Horse People Are Weird Or Are They?

 part of our identify, in our own eyes and those of others. That’s not necessarily bad. Without different passions, life would be a boring, homogenous slog through the days.

But horse people, like yoga people, scrapbookers, cat lovers and football fans, are also humans, with all the standard human failings—like when the passions that give our lives meaning expose the more disagreeable parts in our personalities. We sweat too many details, get caught up in very specific dramas and furiously boil what we love down to fixations that aren’t always productive or healthy. It happens.

As I finished up that stall, a second realization dawned on me: The owner with the very specific bedding demands was motivated only by wanting the best for her horse. She was acting as an advocate for him, which is what all good owners do. Her heart was in the right place, even if her methods were a bit inartful. And that deserves to be called something other than “weird.”

So I’m going to make an effort to strike the “horse people are weird” phrase and all its variations from my conversations and inner dialogue. I’d encourage you to try also. (This applies even—and especially—to people who are in different parts of the horse world from yours: Dressage riders may seem weird to the roping crowd, but I assure you, they are staring back at you equally perplexed.) If we can cut ourselves and each other a little slack, barns, arenas and show venues across the country may become incrementally nicer places, and that wouldn’t that be weird?