Anyone who has ever watched an old western, or Seabiscuit for that matter, knows that horses can get spooked.  The last thing anyone wants on a leisurely trail ride is for Silver to get a bad look from a squirrel and take off.   Most horses have their own temperaments and their own sensitivities and a good equestrian center will take note of their horses’ personalities before allowing anyone to ride.

Case in point, while taking a carriage ride through Lexington, Virginia, our driver clued us in on her two horse team.  The horses were siblings, so obviously had much the same upbringing.  Inexplicably though, one horse hated cars and the other hated strollers.  So she made sure the keep the infant-phobic brother on the left near the cars and his sister closer to the sidewalk.  (Incidentally, the male was also terrified of trash bags, go figure.)

A spooked horse can be very dangerous to the rider, itself and anyone else around. It is important be in control at all times, even when you don’t feel like it, kind of like parenting. As a rider, you want to protect yourself from any “unscheduled dismounts”.   So here is a list of common, everyday items, which could send your horse into a tizzy.

(Some as previously mentioned)

1)      Strollers

2)      Trash bags

3)      Cars

4)      Children

5)      Flash lights

6)      Hay bales

7)      Cows

8)      Other horses

What to do if your horse does gets spooked and goes crazy?  For legal reasons, I won’t get into that and just leave it to the trainers.  But I can tell you that horses are sensitive creatures and you should trust your instincts.  If one gives you the willies, it is best to stay clear. Or, at the very least, stay clear of trash bags.

  After lunch one day, I happened by the desk of a colleague.  I could barely see her from the piles of black wires and chargers on her desk.   My quizzical stare must have been obvious (or I was just not the first person to have it), because without a word from me, she told me that she was sorting through all of the phone, camera and other chargers guests had left behind in their room.  It had been 6 months since the last time she purged this part of Lost and Found.

     Most hotels have strictly enforced Lost and Found procedures and go out of their way to track down someone who has left something behind.  In my past properties, the housekeeping department accepts, catalogues and stores items from all over the hotel.  The person turning in the items writes their name and where they found the item.  Since I don’t work in housekeeping, I find the items people have left throughout the property, like a bottle of wine they just purchased sitting on a park bench.   Generally, and depending upon local laws, if items are not claimed within 6 months the party who found the item can choose to keep it.  Good news for me with the wine I found on the bench, not so good for the “World’s Greatest Grandpa” sweatshirt from the pool. 

     If items are of great value (or look like a kid’s beloved toy), then a Sherlock Holmes type of investigation usually ensues.  You would think it is easy to get a hold of the person who left grandma’s pearls in their room safe.  In the age of third-party purchases and internet bookings, this isn’t always the case.   That forlorn necklace can make you feel more like an Interpol investigator than a hotel administrator. 

     I’m a good American cynic and like a lot of people, have left many an item in my hotel rooms.  The flotsam of my life is scattered throughout the world.  Bunny piles, my mom calls them, marking all of the places I’ve been like thumbtacks on a map.  In most cases, unless what I’ve left is of tremendous monetary or sentimental value, I just ignore and head to the local store for a replacement.    Maybe part of me thinks this is good karma, surely the housekeepers could use yet another Blackberry charger.   Thinking back to my co-worker’s desk, maybe not.

     Where the real fun lies is not in the mundane items, but the crazy things that people leave behind.  The things no one will call to claim because they don’t want anyone to know they left them there.  “No ma’am, that is not my jar of chocolate body paint.  I have no idea how it got there.”  Here is a list of our favorites:

     3 sets of golf clubs in one room

     A glass eye

     Prosthetic limbs

     Colon cleansing machine…that was pretty gross

     Grandma’s ashes

     A pet hamster

     We fully expect to get calls for your computer cable or makeup case.  But, for the good of everyone involved, if your travel items include any of the above, we would appreciate you keeping a close (or glass) eye on them.  

     The inevitable question now becomes, what items have you (or “your friends”) left in hotel rooms.  Let’s keep this PG-13 though, please.
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