Are horsey women 'tougher' than the average female?

Yes defiantly. People frustrate me with their petty problems, the only concern on my mind is where to keep the hammer for smashing frozen water troughs!

Got my driving test in 3 weeks and instructor was fussing about if I would drive in ice and snow. I looked at her in horror as she suggested not driving, how would I get to the yard?!?!?! Ill just stick my hat on for safety precautions before setting off :D

The wetter the weather the better! I always used to sign up for outdoor tasks while my friends would opt for the indoor option.
I gave the boys a run for their money when building a shelter!
 
Mud, poo, blood and gore have never bothered me, and my Viking blood keeps me overly warm at any normal temperature! but every time I see an earthworm emerge from under a poo I scream inside (only the really big ones these days) I don't think I have a very high pain threshold and I find some horse people a bit ridiculous with injuries (I go to hospital when I need to!) And am a bit of a sensitive soul! I always think its the little things that bother me, I am pretty good in a crisis!
 
Ooh yes. I'm horseless at the mo but I have a 19 month old girl. I am fed up to the hind teeth of people offering me help because I might 'struggle' or that I couldn't possibly do x y z because I'm a woman. And it's my mil saying this crap as well as blokes.

And as for walking the dog!!! Apparently children shouldn't be allowed to see a little bit of mud, or maybe it's me that isn't allowed to see it!! The dog doesn't walk itself and I'd go mad if I didn't get out into the fresh air at least once a day.

Oh and cos I'm a Physio on itu I can deal with all kinds of bodily fluids and injuries without batting an eyelid!!

We just get on with things. 'Normal' women on the other hand are crap I think!! I can't stand people moaning if they break a nail!!! Ridiculous!!
 
Definately. My friend fell off her horse at a clinic the other week. She untacked, put the horse back on the trailer, drove for an hour to get back to the yard. Put horse to bed, and unhitched the trailer, drove home. Cooked and ate dinner and only then when she looked and realised she had a hock instead of a knee :eek:, did she go to hospital. 5 day stay in hospital and an op pinning and plating the knee, 6 weeks non weightbearing etc.

I also walked around (and rode) with a broken back for 4 years, before I went to the physio, who promptly sent me straight off to A&E :rolleyes:.
 
This cropped up today at the gym. I'm hugely unfit, so having regular personal trainer sessions to get fitter. So today the PT started me on some arm and shoulder weight exercises. He started me on a low weight, which he considered "right" for someone my size and unfitness. He had to up it 4 times until I started to struggle! I did tell him it was nothing compared to horse feed and hay bales!

Last year my housemate fell over when drunk, came home sobbing and woke us all up because her leg hurt and was bleeding. My other housemate fainted at the sight of the blood, whilst the other one ran out of the room to throw up. The drunk friend then passed out when she saw the blood and the mess of her leg.
Me? I popped my friend (dressed) in the bath, removed her ripped trousers, cleaned it up, put a gauze on it and then wrapped it in vet wrap :p

My Doctor has a theory that horse riders can cope with 50% more pain than non horse riders. If a horse rider comes in with a "sprain" he sends them straight to hospital with a break :p
 
Hippona said:
I found a mummified toad in a big bale last week....and immediatley put it in my pocket to show the kids.:D
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I would have done...!!

I have skin on my hands as tough as leather and all my nails are oddly shaped.
I have a black thumb nail from a hammer hit when replacing fencing.
I still do what needs to be done whatever the weather....

So yes, females are tougher BUT horsey females are the elite force !
:)
 
Unfortunately I have today been to work, including a board meeting (that involves local council) with half a front tooth! As cant get a dentist appt till tomorrow after breaking it on Sunday - everyone has been awfully polite asking if I'm ok but not mentioning my more than usual distorted features. where I have a bit of a headache from the collision with a horses head, but otherwise nothing unusual and not worth discussing with them so they can tell you how dangerous horses are.
Then one of my tenants had a tree rat in their loft space, he's quite a macho 6'3 bloke, and begged me to look as the spider blocking the loft hatch was scary, let alone the scary alien scrabbling noise (aka squirrel storing nuts!) and he almost cried when I handed the spider to my administrator!
Tougher, no probably less sensitive!
 
