# So, what kind of rider are you?



## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Well, tonight was a barn night, and I dressed like I normally do for the outing. 

My black Tuff Rider Winter Tights, long sleeved shirt, vest, pony tail and my Mountain Horse Rim Frost Winter Boots.

It was very warm out and still light out, so I decided to go out on a hack instead of riding in the stuffy indoor - so that's what my buddy and I did. We hit the trails and had a great time.

Very muddy out, due to the snow melting and it being so warm, so we got it on us, naturally.

Then after the ride, we hauled 4 bales out to the boys paddock so that they would have hay to eat overnight, and of course, we trudged through mud to do so.

So without noticing how filthy, after leaving the barn, I pulled into the gas station to fill up, and as I was doing so - I noticed another Equestrian.

She pulled in by me, and got out of her car and started to walk inside, as she was doing so, she looked at me. I smiled and I didn't get a smile back in return, but instead I got a "look". I noticed her eyes looking me over, so I looked down at myself to see what she was seeing...and ugh.....

My Tuff Riders were covered in hay, my winter boots were brown and covered in mud. My hair was a mess, my spurs weren't even recognizable, and my fingernails were disgusting.

I looked back up at her, and she was spotless. Clean as a whistle. No mud, hair not out of place, everything nicely tucked in and tidy.

I looked back at myself and felt like a Kid, who goes to their 1st day of school, wearing hand me down clothes. I hid back in my car, while the gas was pumping 

So, what kind of a rider are you? Do you care what you look like? Do you care if you get dirty and filthy? Or are you a neat and tidy rider?


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

As a working student that handles all the horses in the barn for at least 5 hours a day, mucks stalls, go gets the horses from the muddiest of pastures, drags arenas, hauls hay, moves jumps AND rides...

I couldn't give a flying rat what I look like. If you don't like it...don't look! I know I'm hot!


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## Tennessee (Dec 7, 2008)

Depends, really. haha. At work I just throw on a hoodie, jeans, and my muck boots. I'll end up muddy and smelling like poo anyways, so no need to get all fancy. 

Anywhere else, I try to look at least semi-decent.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

love this!!!

i am a mess usually. breeches and boots of some sort. if it's really cold i'll even ride in my snowmobile boots bc they are the warmest thing i own. around the barn with 7 horses plus students and rescues, you can pretty much bet im covered in hay, mud, dirt, and anything else i walked by that stuck to me.

at shows however i am a good shopper and have a full array of designer attire from formal to informal. from my equine couture to my tailored grand prix jacket with a matching tie-stylish belt, to my dry fast romfh show shirts, the only thing NOT top style are my breeches in which i wear what is most comfortbale. but even my dressage coat (in navy - hey i'm an eventer and jumper at heart!) is a bordo de-este or something or other imported from italy. the catch? i got it all on sale, or on consignment like new. even my hunter pace horse's 5pt breast collar or match CWD bridle to my several bates saddles and my eventer's HDR show bridle for eventing, flat crosby for dressage, or HRD fancy event breatsplate i got all at a fraction of cost due to great sales. it also helps when you are friends with the owner of horsemensoutlet.biz and she'll set aside stuff for you at 50% off (or more!).

so at home im a mess. trail riding/camping **** you're lucky if i remember to put on a helmet (at least i'll tell you i forgot) and if you catch me in a saddle and bridle hey that's a start! lol. but clinics/shows and it's all business


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## drafteventer (Jul 6, 2009)

If you aren't getting dirty, you aren't working hard enough.
That's what my mom tells me at least. 
But anyway I end up just like you when I ride or am just outside doing stuff in general. But I don't care, I want people to know that I was doing something productive and not just sitting at home watching TV and eating chips. I even go to the grocery store every saturday right after my lesson. Besides it's better than going in your PJs to the grocery store/gas station etc.


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## RedTree (Jan 20, 2010)

When I ride in the arena I honestly don't care what I look like, I try not to see other people though haha cos I usually come back black (the beauty of black sand lol)
My hair usually gets messed up, my joddies have stains on them (well loved I would say)

But if I was to go out to a training event, I try to look my best, at the beginning of the day, it never last for long  the only way I can think of staying clean would be not to go anywhere near the horse and thats kind of impossible


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I don't care what I look like at the barn. When it's really hot out I'll muck stalls in a sports bra, even. I rarely ride in breeches just skinny jeans with my boots pulled over them. If my mom's taking pictures while I ride, I'll go the extra mile to put on breeches and a polo, but as no one else boards at my barn and neighbors are far and few between, it doesn't matter to me what I look like.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

LOL, I'm a lot like you. I go out in public covered in mud, dirt, poop of several different species, hair, hay, and sometimes even blood. I can remember several times in the last few years when my entire family would walk into a greasy spoon restaurant for dinner after a day of working cattle. We were all covered with cow and horse poop and mud/dirt, smelled like burned hair, and more than one of us had blood on our hands or clothes from the ear notching or castrating. We were grimy and sweaty and all of us stank like a hard day's work in the Texas wind. LOL

My philosophy is that I enjoy what I do and what I do is what makes me dirty. If those spotless, uppity girls don't like that, then they can just look somewhere else.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Dirty. I ride western and for some reason, it seems very odd if a western rider is all clean and dolled up while riding. Showing, differently, obviously..but jeans and boots scream "MUST BE DIRTY" IMO. 

You English people always come off as proper and clean to me. 

In the summer, the counselors (myself included) at the camp I work at never have time to take showers, so my routine is Sunday morning before I leave. Wednesday night. Friday or Saturday when I'm home again. This is in the middle of June and July when it's effing hot and sticky and I'm wearing jeans and boots and around horses for 6 hours a day. Oh, also the wranglers have to wear helmets now, so I get even sweatier. 

I smell so awesome in the summer. 

I love going places after being at the barn and being covered in dirt and hay and smelling like a horse. My bf comes on the weekends to help me muck stalls because he likes the exercise. Last weekend we went to the grocery store to get milk afterwards. I had hay in my hair, dust and dirt all over my legs. Dirty snow boots. Hawt.


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## justjump (Jan 18, 2011)

I've totally been in your situation.. Luckily, I live in a town where everyone wants to be a "*******" so trucks, dirt, boots, and anything "southern" is accepted. 

Well, your either a high-class old person, or a want to be ******* So, after a long day of riding and dealing with horses, I could care less about my knotted hair, messed up makeup, dirty boots, and dirty jeans Oh and the oh-so-famous "make-up lines" from wearing a helmet.. Always classic


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Well I'm a so called 'dressage queen', but tend to go against the grain of the stereotyped clean, neat perfectionist....
When I'm just around the horses at home, I'll often be there with socks pulled up over my breeches (often mis-matching socks too... my favourite is one stripy knee high rainbow coloured sock, and the other a mid calf length blue and green 'rider' sock ), then I'll pull out the shirt that usually is stained with horse slobber, dirt, leather oil and soap, chaff and usually a bit of horse poo as well. 
The hair... pfffff don't even care! I stick it up into a pony tail or messy bum, and pull a cap over the top. 
Dirty fingernails... aren't they MEANT to be dirty????  

