I have never seen the statistics, but I am pretty sure that a large percentage of horse owners out there are women.  Seems like a lot of young girls dream of owning a horse someday.  In a lot of cases that dream comes true when a gal gets married and at some point buys a horse or horses.  In all my years of buying and selling horses, as well as putting on clinics, I would guess that somewhere between  70% to 80% of my clients were female.  Not a real scientific measure, but probably pretty accurate.

So what’s the big deal about women owning horses, you may be asking yourself.  I only mention it because of how it really seems to test a marriage when the spouse is not a horse person. My experience has been that the non horseperson husband feels compelled to help his wife with everything from hauling hay to cleaning stalls, to hitching up the trailer.  He will spend countless hours waiting for his wife to work her horse at the stable, or support her at a weekend show.  Being macho and staying on the little lady’s good side during all of these endeavors is not hard as long as the guy perseveres long and hard enough.

The real test comes when behavioral issues arise with the horse.  If the gal requests assistance from the husband, depending on the situation, it can be a real losing experience for him.  If the guy is not afraid of horses, to prove he is macho, he will usually use too much force on the horse, and the spouse/girlfriend will get mad at him.  On the other hand, if he is afraid of horses, and wants no part of the deal, he will be viewed by her as a wimp.  So the message to you non-horse guys out there, in a relationship with a female horse owner: Educate yourself on becoming a better horseman, it will really pay off in more ways than you can imagine.

Till Death Do You Part