Whacked hand on table last year, finger got stuck. Promptly popped it back in. Horrified when work said go to A+E for X-ray. Honestly what were they going to do? Strap it to another finger with tape. People also go to hospital for stupid things. Only been to A+E three times in 30 years


Aged 5 , concussion, badly cut finger for stitches and a bad cause of African vomiting bug but had v+ d for 3 weeks and only cause GP was at loss!
 
Playing silly beggars wrestling with my OH last winter and my finger got caught in his clothes and bent back at the top knuckle.
Looked broke, went purple, swelled up so I taped it up with masking tape next day at work (had nothing better to hand) went to yard next day and got on with all horsey chores as per normal

Healed but has a distinct kink to it, so I guess it was broke!
 
Ibblebibble said:
most horsey women are outdoor types who with or without horses are not afraid of hard work and dirt. i don't think having horses makes us special,a little speshull perhaps for wanting to do some of the things we do!!:) most of us are quite practical and have probably learnt from experience that having a meltdown at every injury is pointless.
What is the 'average' female anyway:confused:
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

I think that most people can deal with things if they have to. You are just more likely to have to deal with injuries if you have horses than if don't.
 
Definitely. My non horsey friends are such princesses about certain things, spending hours getting ready when I can be washed, preened, made up and ready to go in a fraction of the time. Speaking as someone who works in the city, mucks out at 6am so I can play Londoner for the day I also think it makes us more attractive to the opposite sex (not the goal but hey never a bad thing). Guys are always impressed that they dont have to wait 3 hours for me to get ready and dont mind carrying bags, being in the rain etc.

Im a wimp when people talk to me about stuff, like if someone said "my horses bone was poking out" my stomach would turn but if it were to happen I cope fine. Vet ruptured a horses nasal artery the other day whilst tubing it and owner looked like she was going to faint so I stepped in. Full feed bucket of blood down me but didnt care.

That said no matter whether I am in horsey gear or civilian clothes if I see a spider I run a mile.
 
Most definitely! We're the ones walking round with injuries that city women (;)) would be laid up for weeks with (once took 5 days to go to A&E after taking a chip out of my collarbone), carry heavy weights, work harder and longer (I've yet to find anything harder than a 16 hour day in a comp yard!) and can deal with blood, gore, pee, poo and pus!

We rock! LOL :D
 
I dunno, not sure all horsey women are that tough. I was holding a horse for someone at a show a few weeks back and was having a chat with a horsey organiser. Horse struck out with front leg catching me on my lower leg and standing on my foot. I laugh and shove it back. Horsey person asks several times if I'm alright and am I sure it didn't hurt as it looked like it would have and she'd have "been on the floor, screaming" :confused:

But then, the number of squishing / crushing / kicking injuries I've had, it's no wonder I have no pain sensation left :p Discovered a massive bruise and cut on my thigh the other day and eventually worked out it came from a pitchforking - muck heap incident / spacial awareness fail. This is one of my more unusual "injuries" :p

I also think nothing of wandering about it the dark on my own, lugging heavy items about and freezing to death in the wet / sticking my hand into freezing water etc, when "normal" people are whining or refusing to do so. I don't think this makes me tougher, though. I think they've got the right idea and I'm just trying to kill myself slowly :D
 
I would say horse ownership makes you tougher physically and mentally. My husband looked after my horse for the first time whilst I was away on a course - for four days putting in at night with hay and out in day with a quick muck out. No leading in and out or haynets to fill - just chuck hay on the floor and close the door up etc.

He was knackered after the first day and told me on the phone he had no idea how I did that every day day in day out. He really struggled with the responsibility and physically doing the work twice a day. I take the looking out bit for granted and get on with it, it is my life and a twice a day commitment that I look forward to.
 
i think it comes out in your kids too. My kids are the only ones who can shut the school minibus door! They are so used to awkward gates! If friends come round they often get a bit stuck because mine just climb over fences and they are so not used to doing things like that!:D
 
My SIL decided to 'help' me poopick last summer.....the barrow was only half full of dried out 'summer' poo and she couldn't lift or push it:confused:

God knows what she would have done with a full barrow of wet poo uphill through the mud...