But yes, I can pull my finger out and tidy up when I need to. For a lesson, clinic or competition I'm a bit of a Nazi for good presentation, everything will be scrubbed to within an inch of it's life, hair in place and not a spot on my clothes/boots. 

In saying that, my tack is ALWAYS spotless, I clean my bit after every use, I wipe sweat and dirt off my bridle and saddle after every use and they get a full clean and oil/condition every week. I wash my horses' boots and rugs at least once a week. So my horse looks beautiful while I'm a mess


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

I like to keep relatively clean. I honestly dislike being dirty, though I know it is necessary to get muddy, slobbery, and messy if you plan to be within ten feet of a horse. I frequently sport tee shirts with streaks of beat pulp and grain mash, my boots and the hem of my jeans are usually covered with mud, manure, water, and any combination of the three. I look a mess and poop, leaves, and shavings are usually interwoven into the tangles of my hair. I'm just as dirty as the rest, but that doesn't mean I like it. :wink:

I'm an endurance rider, so our show standard of cleanliness... Doesn't exist. People are always dirty, sweaty, and wearing the same cloths they've worn all weekend. Horses are the same. I'm like a shining star out there, since I brush my hair in the morning and wash my face. :lol:


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

The best bit about getting filthy when you're mucking around with the horses - is getting home and jumping in a hot shower to wash it off.. then you've got a clean slate to get filthy the next day  
I think the harder you try to stay clean, the dirtier you get and the more annoyed you get  So I gave up and now don't even bother about trying to keep clean when I'm just out mucking around with them!!


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

My friends and I occasionally will go out for breakfast on Saturdays after our trail ride. Our favorite restaurant stops serving breakfast at 11am. If I take the time to clean up I miss the Huevos Rancheros. I really like their Huevos.


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

Being around horses and getting dirty is sort of a package deal...you usually get both.

I don't get all "dolled up" to go to the barn or out on a trail ride. If I'm going to a show, then I pay a little more attention to how I look.

Otherwise, I'm in jeans, old boots, a t-shirt, and covered in an array of hay, mud manure, and horse hair.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I love you guys! You always know how to make me laugh - your responses crack me up, put a smile on my face, make me chuckle and even say "I admire you".

Thanks everyone for making me feel better


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

MIEventer said:


> I love you guys! You always know how to make me laugh - your responses crack me up, put a smile on my face, make me chuckle and even say "I admire you".
> 
> Thanks everyone for making me feel better


*hugs & smiles* 
time for bed - nite all!


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

I am a hodge podge of various things, almost always dirty and brushing my hair when I am going to ride is such a waste of time, I usually just scrunch it back however it goes so that it forms a nice matted dreadlocky type mess by the end of the day.

I usually ride in crappy pants that I bought for $8 at Walmart that are cream coloured so they look like joddies and they ride pretty well too!

Then I have my beautiful leather field boots which are my pride and joy but are certainly out of place when in combo with aforementioned Walmart pants.

To cap it off, usually some sort of politically motivated or thought provoking T-Shirt. My fave T-Shirts are:

"Agent Orange: Sprayed and Betrayed" Yep, military reference.

"The Economist: Think differently" My fave business publication.

"Metallica - Ride the Lightning" OK, not really political or thought provoking but still a fave of mine.

I have a religious T-Shirt that is funny but not sure everyone would find it amusing so I won't elaborate too much.

There we have it.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I start out, neat and tidy......

I cannot stand dirty, stained or wrinkled clothing, so I always start off the day with clean, neat clothing. Doesn't last all that long around a horse though. I am fine with getting filthy during the day and since I always go shopping after I ride, I'm usually walking around with horse hair and hay everywhere, smelling like horse. 

I've apparently rubbed off on my child, she is always perfectly dressed and her hair braided with bows when she goes to ride. Completely filthy within the 1st five minutes though!


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Poseidon said:


> In the summer, the counselors (myself included) at the camp I work at never have time to take showers, so my routine is Sunday morning before I leave. Wednesday night. Friday or Saturday when I'm home again. This is in the middle of June and July when it's effing hot and sticky and I'm wearing jeans and boots and around horses for 6 hours a day. Oh, also the wranglers have to wear helmets now, so I get even sweatier.
> 
> I smell so awesome in the summer.


I'm also a wrangler at a summer camp (yay!), actually, I'm the head wrangler, but whatevs, and I totally agree! 
During the summer, I just wash my bangs in the sink daily, tie my hair up, and basically shower once every 4 days, unless it's Saturday and I'm home. :lol: Yup, I also smell super great in the summer.
However, I do try to change my clothes at least twice a day during the summer so I don't smell too bad (hopefully!) at dinner since I just changed into clean, non-horsey stuff an hour before. Haha Let's just say that I take LOTS of clothes to camp. Try enough for 4 full body changes a day? And they're all still super dirty when I wash my clothes on the weekends. It's kind of ridiculous.

I like the getting dirty part of horses. I feel so much more accomplished when I'm muddy/sweaty/splotched with horse snot/etc. I like to think of the dirt as my war wounds. I like to think to myself that I look like I did battle with an animal that was trying to kill me, and survived, and I take pride in that. Hahaha


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## netty83 (Sep 21, 2010)

I sling any old thing on to work with the horses. Tucking my tracksuit bottoms into my wellies with hoodies and a beanie My horses are on a farm so i am often trekking through cow muck and i have been known to pick horse muck up by hand. I am usually filthy by the time i leave. When i'm riding I usually wear jodphurs but they end up filthy aswell. There isn't a day when I am actually clean unless I am doing non-horsey things and the distinct smell of a horse mixed with their urine and poo is the nicest smell ever! gross i know but you all know what I mean. I don't show so I don't own any good gear that is prestine and if my jeans get a rip in them a patch them up. I would rather spend the money on equipment or something for the horses.


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## whiskeynoo (Mar 17, 2010)

Mud and dirt all the way! Nothing shows hard manual work like mud and dirt haha but in truth i just seem to attract dirt, i really admire people who can stay clean for a whole day lol.


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

whiskeynoo said:


> Mud and dirt all the way! Nothing shows hard manual work like mud and dirt haha but in truth i just seem to attract dirt, i really admire people who can stay clean for a whole day lol.


lol I feel the same dirt just seems to love me. I often go to the shops after a ride in my worn out jeans and muddy boots. I've even come home one time after school without time to change when a vet has come to see my horse and ended up with horse slobber all over me and my clothes. Most of the girls at my school would have looked at me like I was crazy as some are the not a hair out of place eww don't let it touch type (even some of the guys). Not to give the wrong idea I do like to be clean sometimes hehe.


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

Like others have said, I like to start out clean. For just a trail ride, I'll put on breeches, rubber tall boots, hair in a braid, and either a horsie turtleneck/vest or a polo depending on the weather.

Once the first speck of dirt or slobber finds its way to me, I give up. Especially since one of my favorite things to do is lie in the round bale while the horses eat.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_When I worked on my Grandparents farm for the summer...I was pretty dirty....but thats cause I would wear the same pants for several days straight, or until the dirt could make the pants walk themselves._

_Now however, I manage to stay pretty clean. Yes, I do get dirt on me, but since I am only at the barn (normally) long enough for a lesson, so about 2-3 hours at the barn depending if I get there early or stay late to watch other lessons. In the summer, I am more likely to get wet rather then dirty because of bath time._

_I do get dirty though when I help set up for schooling shows/clinic by moving jumps around._


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

I don't care how I look when I ride at home. So I often wear old weird pants (not breeches) and shirts (although I have good boots and helmet). 

