Hilarious Encounters With “Non-Horse Show” Folk

EC Blog by: Patrick Lee

From time to time, spectators at horse shows wander around the barns checking things out. They usually stop to watch me work and ask questions. I’ve learned to be courteous, but not too chatty.

While braiding in Wilmington OH, I heard a male voice ask the usual, “Oh wow, what is it that you’re doing?” Without looking up, I answered that I was braiding the horse’s mane for its class later that day. A moment passed and the next question was, “Is that horse a boy or a girl?”

“This is a gelding.”

“What is a gelding?”

“A gelding is a male horse whose testicles have been surgically removed.”

After an awkward silence, I finally looked up to see the man with his wife and three sons, ranging in age from around 7 to 17, staring at me in a silent state of shock. I realized at this point that my matter-of-fact answer had ruined these parents’ day and created many more questions, left unanswered.

I’m fairly certain the family left immediately and the parents are wishing they had taken the kids to a Pixar movie instead of their first horse show.