Howdy friends, and thanks for stopping by to read Things Only Horse People Understand.
Today’s post is inspired by me looking at a photo I took a few years ago that I titled “only another horsewoman will understand”.
To anyone else, this probably looks like I need to wash my hands.
To me, it looks like I spent some time with a horse.
There’s a certain kind of dirt that doesn’t bother horse people. In fact, sometimes we wear it like a badge of honour.
And that’s just one of those things that people who don’t have horses don’t quite understand…
Today’s post I didn’t want to limit to only cowgirls, so that’s why it all about things only other horse people understand.
Here’s the round up!
The smell of leather tack. There is absolutely no rational explanation for why we like sniffing a saddle, bridle or pair of reins. We just do.
Horse hair on absolutely everything. Clothes, car seats, jackets, inside your pockets. You can wash something three times and somehow there’s still horse hair.
A dirty hand is not necessarily a dirty hand. It might mean you’ve been grooming, cleaning tack, picking hooves, scratching behind a horse’s ears or doing any number of perfectly respectable horse-related things.
We know horses by sight. “That’s the bay mare that lives two farms down.” “That’s the old grey gelding.” We may not know the human who owns them, but we know their horses.
Mud isn’t really a problem. It’s more of a lifestyle inconvenience.
We talk to horses. Not just “Come here.” Full conversations. Sometimes arguments. Sometimes negotiations. Sometimes we’re pretty sure the horse is actually listening.
A horse blowing into your face is wonderful. Someone who doesn’t know horses might think, Ew. We think, Awww, he likes me. Unless it’s one of those loud snorts that ends with horse snot everywhere. Then, yeah, Ew.
We can recognize our horse’s footsteps. Out of dozens of horses, somehow we know that particular sound coming down the aisle.
We have a special vocabulary. “He was being a bit gimpy today” makes perfect sense to another horse person and sounds like complete nonsense to everyone else.
We don’t mind being dirty. There is something deeply satisfying about coming home covered in horse hair, dust, sweat and a little bit of mystery.
We know the difference between a normal horse face and “something is wrong.” One look can tell us an entire story.
We have conversations about horses with people we’ve just met. “What kind of horse do you have?” is basically the equestrian equivalent of “Nice to meet you.”
We have absolutely no idea how much time has passed. We went into the barn to do one quick thing. Two hours later we’re still there.
We forgive things other people wouldn’t. Your horse stepped on your foot? Chewed a hole in your favourite shirt? Dumped you in the mud? Needed to go potty as soon as he went inside a freshly cleaned stall? Somehow you’re still telling everyone how wonderful he is.
Maybe that’s what I love about being around horse people. We don’t have to explain why a dirty hand makes us smile, why horse hair on our clothes doesn’t bother us, or why a soft breath against our face can make our whole day.
We already understand.
And sometimes, that’s enough.
Happy Cowgirl Monday!
Published by Cheryl @ The Lifestyle Digs on September 14, 2026.
