Recently I read a thread on the Chronicle of the Horse forum that made me laugh out loud. It concerned items that people forgot when going to a horse event: a show, a lesson, foxhunt, etc.
I’ll go first. Last fall I forgot the week that we changed to formal attire for foxhunting. I was quite conspicuous in my cubbing jacket amongst all the riders dressed in black. I recently saw the photos from that hunt and I will say it made it very easy for me to spot myself in the field.
Here are some of the other items that get left behind. Once again, my own experiences first.
- Girths: I’ve ended up with three girths in my trailer, none of which fit the horse that I brought. I don’t know which is worse, a girth that’s way too long or one that’s way too short!
- Bridle: Luckily, my last two horses wore the same size bit so when I inadvertently swapped bridles it wasn’t a disaster.
- Gloves: Yes, I’ve worn one glove inside out when I’ve turned up with two left gloves. It’s not all that noticeable when they are black. For some strange reason, I only lose the right gloves. I think at one point I had six left hand gloves!
Okay, now for some of the best from the thread:
- Once went to a Horse Driving Trials with the wrong pair of horses! They weren’t the ones that I’d entered! DUHHHHH
- I arrived at an event without my pairs driving reins – They were left hanging up in the tack room all nice and oiled and clean!
- Several people left items on the wheel well or the trailer tongue (I’ve done that too).
- Three people left without their horse!
I feel a lot better now about missing my daughter’s singing lesson last week.
So, what have you forgotten?
I was grooming at a show once where one rider forgot his boots. Of course this happened when we were at a week long show hours from home. Eventually he found boots to borrow, but being male with large feet, that took some doing.
I’ve never forgotten anything important because I’m a compulsive list maker, but I also showed up on a formal day in ratcatcher! I turned to go home, and my friends dragged me onto the truck, kindly saying, we’d rather have you here looking funny than not have you here at all!