However when I go to the lesson I always try to dress up neat (which almost never works because my qh always gets a chance to wipe off her dirt, drools, etc. on my cloth). I also try to dress up nicely when I go on trails (although I don't wear breeches either). And I keep my tack as shiny and conditioned as I can!


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

sarahver said:


> I usually ride in crappy pants that I bought for $8 at Walmart that are cream coloured so they look like joddies and they ride pretty well too!


Hey! I buy "tights" from Walmart that I use over the summer for casual riding. Cheap, cool in the summer and they work well. But I do wear mine with my tall boots 


Glad to know I am not alone everyone!  

When I go to the barn, I wear my everyday clothes. In the Winter I wear my Winter Tights of course, and my Thermal top, with a top ontop of that, lol. And everything else that goes with it.

When I clinic, or have a lesson or have a comp, of course I dress much more nicer :wink:


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Oops, I meant tall field boots ha ha, the image of me wearing my wonderful Walmart pants with short boots just brought horrible geeky images to mind *shudder*


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

OH! LOL! That makes more sense.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

ROFL sarah!!!


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Actually, I used to have this pair of boots I also got from Walmart, looked kinda like hiking boots. Cost me $6 and I thought they would be good just as a back up under jeans etc. 

Well one day during summer after training horses all day, I was filthy, dirty, sweaty, smelly and tired but still sporting my sexy Walmart boots. I had to stop at the Petrol station. Filling my car up and these two bikers pull up next to me and one says in his best Texan drawl "nice boots daaaaarlin". 

For once I was lost for words.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Wallaby said:


> I'm also a wrangler at a summer camp (yay!), actually, I'm the head wrangler, but whatevs, and I totally agree!
> During the summer, I just wash my bangs in the sink daily, tie my hair up, and basically shower once every 4 days, unless it's Saturday and I'm home. :lol: Yup, I also smell super great in the summer.
> However, I do try to change my clothes at least twice a day during the summer so I don't smell too bad (hopefully!) at dinner since I just changed into clean, non-horsey stuff an hour before. Haha Let's just say that I take LOTS of clothes to camp. Try enough for 4 full body changes a day? And they're all still super dirty when I wash my clothes on the weekends. It's kind of ridiculous.
> 
> I like the getting dirty part of horses. I feel so much more accomplished when I'm muddy/sweaty/splotched with horse snot/etc. I like to think of the dirt as my war wounds. I like to think to myself that I look like I did battle with an animal that was trying to kill me, and survived, and I take pride in that. Hahaha


Bahaha. I go through so much clothing. After all of the afternoon activities, there's free swim for everyone, so I peel off my damp jeans and tank tops to put on a swim suit (I usually don't swim, but if our buddy system is off, the lifeguards are in the water. Guess who's also a lifeguard). But wooooo breeze on sweaty skin. 

You know you're dirty when showering in a lake is the best ever. And jumping in a nasty pond removes a layer of dirt and sweat and filth. 

I agree: I feel more accomplished being all dirty. The only thing that bothers me is when my face feels dirty. As in, as a layer of sweat and slime on it. ickkk. Bothers me so much.


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

There was a girl at my barn growing up who could ride 5 horses a day in 100+ degree weather, muck stalls, bathe horses, etc etc and I swear the girl always looked perfect. (it didn't help that she was beautiful) Never a spot on her, a hair out of place, *the girl didn't even sweat!!! *:twisted: I even asked her about it once and she just shrugged. She seriously never tried to be clean, she just always was. I was the grubby kid who always looked disgusting.


**ETA*** I do try and make a bit of an effort to look nicer now. I find wearing polos, fitted jackets/vests, nicer breeches, polishing boots, etc help me out a fraction. But I sweat like a man and my nice fitted polos tend to have drool/bootpolish/kopertox stains...


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

LOL, glad I'm not the only one with the "sweat like a guy" problem. In the summer time, I always end up with sweat dripping off my face and (if I wore solid colored shirts they would be much more visible) underarm sweat rings regardless of anti-perspirant.


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

smrobs said:


> LOL, glad I'm not the only one with the "sweat like a guy" problem. In the summer time, I always end up with sweat dripping off my face and (if I wore solid colored shirts they would be much more visible) underarm sweat rings regardless of anti-perspirant.


 
I thought I was the only person like this


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

>.< oooh that girl would of drove me bonkers! LOL, I'd of probobly tried to sabotage her by throwing poop or something at her! But, alas, it probobly would of ricoche'd off of her and hit me or something. 

I sweat like a guy too! My sweat is inbewteen my breasts and the center of my back. 

My helmet stinks something bad too! What do you do for that?


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

MIEventer said:


> >.< oooh that girl would of drove me bonkers! LOL, I'd of probobly tried to sabotage her by throwing poop or something at her! But, alas, it probobly would of ricoche'd off of her and hit me or something.
> 
> I sweat like a guy too! My sweat is inbewteen my breasts and the center of my back.
> 
> My helmet stinks something bad too! What do you do for that?



Yeah it didn't help that she was really really nice AND a good rider. UGH. Her magical dirt repelling forcefield would not only ricochet the poop back onto me, it'd probably magically triple the amount too. 

Yeah, I get that chest/back sweat and add in the armpits too. Although, mid summer my entire shirt can look drenched. The worst is when my sportsbra area looks dry and everything else around it is sopping! Why yes, I _am_ wearing my racerback bra today....


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

MIEventer said:


> My helmet stinks something bad too! What do you do for that?



What kind of helmet do you have? An IRH right? Charles Owens makes this helmet deoderizer that works ok, but your helmet has to be clean first. So first you clean it really well inside out with the CO cleaner, then spray the inside with the deoderizer after every ride. Helmets with a lot of padding (like the IRH's or GPAs) seem to get smelly so easily so I bought a Tipperary to school in. Much much less padding to get stinky, a ton cooler, even though I look like an alien in it. I never spray it and it doesn't seem to smell.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Ahaha, me too. When it's really hot, I'll usually wear a light t-shirt under my long sleeves (long sleeves even in summer, yes). Don't you love that tickling, itchy sweat stream that always manages to run between your boobs at the exact moment when you don't have a free hand to scratch it LOL.

I've heard that vinegar can remove stink from clothing and shoes and such but I've never tried it. My black felt stinks too but I am reluctant to try the vinegar for fear it will remove some of the black dye.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I have a Charles Owen J3 Skull Cap.

What is this CO Cleaner you speak of?



> Don't you love that tickling, itchy sweat stream that always manages to run between your boobs at the exact moment when you don't have a free hand to scratch it LOL.


HA HA HA HA HA HA! Or that bead of sweat that comes off your brow, and is making its way to your eye!


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## RockandRide (Jan 23, 2011)

I am ALWAYS the one that looks strange. Some kind of dirt, everywhere, hay in my gloves and sticking on me. Shirts that look like they could be thrown in the trash. Fat and ugly. Tall and wierd. Manure somewhere and everywehre. There is this Girl who doesn't look like she rides. Everything is perfect and I always feel strange standing next to her. She always thinks shes better than everyone.

