Strangest thing said to you while out riding?

Batgirl

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Having my beautiful Clydesdale I get a lot of comments (usually on his size, and feathers etc), the other day was having a nice bimble with a friend, a car overtakes, stops jsut down teh road and down comes the window, what happened next is an absolute first. Cue woman telling me "your horse is so beautiful, it's making me cry" and she burst into full on tears, sobbing.
 

Snowfilly

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I used to ride around a village where the houses were significantly lower than street level, so you could always get a good look into peoples houses if you so chose to.

One Sunday morning, I was riding through the village and noticed some movement in a window to the left of me. It was a chap having a good old sing and dance to himself while doing his ironing, completely starkers. We had a very cringey moment of catching each others eyes - I trotted off quick sharp. Made sure to NEVER look up at the particular window again while hacking!

I was exploring a new bridlepath one day, which was obviously not used very much. Went along a stretch which was raised up, with a house and garden maybe 15 foot below, with a nice stone wall alongside us.

Some poor bloke was sunbathing completely nude on a lounger in the garden and obviously hadn’t heard us walking along the very sandy path.

He yelled ‘sorry!’ As we went by, but it wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong.
 

mini_b

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These have me actually laughing out loud - so funny.
Nowt as queer as folk.

not funny at all but everyone always feels the need to say “he’s big”

oh my god is he?! I didn’t know, he must have shot up on our way out.

I did not notice the size of my horse, which I am also sat on.
 

[139672]

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Used to have a livery owner, mid twenties, stunning, big rack ? she used to go hacking in jodhpurs and the tiniest bikini top. How she didn’t cause a crash I’ll never know.
Out hacking, comment From passing driver ‘cor what a lucky saddle’
Another time, was on my black fell pony out with a friend out hacking. Young bloke said ‘wouldn’t mind a ride on the black one’
4 young lads in an ancient mini, passenger says ‘big smile on your face, you look like you’re enjoying that ride’. My response ‘Well it’s a lot more fun than if I was riding you’. No reply. He couldn’t wind the window up quick enough as his mates laughed at him.
Riding on the beach, in my early twenties. 2 boys of about 12 shouting ‘Show us your knickers’ families sitting nearby. I rode over and told them off for being so rude & near families with young children. They said sorry and one of them said ‘From over there you looked much younger’. Tried hard not to laugh.
Another one, when actually out cycling in short shorts, a builder drove past and said ‘Last time I saw legs like that was on a racecourse’, I nearly cried laughing ?
out on the roads with loads of hi vis stuff on me and my horse. A little girl said ‘Look mummy, there’s a police horse’
 

Cloball

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"Is it a unicorn ?"... As I rode a rotund grey Highland pony past a school. You'd think the Scots would recognise both their native ponies and their national animal.

Most entertaining questions definitely came from children new to riding.... Which ones have laid eggs, have been into space, why don't hey have scales, where did it's w*lly go, why doesn't mine do that, what's a gelding and why ....??
 

Sleipnir

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My big geldings' name is Snickers. The times we've met someone along our hacks and they've innocently asked for his name, just to start giggling like fools that "ooooh, is he made from chocolate? Can I eat him? Imma gobble him up!" have been so numerous, that I've just been answering with completely random horse names, just to avoid this shining example of original comedy...
 

Cloball

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Tootling out on my late mare, passing a mother and small boy.
Boy: Mummy, where's that horses willy?!
Mum: He's been neutered, so they took it away.

Poor lad looked absolutely terrified at the idea!
I've never known what to say to children about horses willies particularly when they are slapping their bellies with it....the pony not the child.
 

Orangehorse

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Hacking down a busy road, car overtakes dangerously close and fast and pulls in and screeches to a halt just in front of us. I’m mentally winding myself up for a fight with the driver. Old bloke gets out.

Old bloke: you know horses need to be on the other side of the road
Me: <genuinely puzzled> what?
Him: they need to see what’s coming, you should ride into the traffic not with the traffic
Me: <blink blink.gif> errr, no
Him: they do, the Highway Code says so
Me: Nope, you’re thinking of pedestrians
Him: well as a horse rider you are a pedestrian
Me: <brain gives up at being bombarded with this dumbassery> ok sure, I’ll just ring the police and check later then?
Him: good, make sure you do

He then gets back in the car quite happily and drives off. I still can’t understand what he was thinking.

That is from a LONG way back.
 

thefarsideofthefield

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I was leading my grand daughter out on our ancient and supremely bad tempered Shetland ( the most unsuitable child's pony that ever existed ) . Ambling along a path we encountered a random lady out walking her dogs who was totally enchanted at the sight of a tiny angelic looking child perched atop a near spherical ball of hair .
" Oh look at you both ! " She cried " You are both so totally adorable . How old are you , young lady ? "
" Three " said my grand daughter
" And how old is your pony ? "
" Twenty two ."
" Oh , but he's so tiny . What is he ? "
" A b*gger ."
 

EngageDressage

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Riding back from a 90 minute hack, down quite a steep hill on the 5 year old very overgrown jet black Welsh D I owned at the time. He was pulling like a train, high stepping, snorting and generally being an idiot - my arms were turning into elastic bands and I was a nasty shade of puce. At 16hh (very overgrown Welsh D) he looked huge. A couple stopped alongside me in their car and wound their window down: “Isn’t he magnificent!”
Me: “You bloody ride it then!”
 

