Online Dating For Horse People: A guide

Online dating is all the rage these days, and if you’re a horse person, it can be an extra-useful tool. Here are a few handy tips to get you started on your search.

Don’t fool with a Muggle website like Match.com or eHarmony. Skip straight to an equestrian-centric dating website–there are plenty of them out there. Narrowing the dating pool to “your kind of people” will save you the hassle of training an un-horsey significant other to put up with your horsey habits. Horsey dating websites align you with people who share your interests (horses, horses, horses) from the get-go.

The nice thing about equestrian dating websites is that you’re going to get relevant information on potential match-ups, such as if they’re a farrier or if they own a dually or a trailer with living quarters, so you can discretely factor that in to your decision-making process. Here are some questions excerpted from equestriansingles.com‘s site:

Different sites have various search options. At equestrianmatchmakerdating.com, for instance, you can scan potential suitors by their idea of a nice first date.

Other sites, like horsedate.com, allow users to post photos of their horse. You don’t want to start dating someone only to find out on down the road that they own an ugly horse.

Online chatrooms and forums, like this one from equestriancupid.com, offer a nice way to mingle and swap stories about, um, riding experiences.

Or, take a survey like this one from westernmatch.com to see how your romantic interests compare with those of potential suitors.

Some sites have tools you can use in real life, like these business cards from www.westernmatch.com. Like the looks of that tall drink of water at the feed store who always help you load up your grain? Slip him a card–maybe he’ll look you up!

How many sad, lonely horse people are in your area, just waiting to get a leg up on love?

Originally published August 16, 2012.