I dont mind  I think getting dirty is great! And mandatory


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

One advantage to switching to an Australian style saddle is that it doesn't look quite as odd with a Navajo blanket under it as did my Bates Caprilli.

One of my jobs in college was collecting sheep pee for a pharmaceutical company. They processed the urine for a cancer drug, but I was at the very bottom. It is hard to get much lower than collecting sheep pee for money - unless it would be doing it for free, which would be VERY weird. :shock:

Once, just before Christmas, I got stuck out working with the rams until it was almost too late to drive to Salt Lake City and catch a flight home...so I didn't shower. Just brushed stuff off. On the plane, everyone seemed to move away. Not only did I have the row to myself, but several rows in front and back of me as well. My own Mom took one sniff of me and told me to ride in the back seat on an old towel. 

25 years in the military left me with slightly higher standards than that, but just barely. I'll clean up before going somewhere nice (change my T-shirt & wipe sweat off my face), but not for getting gas at the pump.

Oh - and I don't sweat like a guy. I sweat like TEN guys, which is sort of OK since I am one. During the summer, if anyone asks, I just tell them I fell in the horse trough...


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

Over here ****!


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

i rarely ride in a ring, meaning i am either dealing with muddy trails or dusty trails. i have yet to figure out a way to cover 10-20 miles and not end up filthy and/or bloody (yay for stickerbushes). i honestly don't even notice it much anymore. i love my brightly-colored ride t-shirts with my shiny-synthetic-material riding tights and filthy sneakers. 

and i am that person who will stop at the store on the way home from riding (and i live in the outskirts of a major city.. def not the country) and wonder, for that instant, why people are staring at me. then i remember how i am dressed, and laugh. and often wave. they generally stop staring pretty quick!


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## Reiterin (Mar 28, 2010)

eventerdrew said:


> I couldn't give a flying rat what I look like. *If you don't like it...don't look!* I know I'm hot!



lol - That's Exactly how I feel! - I get so sick of people telling me I "need new boots" or jeans, or this, or that, or the other thing. - I am a casual rider and I show up at the barn in the middle of the day (after I do all my mucky chores) and when no one else is there. MOST of the time the only other person who sees me is my horse, and SHE doesn't care what I look like! If You don't like what I look like, then don't look at at me!

ETA:


> i am that person who will stop at the store on the way home from riding (and i live in the outskirts of a major city.. def not the country) and wonder, for that instant, why people are staring at me.


I have a little bit of this problem too. But I still don't let it bother me. I'm not very social anyways, so I still don't care what people think about me/the way I look.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

It's 9:30 at night, my lil one just came to say goodnight, wrinkled her nose and said "You smell like Timmy, Mommy!". Yeah, I am still wearing my breeches and riding shirt and since Timmy feels the need to lick my hands and suck on my sleeves... I'm sure I do smell like him.


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## AllThePrettyHorses (Dec 15, 2010)

bsms said:


> One advantage to switching to an Australian style saddle is that it doesn't look quite as odd with a Navajo blanket under it as did my Bates Caprilli.
> 
> One of my jobs in college was collecting sheep pee for a pharmaceutical company. They processed the urine for a cancer drug, but I was at the very bottom. It is hard to get much lower than collecting sheep pee for money - unless it would be doing it for free, which would be VERY weird. :shock:
> 
> ...


A few years ago I was in a veterinary 4H club. Every meeting basically consisted of us dissecting a dead animal, be it lamb, calf, etc. One night we had a big old dead pig, and since the vet couldn't make it, the club leaders just basically gave a group of farm kids some scalpels and said: "Have fun". We had a grand old time cutting this pig up, and though it smelled bad at first, you quickly got used to it. When my mom came to pick me up, she nearly died on the ride home 'cause I smelt so bad. There's nothing like the smell of dead, diseased pig in the morning.

Generally, I like to try and stay pretty clean, but...you're on a farm, being active. There's going to be poop and sweat. Yeah, I sweat like a guy too. The worst are the summer days where it feels like an oven outside and you're drenched in sweat even before you get on the horse. Those are the days I drip my shirt in the pool and wear it while riding. It helps cool me off. And then, of course, you don't feel so bad about sweating like a pig because you can't tell the difference between the water and sweat.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

lol, that makes me remember this one time I had to stop at walmart and pick up some food for dinner on my way home from the barn.

This was summer time, so I was wearing my beige pull on tights, my summer boots with spurs and polo top. Hair in a pony tail - and as I was walking through the frozen food section, looking for something, I passed a couple as they were doing the same thing.

I walked passed them, and I saw the fellow looking at me, and as I got to the section I wanted to be at, I over heard him say to his wife "Honey, we should get you an outfit like that, with a whip!"

lol.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

MIEventer said:


> I walked passed them, and I saw the fellow looking at me, and as I got to the section I wanted to be at, I over heard him say to his wife "Honey, we should get you an outfit like that, with a whip!"
> 
> lol.



nice!!

i had someone approach me in walmart once and ask if i charged by the hour. i laughed it off and kept shopping.. but i'm still not sure if he was serious or not! gotta love the people of walmart.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

I start out clean and end up a mess. I get a permanent in my hair in the summer so that I can tousle sweaty helmet hair back into shape easier...so as not to scare the children. 

But, really - at the end of the day, we're a mucky mess but our horses are spotless, bathed and tucked into their pastures or stalls with dinner, right? Isn't that what matters? Maybe we should tell the uppities -- so if you're so clean, what kind of mess did you leave your horse in? 
Ha ha...


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## horselver1979 (Feb 14, 2011)

What can I say. Im a dirty girl. ;-)

Everyday when I feed the girls, I always have chaff in my hair or down my bra. I am never really clean. Im even worse when I am riding, but I have fun!!!


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

lol Kim!!!  well let's see...as I type this I am at the salon getting my hair done...in a sweatshirt with horse hair all over it and boots with mud on them because I came from the barn and am going back there after this 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Hoofprints in the Sand said:


> lol Kim!!!  well let's see...as I type this I am at the salon getting my hair done...in a sweatshirt with horse hair all over it and boots with mud on them because I came from the barn and am going back there after this
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
you're my kind of girl :wink:


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## Heatherloveslottie (Apr 12, 2010)

I normally start out looking quite presentable but after several hours of mud, straw, hay, moulting hair and being endlessly licked, I must look like a right state!

I've had people wrinkle their noses in the supermarket at me, they clearly don't appreciate that horsey smell


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Heather, those people just don't know what smells good :wink:. I swear they ought to bottle the smell of horse and sell it as a cologne.

"Equiscent: Cologne for men, guaranteed to attract horse lovin' women"


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

if i intend to ride i'm in breeches and either tall boots or nice paddock boots and nice half chaps with a t-shirt and layers (depending on weather obviously). always a helmet when i ride.  

otherwise i'm typically out in jeans and rubber boots and whatever else. i'm not the most nicely dressed person to start with so basically whatever i'd wear to work i'd wear anywhere else.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

smrobs said:


> Heather, those people just don't know what smells good :wink:. I swear they ought to bottle the smell of horse and sell it as a cologne.
> 
> "Equiscent: Cologne for men, guaranteed to attract horse lovin' women"


lol!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

I try to stay neat (I greatly dislike being dirty), but I always have a lot of horse hair on me (I groom my school horses intensely lol :wink, my boots are usually dirty with mud/poop by the time I head to the car (I sometimes wonder why I even bother to scrub them so well after I get home), and my hair is always a mess when I take my helmet off (thanks to Mr. Sweat).  And well of course I smell like horse... 

