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Rider Insider: Telltale Signs of a Rider


You’ve just had a great interview for a dream job. You wore your best suit, presented yourself professionally, and you feel optimistic about your chances. That is, until the receptionist whispers to you on your way out, “Ma’am, you have what looks like a piece of hay caught in your hair.”



You’re driving up the highway and pull up to a toll booth. You reach into your pocket to grab some change and instead find two peppermints and some pine shavings.



Your guests from out of town show up several hours early, before you’ve had time to clean out the spare bedroom. When they go in to drop their luggage, they have trouble finding a spot for it among the broken tack and out-of-season blankets you store there.

Face it; no matter how hard you may try to appear to be a normal person at times, you are, in fact, a horse person. Whether it’s the contents of your car (or “mobile tack room” as you lovingly call it) or your altered language (have you ever told your dog to “whoa”?), bits of your equestrian life undoubtedly seep into your real-world life.

How can people tell that you’re a horse person? Click “Submit a Comment” below and share your stories with other HorseChannel.com visitors. Some of the responses may be selected for a future issue of Horse Illustrated.

One selected response may be selected by the editors to win a monthly prize! If you would like to be eligible for the prize, please include your email address in the comment form (email addresses are not publicly displayed.)

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View Comments

  • I have horse keychains on my purse, my face lights up whenever someone starts talking about horses, and even if I don't know the person very well, I will go over and ask them about their horses.
    I'm not "scared" of mud, dirt, or manure.
    If I get started, it's not easy to stop me.
    If you would step into my room, you could tell I'm in love with horses. Almost every wall is covered with posters, my cupboard is full of Breyer models, and I have stacks and stacks of horse books and magazines.

  • You can just look at me and tell I'm a "horse person." I always have mud on my boots and smell like a horse! Who says that's a bad thing?! I always have crumbs from the treats I keep in my back pocket, and if you were to show up at my house you would be greeted by my saddle which sit in my breezeway (I've been meaning to sell it for a long time). Whenever someone asks me if I ride horses and I just make a "Are you stupid???" face at them.

  • You can easily tell that I am a down-to-earth horse girl. I have a ton of horse magazines(most of them are HORSE ILLUSTRATED), lots of horse posters in my room, and some horse jewelry. But mainly, I have my own horse. I don't care about getting dirty, don't mind manure(or cleaning out barns, for that matter), and probably smell like a horse at times too. Whenever I see pictures of horses, I always stop to admire them. And whenever I hear other people mention anything about these animals, I am suddenly interested in their conversation. I love horses!

  • When I'm walking through the mall with dirty boots, jeans, t-shirt, and my barn coat I go into the book store and find me a comfy place on the floor right in front of the horse section. :)

  • Let's just say that if I ever walk in the high school doors wearing tennis shoes, at least five people will comment on it.

  • I have a tendency to forget to wash the horse hair, dirt, and slobber out of my jacket before going to school the next day. Also when i dig into my pockets to find my gloves at my bus stop on a chilly morning i usually pull out a couple of broken horse treats instead! I don't mind the treats but it sure doesn't help a case of cold fingers!

  • After riding I get a serious case of "helmet head" and my hair looks horrible until I am able to "fix" it. My winter riding coat had horse slobber on it and hay and horse treats in the pockets.

  • I was on my way to school and was running a little late so, I told my mom to drive faster and without thinking I made a clicking noise like I always do with my horse. I'll never live it down but I don't mind.

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