Didn't realise I stank that much!

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Epona97

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Hi everyone,

Haven't posted in a while as I've been so busy. Anyway, I guess I'm a bit irritated today after getting kicked out of a cafe because apparently I stank. I had just come back from working at the yard after a very early start, having not had anything to eat that day. I decided to go and have some lunch, and pretty much as I was about to leave I was told by a member of staff that there had been complaints of a horse smell. At first, I didn't even know what they were on about. (You lose the ability to smell it after a while!) Then I just apologised, got my stuff, and left. I have to say though, they were very nice about it.

The reason for me being just a bit annoyed is the fact that I work hard, get paid very little, and this sort of reaction comes on top of dirty looks on the bus and at the bus stop (I don't drive and can't afford to so I have to take the bus) from people who clearly don't have to up at the crack of dawn six days a week and do a manual job.

Anyway, I can appreciate maybe people don't like the smell (even though I miss it), but I'd like to hear from anyone who's had experiences before of getting asked to leave places, getting odd looks, or people making comments with little consideration as to why you smell the way you do.

Thanks guys, and have a lovely bank holiday
Epona 97
 
Sorry, but horsey work does make you stink, especially straw bedding. I always wear overalls that I use only for horse work, and always shower and wash hair straight afterwards.

I'm afraid that I would not be pleased if I was in a cafe and someone nearby was stinking. Puts you right off your food and just generally unpleasant.

I'm saying this as a yard owner who mucks out livery horses before having to work in a professional, customer-facing job.
 
OP, I change at the yard if am going on somewhere apart from home.
I will pop in to grab a take out sandwich on rare occasions when still in yard gear, if going food shopping on the way home I will change boots & jacket.

Sorry, but equine smells (especially after mucking out etc) linger. Why not take a bag with spare jeans, top etc with you to the yard to change into? :)
 
Change of clothes in a bag, change at the yard. That's what I do. Takes about 5 minutes of your time.
 
There was someone posted here recently about being asked to get off her bus home so yes OP it happens!
I hate going anywhere in horsey clothes! People I work with will pop down to the Dr surgery or for dental apts in their yard clothes- I'd never dream of it!
 
It is probably your boots and jods rather than you. Are you mucking out straw? That does make your clothes honk. I often go into a garden centre for lunch and there is a big yard next door. The grooms come in for lunch and their boots stink place out I don't mind but have to say it is pretty strong - they can't smell a thing though!
 
I'll admit to going in shops if I have to on the way home, also imagine if we could tell the suited guy he has B.O. and to get out - when that happens too then I think it's equal.
 
It'll be your boots I expect. I have a pair that are kept in the boot of the car for mucking out, and also wear gloves. I'm really careful not to get anything on my suit trousers or skirt when I let the horse out in the morning and skip out, and I pop a jacket or sweatshirt over my top to keep the sleeves clean. No-one has complained at work and seemed surprised when I mentioned the horse the other day - no comments of 'oh that's why you stink'
 
Read opening to post to long suffering OH and he was very sympathetic to cafe staff as he said he has to put up with the stench every morning when I come in for coffee (horses live at home).
 
To those who asked if there is any straw involved - no there isn't. Yeah, I agree I think it is the boots, because I wore my yard coat to school and out and about all through the winter and nobody said anything. Well, I keep everything in my room with the radiator on so I guess I'm pretty well used to it. As for a change of clothes - we don't really have the facilities for that at the yard. Anyway, I won't be stopping off anywhere from now on, I'm going straight home! (I think the cafe staff and customers will be thankful!)
 
OP, I feel for you, you sound like you work very hard and are doing your best. That must have been mortifying, and I know what you mean about not being aware of the smell! I admit I generally mucked out before work in the mornings, I work in an office and whilst I can get away with a lot I don't want to push it, so I usually wear gloves, sometimes a hat to protect my hair and a complete change of clothes and then when I get to work, I have a good old wash and spritz of my hair/clothes but occasionally I can still get a hint of eau d'equine, it's hard.
 
I wonder if it had been someone who stank of BO (unless you did), would they have been asked to leave?

When I used to get the bus there were some really foul smelling people on there. They didn't just smell of BO, but that genuinely dirty 'I haven't washed my clothes or house in months' smell. They were never asked to get off, despite the fact that I would sometimes physically gag!

Saying that, I also used to get the bus on the way back from the yard sometimes. Sometimes it had been raining, my boots were covered in muck and mud (although I would try my best to wipe it off), and I would be carrying all my tack. I was never asked to leave and have never been told to get out of a shop when in riding stuff. I think it just depends on where you are and what you're doing. If you're just nipping into the corner shop for a drink, that's fair enough, but I don't ever sit down for a meal if I know I'm dirty because I know I usually smell.
 
^^ this

you get some really foul smelling people, who stick of BO, or don't do baths, or other people that smell of the tools of their trade - paint, chemicals etc.

If they get asked to leave, then its fair enough for a horsey person, but I've never known it..
 
We regularly go for breakfast/lunch at the local cafe after doing our horses in the morning. It's a nice 'yard-bonding' routine and beats sitting in the freezing tack room with pot noodles etc! The cafe staff are always welcoming but we do live in a very rural/farming village so most of the people in there are involved in animals in some way! I'd be pretty shocked if someone asked me to leave. Would they do that to someone with BO?

However, we do make sure we rinse our boots off first if they are dirty and I'd probably change my coat or jumper if I had been doing anything particularly smelly!

Depends where you live and what the cafe is like. I wouldn't go into a more upmarket cafe in my yard clothes!
 
Oh dear prehaps a change of clothes would help.

I change my shoes at the yard and leave yard ones there, I also leave my yard coat and chaps there.
 
I definitely think a change of boots/ coat could make a difference, and make sure you've washed your hands. You'll probably still smell a bit, but that ought to get rid of the worst of it! I can understand them asking you to leave tbh, especially as it's a cafe so people were eating and the smell of horse can be horribly overpowering. However, I also sympathize that it must have been mortifying for you OP! I'm a full time groom too but I live in so don't have to worry about where to get changed etc, although I do go to the supermarket in my yard clothes. However, I usually take off my yard coat and wear different shoes, and I've never had any complaints yet.
 
I used to work with a girl in my office who mucked her yard out and came into the office reaking of horse urine, no one ever said anything but you know the smell LOL
 
Apache Warlord said:
^^ this

you get some really foul smelling people, who stick of BO, or don't do baths, or other people that smell of the tools of their trade - paint, chemicals etc.

If they get asked to leave, then its fair enough for a horsey person, but I've never known it..
Click to expand...

I used to work in a village shop and my boss wasn't beyond telling customers who regularly came in smelling badly that he'd have to stop them coming in if they didn't improve their hygiene!!
 
There's a girl that comes into the pub where I work that comes straight from the yard - she absolutely stinks! I find it quite vom-inducing and I have a horse so god knows what the other customers must think!
 
As a horsey person even I find the smell can be quite overpowering. I enjoy tack sales (for the social side as much as anything!) and you can really notice the smell on some people. Like the others say, change of clothes and boots.
 
I find the smell (any smell not just horse) gets in my hair so I've never been able to do the horses on the way to work or before I go out.

My husband broke his leg a couple of years ago. He did it in the cattle shed. I was with him and knelt down next to him in the cow poo before I managed to get him up and in the car to a&e. We both really stank! The receptionist at a&e didn't make us wait just sent us straight in jumping a massive queue and leaving a trail of mud behind us. I did feel bad about the mess but I had no other option at the time, they were very good about it when I apologised and said not to worry. I did take all his dirty clothes home with me so we didn't leave the smell in the hospital.
 
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