I guess those of us who actually groom our horses, muck stalls and do other barn chores can't help but get dirty lol. :lol: (That woman who gave you the look probably washed up a thousand times during the day, and/or doesn't do any mucking or grooming).

I don't like looking like I do after my day at the barn (or smelling like I do, lol) :wink: but that's what life is like around horses, so I bare with it. The only way I could see myself staying spotless is by going to some posh barn where they would groom and tack up my horse for me, but I wouldn't like that... If spending time with a horse means I have to get dirty and smelly, it's a small price to pay.


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

> Heather, those people just don't know what smells good :wink:. I swear they ought to bottle the smell of horse and sell it as a cologne.
> 
> "Equiscent: Cologne for men, guaranteed to attract horse lovin' women"


Good one! lol :lol:


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

smrobs said:


> "Equiscent: Cologne for men, guaranteed to attract horse lovin' women"


LOL! I love it! You should design a bottle!


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Hidalgo13 said:


> I guess those of us who actually groom our horses, muck stalls and do other barn chores can't help but get dirty lol. :lol: (That woman who gave you the look probably washed up a thousand times during the day, and/or doesn't do any mucking or grooming).
> 
> I don't like looking like I do after my day at the barn (or smelling like I do, lol) :wink: but that's what life is like around horses, so I bare with it. The only way I could see myself staying spotless is by going to some posh barn where they would groom and tack up my horse for me, but I wouldn't like that... If spending time with a horse means I have to get dirty and smelly, it's a small price to pay.


I am not sure what barn she belongs to, to be honest, the barns in the area are not a "Tack up horse for you" sorta barn, oooh, wait....I'm wrong - there's one. And that happens to be the one I am moving to at the end of the month....so, poop.

I guess when you pay $525 a month, you don't have to groom and tack your own horse 

I'm doing the pasture board at $275 a month - so I wont have that luxury, and just as you said, I don't want it. No thank you! I like being fully active in my horses life! I love grooming my horse and spending that time together. I like picking his stall, and I like feeding him his beat pulp and I like being the person who does all that for him.

I sure hope I dont have to cross paths with her :wink: maybe she'd recognize me, lol. 

She'll be at the upper barn, and I'll be at the lower, so I don't think we'll encounter one another often. I hope.....lol.......

I cannot imagine not grooming and tacking up my own horse. The only way I see that being acceptable for myself, is if I am working/riding 5+ horses a day, and need the next horse ready to rock n roll.....been there, done that...not fun doing it all, all by yourself.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Ack! It would be weird if someone tacked up my horse for me! Unless maybe it was a friend because I was in a rush and they had their's tacked already, but that would only happen at camp. 

I work off board on the weekends (in the morning) so my BO has more free time, so a win-win. My apartment contains almost no food, so after mucking and cleaning, my bf (who comes with because he likes the exercise) and I went to Walmart for something to eat. He brushed himself off and looked presentable, which was easy because he picks up the poo and I spread around the fresh bedding so I'm the one covered in dust and nastiness. 

I walked in with my jeans half out of my snowboots that were almost white..they're supposed to be blue. I have sawdust all up my legs and from whatever mascara was leftover from yesterday (I didn't feel like washing it off..bad) was covered in dust, so I had white eyelashes. I probably had hay in my knit hat. I know I had it down my shirt and in my socks..

I got a lot of odd looks. I probably smelled like horse too.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

FWIW: When Ronald Reagan was President, he still insisted on tacking up his own horse (and his wife's).


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

I can see that. 

If I think if I didn't tack her up, I wouldn't know something was wrong with her half the time. I found out Abby had ulcers by bumping her stomach when I reached for her cinch. I call her a b*tch all the time because she's very mareish. If she's grumpy, she'll hold her breath and pin her ears a bit. After a forehead rub, she's fine. I had to take her saddle off and rub her belly farther back to get a different reaction. If someone just tacked her up once in a while, they probably wouldn't have noticed that her flank was a little bloated and she was a bit off. 

Plus, when I went to see Abby before buying her, her owner rode her first, then I did. I hopped on after she got off and she immediately said, "Never trust someone else's cinching. Always check everything."


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## Cinder (Feb 20, 2011)

If I go to a barn, I WILL get dirty.

But then again, how _wouldn't _you?

I don't care what I look like in general, but_ especially _not at the barn. I figure everyone around me is a horseback rider and doesn't expect me to be clean.

The only time I care is before a show. 

On the tacking up subject, I always groom and tack my horse if I can help it. I picked a lesson place farther away than it had to be because the place closer to me doesn't let you touch the horses before riding. I also do barn chores if I can.


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## Tasia (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm the tight strechy jeans with a baggy coat/hoodie/shirt and either little cowboy boots, or my winter boots. I rarely put my hair up ,gets covered in hay. I work on my knees alot so my pants are often covered ground "stuff". My shirt cuffs get dirty aswell. The barn is the ONE place in the world where I don't give a **** what I wear aswell as I don't try to impress anyone.


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

> I guess when you pay $525 a month, you don't have to groom and tack your own horse


Oooh I wish the barns in my area offered so much for that price! My barn is really nice, but not posh. For 500 you get full board (I think). But they expect you to tack up and groom your horse whenever you come. (That is actually cheap considering the other barns I know (though the lessons at my barn sort of make up for the boarding) 
For 500 they clean the stalls, put them out in the pastures, and feed them. I guess it depends what area you're in. Any barn an hour from my city is expensive. Unless I were to go to Boonie ville (my word for the far outskirts of town) I wouldn't be able to find a place that charges less then 500 a month for full board. (most barns in my area don't do pasture board) Not enough land. 

If I stay in this part of town, I need to get a good job if I want a horse... :-(


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Are you in B.C Hidalgo? If so - I understand the expensive costs. Born and Raised in Vancouver, grew up in the Cariboo Chilcoltin.

It is expensive to live in B.C


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

> Are you in B.C Hidalgo? If so - I understand the expensive costs. Born and Raised in Vancouver, grew up in the Cariboo Chilcoltin.
> 
> It is expensive to live in B.C


No... I live in Montreal, Quebec. Though it's my dream to go to B.C. It's so beautiful!  Ya Quebec in general is really not as expensive as B.C, but the horse industry has really not fallen with the economy here, and any barn close to Montreal is expensive. Any barn far away from the Island is dirt cheap.  But I have no intention of living that far.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Great thread MIEventer! Glad to see I'm in good company.

You know the Peanuts character that attracts dirt, PigPen I believe? Yes, that would be me. Can't help it, and no longer care. I'm happy and loving my time with my horses. 

I do try, not always successfully, to get all the hay out of my hair before leaving for work, and make sure my nails are clean. I also have learned to not wear anything to the barn _but_ my barn clothes. 

