Dating in my horse clothes

I have decided to actively pursue dating again. I am not getting any younger. Riding alone or with my girl barn buddies is fun, but adding a little spice into the mix would be a good thing. There are things that make it hard to meet available horseMEN. 1 there are more women my age involved with horses recreationally at least, than men, for one.

2 travel time: I think I mentioned before that it can be an hour's drive to get to my horses.This also means it's almost an hour travel time to get back home. If I had to, I could probably live out of my van with all the extra clothes, shoes, boots, coats, even a tv and coffee pot (needed for barn sitting) and cheese crackers (which i actually hate) The travel time takes a big chunk of my free time too.

3 The clothes issue: Since I spend almost all of my free time with my horses, rarely do I have to worry about what to wear. I mean, I try to look nice just because, but after a day with my horses I'm not all that presentable, especially if it's the rainy season (seems it always is here). There are fashionable horse clothes, but they are too expensive to wear everyday and they get dirty just as easy as the cheap ones. Plus, I don't think my date would appreciate me showing up directly from the barn, with guck on my boots, horse slobber on my cheek and coat sleeves-even if we were going to hang out at the cowboy bar--seems ironic, doesn't it though?

Anyway, I could pack away something nice somewhere in the van, keep extra make-up, and hair junk and use the nearby gas station for some gussying up but, I don't know. It seems like such a chore to go through all the trouble, and I hate taking off the long underwear, especially if my future date and I end up being incompatible--which is usually the case. I can see it now: He says: "Hey, let's just go to my place and hang out and watch this video of me bull-riding" (which usually means at some point during or shortly after watching the bull-riding video, he has something else planned)." I maybe say: "well, uh, ok, but can I use your shower?" (this scenerio would only happen if I thought he was really, really cute, mind you) Maybe he would like that, but to me it makes me feel Ugh!

I don't think I'm done reviewing this situation. I think I have more whining to do, but for now I'm going to hang it up and take a shower--just in case. KST