Monday evening diary – my husband is my biggest fan

Horses and spouses. Sometimes, it can be a slippery slope. Jealousy & resentment can develop quickly when suddenly you find yourself spending countless hours at the barn with your barn family and horse, while your spouse sits alone at home. Trying to find that balance between spending time with your spouse and with your horse is not easy. I often talk about how blessed I am that I have Alfie in my life, but I’m even more blessed that my husband Scott has embraced my passion with 100% support.

When my husband and I were married, horses weren’t a part of my life. Ok, well, that’s not totally accurate. They were there on our wedding day.

Being reunited with horses on my wedding day was what planted the seed. While I was riding through town in the carriage on my way to the ceremony, I wasn’t nervous at all. In fact it was the clip clop clip clop of the horses feet on the pavement that put me at such ease. The smell of the horses and leather brought me instantly back to my childhood when I was taking lessons at the local stable.

For our honeymoon, we went to Ireland. It was our first time there, and what a beautiful country it is. You know what there is a lot of in Ireland besides beautiful green pastures – horses. Horses everywhere. Of course there are tons of sheep and cattle, but horses, everyone seemed to have horses in their yards. Was this another foreshadowing sign of what was to come?

When we returned from Ireland, I got my weekly Groupon email and what was staring at me…a Groupon for a trail ride for 2. 👏🏻

Now, my sweet husband was game for anything. I texted him and asked if he would like to go on a trail ride with me. He of course said yes, but he mentioned that he was allergic to horses but said he would be fine, after all the ride was going to be outside.

We get to the farm, sign the waivers and go to try on helmets. We then patiently wait for our horses. At this point, I notice my husbands face is starting to break out with hives. I ask him if he’s ok, and he tells me he is fine so we get on the horses and off we go. The ride was fun, my husband did great. We say goodbye to the horses and get into the car. My husband at this point has swollen eyes and calmly tells me his chest is tight and he could use some Benadryl. I zoom to the nearest Walmart and he takes 2 Benadryl while we are on line to pay. His breathing gets better and he falls asleep on the way home. The hives took 3 days to go away, but this is the kind of man he is, this is the amount of love he has for me. It didn’t matter to him that his allergy to horses was worse than he ever imagined, he knew how much I loved horses and he wanted to support me, even if it meant he might have ended up in the hospital.

After that ride, that’s when I went searching for a stable to take lessons, and I found one close to home. That’s where Alfie and I were brought together, and the rest is history.

My husband. He’s not only allergic to horses but to hay as well. And yet, he has attended every horse show Alfie and I have been in. He loves Alfie even though he can’t really interact much with him. Whenever he visits him he pets him anyway and then runs to the nearest water source to wash his hands. He doesn’t mind that I spend all my free time at the barn with Alfie and the other horses as well as my barn family. He has not only accepted my passion, but he’s encouraged it, supports it, and has never said “no” to anything I’ve wanted to do to further my equestrian journey.

I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the support of this incredible man I get to call my husband.❤️