Like most of you , I do all the work myself and would never let anyone tack up for me.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

I usually stop to get groceries on my way home from the barn. Let's just say I pick through the produce when nobody is around. I look like a train wreck after a good ride...and no, I don't care!


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## Amlalriiee (Feb 22, 2010)

Haha....I think I'm famous for going anywhere and everywhere in dirty riding clothes. I do a lot of long trail rides and end up pretty muddy sometimes. All through college I'd end up going to classes in my riding clothes...much to the amusement of all my hairsprayed, made-up, dressed-up classmates! I always end up wearing that stuff shopping, too. Doesn't matter to me, riding is my passion and a big part of who I am, I'm not ashamed.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Bahahaa. I wear my boots to class all the time, but since there's so much snow, they don't get very dirty. 

Last semester, I sent an email to my professor saying I'd be late because "my horse has a vet appointment a half hour away." It was a really small class in a small department, so the teachers get to know all of the students. I walked into class 10 minutes late in dirty jeans and muddy boots and just looking disheveled. She asked how everyone's weekend was. I said something random and she goes, "Oh, is your horse okay? I got your email." hahaha. The look on everyone else's face was priceless. She had a chiro appointment to get her hip aligned, which received even more confused looks.


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## zurmdahl (Feb 25, 2009)

Sometimes I just don't even know where all the dirt comes from! I attract it and am a total mess by the time I'm done with stalls and riding. I sweat a bunch which doesn't help either, and my hair is out of control at the best of times so it's not looking good after I'm done. I really hate getting dirty but there's only so much you can do! No one else at my barn seems to get nearly as dirty as I do, I don't understand why. We can be doing the exact same thing and they'll look fine and I'll be a mess.


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## HorseChic (Jun 19, 2010)

Haha im a 'neat & tidy' type of rider but i love to wear cute stuff (im not very formal lol) and i love accessorizing me and my horse


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

lol, you guys crack me up! I love reading your posts, thanks so much for sharing!


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

I'm clean on my way to a competition. I'm clean when I walk into the barn. I dress a bit more casually, comfortably for day to day barn work than I do when I compete.

If you catch me at the gas station on my way to an event, I am clean. If you catch me on the way home - quite possibly not.


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

Actualy I start clean and tidy and actualy normaly stay fairly clean and tidy if I am doing my own horses.

We don't do Mud here, ponies come to call into a gravelled area which I religiously poo pick to prevent mud being created. The field is very well drained (we had drainage put in because it was too wet in summer) and the ponies are not shod so don't churn the field up.

I can often get away with wearing the same jods and top for 3 days running if I don't spill dinner down it. 

Now ovioulsy after filthy jobs like clipping or bathing I am filthy but on an average, drag ponies in from the field, groom, tack up and ride, type of day then I stay fairly clean.


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## kaitums (Feb 22, 2011)

i've got no shame in going around my dirty riding clothes. I often will go to the supermarket or something right after leaving the barn. I actually enjoy the looks i get.


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## Eliz (Jun 16, 2010)

Haha I always get strange looks when I'm wearing my feild boots and cream breeches while getting gas! Once my brother said I look like I don't have pants on.. so I guess that is part of the reason! 

I don't car if my hair is a mess and I'm in muddy boots and covered in hay.
I'm kind of proud of looking like an equestrian!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22 (Jul 5, 2009)

Great thread! 
My riding gear can never stay clean. Just being at home and at lessons, I don't give a rat about how dirty I may be. I'm not afraid to go for a roll in the mud!


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Eliz said:


> Haha I always get strange looks when I'm wearing my feild boots and cream breeches while getting gas! Once my brother said I look like I don't have pants on.. so I guess that is part of the reason!
> 
> I don't car if my hair is a mess and I'm in muddy boots and covered in hay.
> *I'm kind of proud of looking like an equestrian! *


*

^^^^*Eliz, this triggered a memory for me.

Many years ago, when I was probably around 10 or 12 years old, I was out for breakfast with my Dad at a little restaurant. Two ladies walked in, dressed in their riding pants and tall winter boots and ect... 

When they sat down, a few people actually moved away from them and kinda made a face. I, however, breathed in deeply at that wonderful essence of horse they were wearing. I wanted so badly to be them! 

Now I'm probably the one people move away from! hehehehe, careful what you wish for, eh? :lol:


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## whitetrashwarmblood (Aug 24, 2008)

Haha, I know how you feel! 
I've gotten used to it though, especially during the winter months when I wear my carhartt bib and coat with muck boots. I'm sure people can smell me from a mile away.  I still go to gas stations, restaurants, walmart, or where ever I have to go. During the summer, I ride bareback a lot, so the butt of my jeans are covered in sweat and horse hair. So I'm sure people think I've ****ed my pants whenever I go somewhere after wards. lol


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

haha thats funny, i was just htinking about htis the other day, i was down in florida at weelington... and wow, those people are always spotless!!! they wear such nice clothes to the barn i couldnt believe it! 
sadly, no matter how hard i try to fit in with people like that, i just CAN NOT stay clean when im at the barn! haha


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

I think it is an aquired skill. I never used to be able to stay clean. 
still cant when I'm washing ponies.


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## HorseFanatic (Jan 17, 2011)

I'm glad you didn't let that snob's look get the best of you. Horses are animals, who naturally get dirty. Clearly the girl was uptight and had to look perfect, probably to impress people...But having a reason to get dirty is the best part! If the girl didn't like the way you looked, she can look somewhere else. I wouldn't want someone rude to look at me anyway! LOL.


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## Frankiee (Jun 28, 2010)

I actually really dont understand for the life of me how you CANT get dirty around horses !!! I really dont get it ! lol you would have to literly do nothing and get other poeple to do the chorses for ya and you just ride when its time


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## Frankiee (Jun 28, 2010)

And what's the fun in that !!! and well said horsefanatic


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

Dirty..at home I am usually in hoodie, jeans and boots in winter and shorts, tank top and boots in summer..FILTHY..covered in sweat, dirt, hay, SHAVINGS..I HATE getting shavings all over me in summer ..ugh, so itchy.. horse hair..I'm a mess at home..I will go to a show and look nice for a little while but after that I'm dirty again..I'm also southern so everybody here is all about getting muddy and dirty..so I really coudln't care less that I'm filthy and that I smell like a horse..


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## DrumRunner (Jan 26, 2011)

whitetrashwarmblood said:


> Haha, I know how you feel!
> I've gotten used to it though, especially during the winter months when I wear my carhartt bib and coat with muck boots. I'm sure people can smell me from a mile away.  I still go to gas stations, restaurants, walmart, or where ever I have to go. During the summer, I ride bareback a lot, so the butt of my jeans are covered in sweat and horse hair. So I'm sure people think I've ****ed my pants whenever I go somewhere after wards. lol


AH HAH! me too..my sister and I ride bareback all the time..our dad will flip out if we try to sit down in the house afterwards..(he is not a horse person at all)..


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

When I'm riding, I usually have to have all my gear. As novice as I am, I can at least LOOK like I have a clue what I'm doing, right? :lol: I always have my breeches, boots, half chaps, gloves, helmet, hair in a bun, and some kind of decent shirt. People tend to take you more seriously when you're all done up nice and your horse is tacked properly, etc. 

