Before I bought a barn of my own and long before I met my husband, I used to date a fellow who was open to learning more about my passion for horses. I signed him up for a few private lessons at the barn where I taught (with a different instructor because it is not wise to do it yourself). When he and his instructor were sure he was capable and enjoying himself, he started taking some jumping lessons and eventually advanced to an adult group lesson of intermediate jumping students. I signed up for the group jumping lessons as well both because it was fun and for the social side of things. The group started to volunteer at the barn and would often stay for several hours after the lesson was over. Soon, people started to bring goodies to the barn so that after our class, they could hang out in the club house and watch the next lesson (I’m a big believer in the concept that you can learn a lot by observation) or work in the barn volunteering and then have something to eat.

Interestingly enough, it started out with a dozen donuts, however, within a few weeks, this group became friends and started to invite each other over to their homes for dinner parties and the dozen donuts transformed into huge spreads of fresh vegetable trays, sandwiches, hot dishes, etc., etc. The group celebrated birthdays, holidays and anything else we could come up with and everyone had a great time both under saddle and socially. This is just one of the extra bonuses that come from focusing on introducing your spouse to horses in a safe, responsible way. Among the many other benefits is a healthier lifestyle, quality time spent as a couple, and best of all, someone to help you clean stalls, and feed when winter hits and you don’t want to leave the warmth of your bed!