how come he can't figure out how to put one on a horse that is so old and patient he could probably do it himself?

Ha this reminded me of another story.

When I was little I rode at big very nice lesson barn. For some reason (and for the life of me I cannot remember why) the BO's not very husband decided he would help me tack up for my lesson. I got the saddle on and it was taking him FOREVER to get the bridle on. That's when I realized...

he was putting it on BACKWARDS.

[Pony Person]

Third, on to the fun stuff -- back in the late 1960s, my mother and grandmother had Had It with my love of horses. My grandmother had said, "We're going to get you out of those barns with all those men and make a lady out of you." So, the one time I had the nerve to sass her, I said, "Didn't hurt Jackie Kennedy much." I thought Grandma was going to turn purple at that one.

Rhonda
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: :lol::lol:

[Pretttywaste]

My dad is also a bit clueless when it comes to the horses. Several years ago, my Mom had just gotten a new horse. We drug my Dad out to the barn to meet the new addition. Digger was standing in a paddock, and my Dad went over and looked at him for a minute. Then he turned to us and informed us that he was really pretty and that he looked alot like Teddy (my horse). Unfortunately Digger was a slabsided 16.0 hand New Zealand TB, chestnut, blaze, 3 high white stockings.... and Teddy was a 16.2 hand chunky monkey Irish Sport Horse, blood bay, not a stitch of white on him. :lol: We politely agreed with him and never insisted that he come out to the barn ever again. :winkgrin:

I boarded at a barn not too long ago that was full of non horsey people.. yeah, I don't get it either but whatever.

When I unloaded Luna off the trailer for the first time after picking her up they all OOOed and AHHed about how she looked JUST like Gunny, who was the gelding I recently had to euth. Luna is a 14.1 dark chestnut tovero saddlebred/arab cross... Gunny was a 15.2 very light colored red dun tobiano stocky APHA gelding. They looked NOTHING alike, other than they were both pintos. They then all agreed how she also looked a lot like the BO's pony. A 12ish hand black and white pinto pony, built like a fell haha.

[CDE Driver]

We used to go to a combined driving event in the lovely little town of Hayfork, CA. Competitors almost outnumbered townsfolk during the event. Everywhere we would go in town people would ask us if we were there for the "buggy races". All we could do is smile and nod! They were so nice and so sincere and turned out to volunteer at the event.

[coloredhorse]

In the summer, my dear, non-horsey gramma always asks if I put the horses' "bug jackets" and "bug bonnets" on. :D Yes, I used the correct terms -- fly sheets and fly masks -- when I explained to her what those particular items of equine clothing were for. In her mind, they are bug jackets and bug bonnets, which I find adorable.

As far as the "don't you know how to ride yet" comments, I've learned that I can avoid that comment by referring to my lessons as "sessions with my coach" to non-horsey people. Most people get that concept.

[chai]

My father, who really never got the horse thing, still says to me, "Why don't you just get rid of those horses?" My response is, 'I will when you get rid of your golf clubs."

[DressageGeek "Ribbon Ho"]

The first time my mother ever saw my horse, I was hand grazing him, she gasped in horror, pointed, and said, "WHAT IS THAT HORRIBLE LUMP ON HIS SHOULDERS??" I freaked, my mind immediately slamming over to sudden onset highly metastatic carcinoma or something equally horrifying, and then I looked, and said, "Oh. Mom. That's his WITHERS."

[Old Equine Lady]

When I tell my non-horsey friends that I have three horses and a pony, they usually ask me "how long till the pony grows up and becomes a horse?"