But when I'm just doing chores, I look like a homeless bum.


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## Eliz (Jun 16, 2010)

I don't really get all that dirty as in dirt (besides my boots), it's more of a sweat thing for me. That of course leads to horse hair sticking and my hair being in a mess but I'm never like MUDDY 

Walkamile:
I always admired those people! Actually when I was younger I admired anything that reminded my of horses... wood shavings, soft (arena-like) dirt, striped poles, etc. I've always been slightly obsessed.. er, passionate


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## Cheyennes mom (Aug 6, 2010)

dirty? Me?? Never. 
I lied. I honestly don't really care. Things can be washed right? Sometimes I like looking dirty after because it makes me look like a hard worker. Although I don't usually get too dirty other than Cheyenne-hair all over me


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## petitepyromaniac (Oct 12, 2010)

I actually don't get that dirty for some reason... However, I always look like a frumpy mess. 

I ride in paddock boots, half chaps, and breeches which look somewhat normal, although not as nice as tall boots. It's my ratty t-shirts that really bring me down, not helped by my messy hair and day old makeup (or none at all). The shirt I wear to the barn is always the t-shirt I slept in the night before, because I REALLY don't want to do any more laundy! Plus, these shirts are years old. I can only afford so many clothes, so my nice clothes stay away from the barn.

Even at shows I look rather frumpy. I'm clean, but my show jacket is too big, and so are my show boots. My parents got them so I could "grow into them" when I was thirteen. I'm riding in the same stuff at 22, and I've yet to "grow into them". And I don't have a show helmet, just one of those velvet covers. Can you believe that? After all these years of showing too!

I'd love to be one of those people with fitted, beautiful clothing at the barn... but I guess that takes extra money.


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

ridergirl23 said:


> haha thats funny, i was just htinking about htis the other day, i was down in florida at weelington... and wow, those people are always spotless!!! they wear such nice clothes to the barn i couldnt believe it!
> sadly, no matter how hard i try to fit in with people like that, i just CAN NOT stay clean when im at the barn! haha



Yeah but don't forget, the vast majority (all?) of the people who show in Wellington have grooms who get their horses ready for them and meet them at the ingate! They sure do dress nice though! (can't imagine schooling in show shirts...)


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

> Even at shows I look rather frumpy. I'm clean, but my show jacket is too big, and so are my show boots. My parents got them so I could "grow into them" when I was thirteen. I'm riding in the same stuff at 22, and I've yet to "grow into them".


Sounds like my parents. In grade 5 my mom bought me a winter coat and I only outgrew it by grade 9 it was so big... I hate it whenever my mom tells me now I'll grow into something because I've been a size 8-9 since grade 7 and 5ft 3 1/2 since grade 8... I'm in grade 10 now and I think I'm done... though I am praying that I will magically grow another inch and a half so my riding boots get shorter. They have dropped a nice amount but are still too tall.  I am going to buy some thick insoles though to put under the Ariat ones, so it lifts me up and the back of my knee goes higher...


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## petitepyromaniac (Oct 12, 2010)

Hidalgo13 said:


> Sounds like my parents. In grade 5 my mom bought me a winter coat and I only outgrew it by grade 9 it was so big... I hate it whenever my mom tells me now I'll grow into something because I've been a size 8-9 since grade 7 and 5ft 3 1/2 since grade 8... I'm in grade 10 now and I think I'm done... though I am praying that I will magically grow another inch and a half so my riding boots get shorter. They have dropped a nice amount but are still too tall.  I am going to buy some thick insoles though to put under the Ariat ones, so it lifts me up and the back of my knee goes higher...


I had the big coat issue too- so big that they'd wrap around the back of the cantle and then pull me backwards haha! I think I stopped growing when you did too.

Thick insoles is a brilliant idea! I think that would help!


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## trIplEcrOwngIrl (May 13, 2009)

I ride in breeches and tall boots, a polo, and braided hair! So I start out nice and neat but at the end of the day, I'm covered in hay and dirt from hugging my horse . I always avoid the mud though, I don't do mud! Dirt is accepted but only if it comes directly from the horse, I try to avoid it otherwise.


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## Dances with Horses (Feb 25, 2011)

No, I don't care what I look like after a day at the stable and I could care less about what others think of my looks after a relaxing trail ride. I have nothing special to wear as I ride besides my western boots. My clothes get filthy, but that's what a washer is for, right? I'm a beginner who ADORES rolling around in the mud with my horse. :lol:


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

upnover said:


> Yeah but don't forget, the vast majority (all?) of the people who show in Wellington have grooms who get their horses ready for them and meet them at the ingate! They sure do dress nice though! (can't imagine schooling in show shirts...)


Erm I've ridden on yards where every horse was plaited up for lessons, thier hooves oiled, the yard brushed 8 times a day, muck heap squared off with a ruler! you did lessons in full tweed jackets and ties/stocks and you hacked out in the same. The horses and stables were immaculate at all times as were all the staff, god forbid that there was even a hint of mud anywhere!

It was an absolute pleasure to be on those yards, hence why my yard at home is as immaculate as I can make it. It is brushed twice a day, beds picked out and reset daily, full muck out once a week, waterers and feedbuckets scrubbed daily. 3 ponies groomed from nose to tail everyday including useing a stable rubber and strapping them. I do NOT have a groom and I work full time.
I like my yards clean, non muddy but relaxed. My yard isnt ultra posh, it hasnt got all the facilities, there are cracks in the concrete, but it is immaculatly clean and tidy.

It is driving me to distraction at the moment because the Fencer is here putting in some new post and rail, unfortunatly that means he had to bring his tractor and it is churning the field up and creating mud! It's als very windy so the tools (forks, brushes, wheel barrows etc) have had to be moved into my feed room.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Faye, I am the same way with my place. My husband was concerned that I'd let things go around the yard when the horses came here, as many people around here with horses tend to do so. But, I'm a bit "anal" about my surroundings, so that hasn't happened. Gardens are always tended, flowers watered, horses clean, paddock as well as stall picked every day, water buckets scrubbed daily and refilled, manure pile heavily limed every week. As you know, the list goes on. Everything in it's place inside and out.

My problem is that while everything is taken care of I look like a train wreck. Hair a mess from sweating, dirt or whatever on me and from all the chores my nails are a disaster. Of course I wash up fairly well, but I can't seem to look neat_ while_ I'm doing it all. 

Fortunately hubby loves me no matter how disastrous I look. He's just thankful that the place looks neat and tidy. Of course it would be great if he could try and develop a love for the smell of horse. Would makes things a bit easier for me as he does complain about that! :lol:


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

My barn is kept very clean also. When we clean the horse's hooves, they ask us to brush it neatly into a pile by the side, so that when the hired hands sweep the floor they can brush it away. The floors are always spotless in the barn. Whenever I turn around someone is either doing a stall or sweeping the floor. It's the dust in the arena that kills me lol.
I really hope this spring they're are going to dust it because the bleachers are practically white. :shock: 
And then there's the fact that I sweat like a hog :lol:, so my perfect braid isn't so perfect anymore when I take my helmet off. 

