What the most common misconception about horse ownership (from non-horsey people?)

DabDab

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"Horses are really expensive aren't they" well yes they are, but no more so than kids and foreign holidays or the amount you spend on golf clubs or fishing gear/tournaments

And people often mention horse shoes as the reason for horses being expensive, and then when I say mine don't have shoes say something along the lines of "oh right, so you don't ride on the roads then"

On the subject of shoes, an older gentleman once rushed over to me nervously when I passed him out hacking to tell me in a hushed voice that all my horse's shoes had fallen off.

And then my personal favourite was "so I guess you have a massive clit then." Apparently it is an absolute fact that women who ride develop an enlarged clit from rubbing it on the saddle.
 

Meredith

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I had a lesson the other weekend when it was cold and rainy my OH parents looked very surprises when they saw me dresses ready to go "Ohh they haven't cancelled your lesson? you're still going to ride in this weather?"

You have reminded me of this.
Elderly Aunt came to stay. The weather was similar to today’s and as I donned all the necessary waterproofs she said
“You’re surely not going out in this rain?”
What the horses were expected to do if it rained all day I have no idea. Feed, muck out and turn themselves out, perhaps?
 

Carrottom

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I remember chatting to an oldish guy who told me that it uaed to be the law that horses who worked (in towns) wore shoes.
 

t411y

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I think the ‘what you do them even in the rain / on Christmas / in the dark *horrified face*?!?’ Is the most common comment I get.

My mum is also a goldmine of good ones. She is horrified that my horses have ‘pedicures’ on a regular basis and once worriedly asked me if I enjoyed hitting my horses when I bought a jumping whip while with her.

My best one is when my boyfriend and I were first dating and he leant down to reach the rug strap (I get the training started early on) and he let out a small scream. His face was white when he looked up at me and my stomach sank in that second with my mind racing through all the things it could be.

As I raced round to his side he let out a shaky ‘there’s bone’.

It was her chestnuts.
 

Littlefloof

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Just reminded of the time I went to go and buy a bike helmet and I mentioned to the staff member at Halfords how feeble the bike helmets look compared to my riding hat. The guy serving me said it's because when you ride a bike you are more active than when riding a horse so you need the air vents to keep you cool. I burst out laughing and said "you've never ridden a horse, have you?"... he hadn't.
Did you point out that bikes are less likely to kick you in the head after a fall? :p
 

chaps89

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Many years ago now but still makes me giggle when I think of it.
Non horsey ex-OH was at the yard with me. It was pretty chilly and I washed my horses tail.
Ex asked- in a somewhat horrified tone- wouldn't my horses balls get cold with the wet tail between his legs.
Cue hasty explanation of what a gelding is!
 

SEL

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Ex boyfriend must have based all his horse knowledge on Jilly Cooper. Told his flatmate that I was turning up in riding gear imagining the white jods, black leather boots and probably a whip to finish the outfit off.

Instead mud coloured jods with unknown slime and a "dragged through hedge backwards" look. Likely to have been a smell Chanel wouldn't be selling for Xmas too.

He became an Ex quite quickly.....
 

windand rain

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OH once went to check the horses on his way home from work he is a panic merchant so got a frantic phone call that the connie had broken her leg. So much for my day off I drove over to see her calmly standing on three legs eating her dinner to explain she probably had a small abcess in her foot. Still needed to see to it but the look on his face was a picture. She is a real wimp and diva
 

DreamTime22

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I said to my partner we had to go to the yard a bit earlier than last week as she's in now and I need to muck out. He got cross and said you said you were going to muck out yesterday, I'm not getting up early because you didn't do something you were supposed to do yesterday. :rolleyes: It took a while for him to understand I need to do that every day.
 

Mule

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When I returned to riding at the advanced age of 55 I got a lot of 'but you might fall off' from colleagues, accompanied by worried/horrified/baffled looks. They seemed to think that if you come off you would obviously never want to ride again.
I found the same when I got back in to riding. Non horsey people seem to fear injury more.
 
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