Libbygrey

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I have a blanket spot appaloosa x. I had a boy ask me if his blanket was a birthmark.
A man asked if he and his daughter could touch/pat my horse on a hot day when I was riding and then said "ew he's sweaty"
Another one Not horsey but I thought was funny. I was walking a Basset hound and a pug x jack Russell and was asked if the pug x was the Basset hound's puppy. Both are male and look nothing like each other.
 

ILuvCowparsely

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I'll start with a conversation had on today's hack out round the local country park

Me - good morning

Man sat on bench - good morning, I could see you in the distance but thought you were a pantomime horse

????
We frequently get comments from kids * look at the baby horse * referring to the welsh A and welsh B
*look at the the horses pink legs* (hi viz boots)
*Oh look gypsies* ( out driving my welsh A in her Bennington cart covered in hi viz as we were)



I will add to as |I remember others
 

Fransurrey

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At a fun ride last weekend, I was actually asked, 'Is that an Irish Draft by any chance?' by another rider. She was referring to a friend's ex racehorse that we were loading. I actually looked at her thinking she was joking. He's as TB looking as they come, right down to the spindly legs!
 

Kat

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"Mum, mum, look it's Sitron from frozen!!!!!" - variations on this were pretty common when I was riding my friend's Fjord Horse.

"Look that horse is wearing trainers" - my horse in her Cavallo simple boots with the Velcro straps, or when I was riding my friend's Fjord who wore bright coloured renegades "Crocs"!

"Why is your horse wearing a gimp mask?" It isn't, it is a fly mask.
 

GreyMane

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A bit off topic but
"When can we gallop?"

I'm not proud of this.
I was unpaid escort to a big group of fit, sporty people but non riders, in their twenties, on a whole day pub pony trek in Wales. One particular woman was a gigantic pain; took ages to get on, insisted on bringing a huge camera strapped to her waist despite being told she wasn't allowed to. She slumped back immediately into the worst chair seat I've ever seen. She spent her time yelling "When can we gallop?? I want to gallop" every 5 minutes. There was really only one place the ponies could (or would!) gallop and that was over a common on the way home. I was on a really nice pony which reminded me of my favourite one back home, so was really looking forward to that as my reward for looking after everybody for the rest of the day. I had no car then and rarely got to ride, especially for a full day.
God, what a day. It was not long before someone's horse got itchy and lay down for a roll; I dashed up, jumped off my pony and shouted at the roller to get up! before it rolled on its saddle; very surprised rider wondering what all the yelling was about and why both their feet were suddenly on the ground!
Someone else got stressed by their horse having an opinion, we had to get him to swap horses. I think he thought it would be like driving a car.
Later on, glanced round to see a petite woman - who was also novice but sat in a perfect position, unlike "When can we gallop" - at literally 90 degrees to the vertical as her saddle had slipped. Jumped off again and got her back to vertical!
Relieved to get to pub! Checked all the ponies while the others went in. Drank squash while they ordered beers. Went out early to check ponies and put bridles back on before they all mounted up again.
Eventually got to gallop place: those who wanted a yee-ha waited while I led the non gallopers across the wide common to the meeting point. I was to then double back and join the yee-ha group once I'd got the walking group into place. "When can we gallop" lady went into the non-gallop group - but then when we eventually got to the other side changed her mind again! I said "Are you sure? Gallop is what racehorses do". I knew full well she had no idea what gallop was but she would not be dissuaded. Yes she was sure. She spent *ages* unstrapping the large camera again and giving it to someone else to hold while I seethed inwardly. I then had to literally drag her reluctant pony back (away from home) to rejoin the yee-ha group, who meanwhile had lost patience, had not waited for me and were charging full pelt towards us. I had now lost my only canter or gallop of the whole day on a lovely pony, which I'd been looking forward to so much ever since we'd booked the day. I was beyond furious with "When can we gallop" lady for wasting so much time, and the yee-ha group for not waiting for me. I turned her pony back again and dragged it into what I hoped would be a short canter, of course it would only do a rapid and uncomfortable trot. The moment it went out of walk she started protesting loudly that she DIDN'T now want to gallop after all. I think I said "Tough", at least I certainly thought it, but by then her pony was back within a few yards of the non gallop group, and slowed down to a walk again.
I just saw red. I let go of "When can we gallop" and her pony, and galloped off alone down the next bit of lane - tarmac farm track in middle and wide flat grass verge with tiny flooded runnels across it. Lovely pony galloped beautifully, even jumped the water neatly. I looked back to see EVERYBODY following me at various speeds (oh no). Someone fell on the road and landed on their knees. Oh sheet.
"When can we gallop" was ---- a social worker. Apparently her social skills were so highly developed that she once reduced a woman who'd given her a lift to tears!
 

SussexbytheXmasTree

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Strangest started off with “do you know the time?” Then “look at this” whereby he showed me his willy ?.

Nicest thing was said by a little girl who I stopped to allow her to pet my old boy. She said “he’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen” still makes me go warm and fuzzy inside ?.

Not riding but leading my horse in from the field I was asked if I was going jousting - he was in a fly rug and mask so did look the part ?.
 

AandK

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Riding round the village on my old boy before he was retired, had the "I like his socks" comment a few times about his high viz bands and boots.

The other one that sticks to mind is many years ago with my first horse (on loan, was a 14.2hh very hairy skewbald cob) when I was about 15, riding in the village and an old man walks past and comments "what a lovely young work horse"
 
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