My breeches and shirt are clean, it's just my 2 extremities that are horrible: my head (sweaty and a little out of place) and my boots (full of dust, or mud if it rained) and usually a bit of poop if the horse's stall wasn't cleaned just yet.


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

Hidalgo13 said:


> My barn is kept very clean also. When we clean the horse's hooves, they ask us to brush it neatly into a pile by the side, so that when the hired hands sweep the floor they can brush it away.


I always use a bucket to catch the crap from hooves before it hits the floor. If it does go on the floor then it doesnt get time to hanground it is swept up immediately. I go through so many brushes it is insane. I've broken 3 since november!


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

Hmm, bucket idea is good. I'll keep that in mind for the future.


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

ridergirl23 said:


> haha thats funny, i was just htinking about htis the other day, i was down in florida at weelington... and wow, those people are always spotless!!! they wear such nice clothes to the barn i couldnt believe it!
> sadly, no matter how hard i try to fit in with people like that, i just CAN NOT stay clean when im at the barn! haha





upnover said:


> Yeah but don't forget, the vast majority (all?) of the people who show in Wellington have grooms who get their horses ready for them and meet them at the ingate! They sure do dress nice though! (can't imagine schooling in show shirts...)


_I would be super clean too if I didnt actually touch the horse except while in the ring....thats what barn beetches are for. Haha._



Jessabel said:


> When I'm riding, I usually have to have all my gear. As novice as I am, I can at least LOOK like I have a clue what I'm doing, right? :lol: I always have my breeches, boots, half chaps, gloves, helmet, hair in a bun, and some kind of decent shirt. People tend to take you more seriously when you're all done up nice and your horse is tacked properly, etc.


_Most definitely! _



Hidalgo13 said:


> My barn is kept very clean also. When we clean the horse's hooves, they ask us to brush it neatly into a pile by the side, so that when the hired hands sweep the floor they can brush it away. The floors are always spotless in the barn. Whenever I turn around someone is either doing a stall or sweeping the floor. It's the dust in the arena that kills me lol.


_Our barn makes us sweep up after ourselves. And honestly it doesnt take that much more effort when you are sweeping up under your horse, to sweep it into a shovel and throw it in the wheelbarrow...but thats my barn._


_Tomorrow I am going for a schooling, and when I get to my barn (before trailering to the other barn) I will be wearing patched winter Tuff Duck/Carhartt type insulated bibs over all my riding gear, with a plaid flannel jacket. But thats only so that I stay warm until riding!_


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

> _Our barn makes us sweep up after ourselves. And honestly it doesnt take that much more effort when you are sweeping up under your horse, to sweep it into a shovel and throw it in the wheelbarrow...but thats my barn._
> 
> ​


Ya at my old barn you had to do that. The barn I am at now is different. They don't put the dirty wood chips in wheal barrows and then outside. There are these weird holes covered with boards all along the side of the stalls. In the hole there is like a carpet that moves and when they clean the stalls they turn it on, put the poop and stuff in the holes and it all gets moved outside by the moving carpet thingy, where it's dumped unto some gigantic pile of previous poo and chips.


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## Cheyennes mom (Aug 6, 2010)

ours is pretty clean it's just that we don't have hired hands or anything even close to that. It's just a family's barn where you can board your horse and stuff. The closest to hired hands is me and my job which is mucking stalls twice a week so that my lease on Cheyenne is cheaper. The owner and her son do them on other days and sometimes when people come they'll muck their horse's stall or all the stalls or whatever.


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## bhodges865 (Feb 24, 2011)

I think I get dirty when I get in my truck before ever going to the barn!!! I do try to wipe off if I'm going somewhere else afterwards, but I could care less if some snooty person were to look down on me. They are probably those types who have someone else get and tack their horses for them.


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## Citrus (Feb 26, 2010)

I don't think I can always avoid getting messy when riding. Now my horse looks like spun gold during and after a ride, but I will most likely have hay, mud, muck and maybe even coffee on me.


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## Citrus (Feb 26, 2010)

Hidalgo13 said:


> Ya at my old barn you had to do that. The barn I am at now is different. They don't put the dirty wood chips in wheal barrows and then outside. There are these weird holes covered with boards all along the side of the stalls. In the hole there is like a carpet that moves and when they clean the stalls they turn it on, put the poop and stuff in the holes and it all gets moved outside by the moving carpet thingy, where it's dumped unto some gigantic pile of previous poo and chips.


Can you post a picture of this.... this sounds interesting!!


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

sure... I have a lesson today so I'll try and snap some pics.


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## shovelhead13 (Sep 21, 2010)

*Horses Help*

I still have two Arabian mares on a ten acre pasture. Taking care of them properly sure allows one to stay physically fit enough to ride my horses in some wilderness.
It's just that in order to keep the pasture growing thick enough some fertlizer helps. Horse manure is Organic Fertilizer.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

bhodges865;941844[B said:


> ]I think I get dirty when I get in my truck before ever going to the barn!![/B]! I do try to wipe off if I'm going somewhere else afterwards, but I could care less if some snooty person were to look down on me. They are probably those types who have someone else get and tack their horses for them.



^^^Love that! hehehehe!


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## lildonkey8 (Dec 12, 2010)

So, what kind of a rider are you? I am an english rider some of the time but western most of the time
Do you care what you look like? No way!
Do you care if you get dirty and filthy? Depends on what I am wearing: a regular old t-shirt and jeans.....what the heck! A shirt I wear often and newer jeans......I don't really want to
Or are you a neat and tidy rider? Not much


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## Hrsegirl (Mar 16, 2010)

Oh I love this..

I am a person who doesn't really give a flying toot about what people think of me. When I go to the barn, I usually come home smelling like it. I don't mind, it's one of my favorite smells. 

I live in a small town, so I have no problem going into the grocery store, the bank or NAPA in my barn clothes. My normal barn outfit is a sweatshirt, my wrangler jeans, and my muck boots. Even on a normal day where I don't go to the barn, that's my usual outfit. A sweatshirt, wrangler jeans, and my Justin boots. Half the time, I don't even pull my jeans over my boots, so I look sexy. Baha. My boyfriend and his parents make fun of me and call me *******, but eh, I don't care...

There aren't any english riders around here that I know of, but there are the snooty high class girls who think their stuff don't stink. So I do get looks when I'm around town, but I don't really care. If you don't like it, don't look. Simple as that.


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

> If you don't like it, don't look. Simple as that.


LOL! That made me laugh.


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## lildonkey8 (Dec 12, 2010)

Hidalgo13 said:


> LOL! That made me laugh.


same here:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

> If you don't like it, don't look. Simple as that.


I like that too


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

WOW, this thread has gone bananas! We are all such dirty grotty smuts and proud of it - YEAH!

Just wanted to add one more thing that I love about coming home dirty - We have three dogs, two big and one small and you have never seen such a sniffing, smelling, curious, delightful pack of dogs as those three vying for a postion on my leg. Or sometimes butt, whoever the lucky one is :wink:

I don't know why but it puts me in hysterics every time I come home, I can see them going "1.....2.....3....4..5...6 different horses and 1...2 other dogs, Geez, been a big day for our human."

I love animals, no matter how dirty they make me


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## lildonkey8 (Dec 12, 2010)

^ i know right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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