After meetings at work,we all muck in and stack the chairs away....carrying one is a waste of time, I stack 3 or 4 together and carry them all at once to save time....see, I don't think thats heavy, I could probably carry more if they weren't an awkward size/shape but you start to feel like a freak when you turn around and theres a room full of people staring at you and struggling to drag one chair accross to the pile....

Weaklings:p
 
Hippona said:
After meetings at work,we all muck in and stack the chairs away....carrying one is a waste of time, I stack 3 or 4 together and carry them all at once to save time....see, I don't think thats heavy, I could probably carry more if they weren't an awkward size/shape but you start to feel like a freak when you turn around and theres a room full of people staring at you and struggling to drag one chair accross to the pile....

Weaklings:p
Click to expand...
On that note I remember getting a rollocking from my boss a few months back - I was being helpful so threw 2 x 18 gallon barrels of bitter on the stills in the celler (each weighing just shy of 70kg!)!
 
Last edited:
Yep... I've worked full shift a couple of hours after being dumped on the road and skinning myself. Bandaged myself up and off I went... to a few funny looks off colleagues. Damaged ligaments in my knee and I didn't miss a day, despite being in a job where I was on my feet all day. I think with horses, you adjust to the fact you don't get days off. Even if you feel like death, you're still dragging yourself to the yard multiple times a day!
 
I'm sure my colleagues think they will dissolve if they spend time in the rain. They are always incredulous when I say I'm off to feed Pie after work when it's pitch black and pouring rain.
I think horsy women in general just get in with it because our horses rely on us.
 
Definately!!!

We go out in the pitch dark to bring in a rearing horse, we lift heavy haynets and push wheelbarrows full of poo through deep mud.

When I fell off my horse on a hack and broke my hip, I actually tried to re-mount my horse before giving up and trying to walk home afterwards thinking "goodness that's a bit sore, it'll be a whopper of a bruise in the morning"!!

When I fell off whilst jumping and broke my jaw, I did get back on and continued to jump whilst spitting out bits of teeth!!

Also the number of times my toes have been crushed by half a ton of horse stomping on them are countless.
 
Definitely agree that my horsey friends 'just deal with it' (with only one or two exceptions that squeal and kick up a fuss). Non-horsey friends are much more likely to look for the nearest man muscles.

Wonder whether its a sort of self selection - only hardier types of women stick with it, softer ones give up. Or perhaps because we are hardier we are more attracted to equine activities....interesting question though....
 
Oh goodness, yes, yes, yes!!!!! On a cold windy, wet winters night when saying goodbye to my staff at work, they are all planning to go home and cook hubby and the kids tea, sit down and watch the telly and chill. I walk out door saying goodbye, knowing I have to go and muck out and ride in a freezing cold outdoor arena, with the wind howling down the yard and rain dripping down my neck.

Also, hearing how they got up, had their breakfast and then went out into the cold in the mornings. Me and Mini TX would have already been up since horse oclock, mucked out, chucked out and showered and dressed by the time most people get up.

I have to say the only things I get a bit precious about are my nails - I have very long extensions and if they break ..............................
 
I also have found that I seem to be immune to all the coughs, colds,and various bugs going round. There are such things as being too clean you know ! Eating sarnies without washing my hands after doing the horses has never resulted in e coli, or anything similar.
Blast, Ive just put the mockers on myself now havent I ?
 
alma - that made me laugh. My friends come round and are horrified that I haven't washed my hands before making a cuppa. They have touched the dog for a millisecond and are scrubbing themselves like they've got the plague. I think they'd die if they ever saw me eat a bacon sarnie after mucking out without washing my hands :)
 
I wouldn't say horsey in particular maybe country/farm types.

I know plenty of horsey princesses and plenty of girls who have no issues with blood, guts and cold weather although they do tend to be sporty and/or pragmatic and practical people.

Maybe it's a chicken and egg scenario do 'tough' women generally get attracted to riding as they are well suited to it or does the being around horses make one 'tough' ??:rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top