Equestrian Tattoos

Equestrian Tattoos

A shared fear of Ikea meatballs isn’t the only thing Simon and I have in common… We’re both tattooed! While he went for the uber conservative “only shows it when he’s feeling frisky” look, mine is a bit more out in the open – on the top of my left foot. I choose my left foot because my left side has always been my strongest side, and his too coincidentally.

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That’s my only tattoo, but I would love to get more. How many horse tattoos can one person have before they are labelled a crazy person? There are so many different options and cool designs.

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This one is all over the Internet. Sure it’s subtle and cool, but having had a foot tattoo like this would huuuuurt.

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Cool line drawing one.

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Maybe they really, really, really like County saddles?

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Impressionistic foals. I love how they look painted on.

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If I wanted realism, I think it’d definitely do something like this. It’s so calming and pretty.

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Is it just me or is does this cave pony look like a founder case?

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This artist who specializes in mixed media stylized horses is the inspiration behind several cool equine tattoos.

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Very cool Japanese.

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This may be my favorite. Can you find the pony?

I’m not ready to go get another tattoo just yet, but if I did I may get a champion rosette done. Maybe wrapped around my lower calf? Something pretty to remind me that I control the outcome of my dreams and they are achievable.

What about you – any equestrian tattoos or tattoos in general? Would you ever get one?

37 thoughts on “Equestrian Tattoos

  1. Oh, oh, tattoos! I love tattoos!

    So, my horse related tats: I have a jumper on the outside of my left ankle (after I fell off and broke my first bones, jumping); a horseshoe in the nook between my outside right ankle and my heel (after we mastered the right lead); and I have Archie’s actual shoe, scaled down to fit on the back of my half-sleeve on my right arm. And an arrow on my right wrist, for the Bold Archer. I also have a seahorse on my left ribcage, if that counts. 🙂

    For future plans: I want a “the Last Unicorn” theme on my left arm. That’s sorta horsie, in the fantasy sense. And I’ve found a really pretty watercolor horse tattoo that I would want to replicate with Archie’s actual colors, but that’s a long time coming. I’ve got like, six in line before it. 🙂

    1. The good thing is that they are quick if they’re small. My horse shoe took 20-25 min tops. That being said, it did hurt a lot but mostly because it was on my foot.

  2. Some of those are really cool! I like yours, too. I kinda want a tattoo, but I’m too much of a wuss to get one. I have no idea where I’d put it, either. I wouldn’t want it showing all the time, but I’d want to be able to show it off easily. I used to always say I’d get a little seahorse somewhere, to show my love for horses and the beach, but I couldn’t figure out where to put it. My cross country coach in high school had a tattoo of a stick figure running on his shoulder. That was so awesome to me. Maybe I could get a stick horse tattoo! lol

    1. A stick horse would be cool! You could put it on your foot and easily cover it up with a shoe, or do your back or something so you could choose what kinds of clothes cover it up.

  3. Those are all very cool! I think the Japanese tat and the foals are my faves.
    No tattoos for me. . .I don’t think I could stand it since I am deathly afraid of needles. Plus, I could never decide what I would want. Or where. But I do like admiring them 🙂

    1. It doesn’t feel like a needle at all. It feels like a ball point pen scratching on your skin. I’m afraid of needles as well and it didn’t bother me at all.

  4. I think the feather one is my fave. I think it would be cool to get a tattoo but I have a weird thing where I don’t like to wear obvious “horsey” things. So it would have to be something like a bit or braided reins, some object with a cool design that would not scream PONIES PONIES PONIES at people.

    Or I could just get George Morris tattooed on my butt for inspiration and to grant me magical Velcro butt powers.

    1. I like the feather one because it’s not really obvious, like you mentioned. If getting a George Morris tattoo would make me ride better I would absolutely do it. 🙂

  5. Personally no tattoos. And I never will get one. That was always a rule in my family – extra piercings/ tattoos would get you cut off. I know that I am an adult and could get one regardless now but I personally don’t care to have any permanent marks on my body anyways. I also have a very low pain tolerance and hate needles with a burning passion. I think there are a lot of cool tattoos out there though. I can appreciate all art! 🙂

    Really like the feather/ horse one.

    1. Tattoos are not for low pain tolerance people, that’s for sure. I think as time increases you will actually be a minority sub-culture as a non-tattoo’ed person compared as opposed to tattooed people originally being the sub-culture, kinda cool!

    2. Haha, we have the same rule in my family – “If you get a tattoo you will be cut out of the will”.
      There’s no fear that I’d get one, I don’t like pain and I don’t see the point for me (I don’t have my ears pierced for the same reason).

  6. I love horsey tattoos. I already have one non-horse related tattoo and I have a horse one planned that I’m going to get this year, I can’t wait! It’s going to be Grady’s hoofprint on my wrist. Surprisingly, I hate needles (flu shot = I have to be coerced and tricked into getting it) and have a low pain tolerance but getting a tattoo doesn’t bother me that much, I was surprised my ankle tattoo didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.

  7. I am fascinated by tattoos and the personal stories behind them. I’ve flirted with the idea if getting one for 20 years, but for various reasons, never have. Now that I’m over 40 and a parent, I think I would be a sad cliche to have one. NOT that I think that of others, but what others would think of me. That being said, my more recent tattoo “fantasy” would be the verse “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.” ~ Proverbs 21:31 in the shape (if you will) of the Ford Mustang horse emblem. Thanks for letting me share! 🙂

  8. Cool post! I have thought about getting a horse-related tattoo, but I want something that’s personal, with a story behind it and not just a generic tattoo. Haven’t thought of a good one yet!

    1. I had wanted a tattoo for years and years, and didn’t get my horse shoe one until I was 27. Just don’t want to rush a decision that is so permanent!

  9. I will never get a tattoo although I’d love to have one – preferably on the side of my ribs, maybe a nice little phrase or picture. However, I have a phobia of needles. Lets just say its severe enough that I once freaked out getting a henna tattoo (which, as I’m sure you know, does not involve needles) and my friends won’t even say the word “needle” around me. For some reason, typing it doesn’t hurt 🙂 I like the Japanese one

  10. I have a stylized Arabian on my lower back. I got it before I got into eventing and Arabians will always be my “first” love. But, I’ve been toying with adding something eventer-ish to it.

  11. I have a unicorn on my right bicep, and I love it. I’m working out what horse-related tattoo I want, and I’m going to have my awesome friend Cori draw it. She drew my unicorn tattoo also. There’s some great inspiration in this post!

  12. I have a tattoo of my Dearly Departed mare, Story, on my left upper arm. It was taken from a photo of her, and we added a huge full moon behind…since she no longer carries me, I will carry her!

  13. Love this post, I got a tattoo in my late teens but there is no story behind it. I have been toying with the idea of getting another one and having it horse themed, preferably a horseshoe I think, but haven’t found a design yet that I want permanently on me – plus I really want it on the inside of my wrist, but not sure that is the best place for it … decisions decisions!

  14. HA! Those are my heels that say heels down, I got it 2 1/2 years ago and I love it! It didn’t hurt that much but I have a high pain tolerance with tattoos. But it does hurt way more than any other area. I need to get them touched up soon.

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