Germs and You; an in Depth Look at Why I'll Live Longer Than You

As I was making lunch today (after a trip to the barn and half a day of work) I noticed an excessive amount of dirt under my fingernails. Looking back on the day to that point I realized I had eaten popcorn, a muffin, a jolly rancher, goldfish and peanuts. Aside from how to curb my never ending appetite, I also wondered what that dirt was comprised of and how long it had been there.

As a bit of a back story. I am super duper OCD/germaphobe to the max. I can't deal with any type of human hair (dog and horse hair are not the end of the world) or slobber. I have close to 20 different bottles of lotion strategically placed throughout my house and purse because dry skin makes me grumpy. Dirty feet are the very tip of the end of the world. Don't mess with me if I have dirty feet. You've been warned.

So back to lunch and pondering the extent of the dirt under my fingernails... That dirt could contain E. coli! It could contain fecal matter (actually, that's almost a guarantee seeing as I was at the barn). There's a possibility I might die.

Then I sat there, eating Doritos with my still dirty fingernails, and thought. How many times have I cleaned a stall and eaten a sandwich directly afterwards? A lot of times. A WHOLE lot of times. Then there are those times when I was grooming my horse before a show and it was NOT ok for any dirt to be on him at all, but me and my hands filled with cheez-its were filthy with a week of whatever was in his stall and turnout.

Then there are those barn BBQ days where I couldn't even tell you what comprised the dirt staining my clothes and not coming off my hands. All I know is the BBQ tasted great and I don't know how the taste would've changed with clean hands! Not to mention all the flies landing on my food. I hope it's not true that they poo every time they land but if it is true... Actually, let's not think of that.

Horses add a lot of benefits to our lives. Mostly it's emotional along with building muscle and confidence. One of my benefits is constitutional. My immune system knows how to fight a LOT of different kinds of dirt and mud (unfortunately this probably includes poo). I don't know when else my immune system might encounter poo but rest assured, if it does, I'll live at least 15 minutes longer than a non-horse person. And 15 minutes is plenty of time for a quick ride!

Jesse's paw prints in the sand. Or that's what I hope it is...