"It was my marriage or my horses,"  Katie Price

When Katie Price broke up with Peter Andre, one of the rumours was that it all about horses. Peter Andre, like many other husbands, boyfriends and lovers, was tired of playing second fiddle to a horse.

In Ok magazine, Katie Price has talked about her horses, and how Peter Andre gave her an ultimatum to move them away from her trainers yard. He was jealous, apparently, not only of the horses, but of her trainer, Andrew Gould.

At first, Katie Price started to look for another yard. Then she thought, "why should I?"

So, the horses stayed, and Peter Andre went.

So, who's most important in your life - your horse, or your other half?

Now, you might think that's just a ridiculous question. How can a horse ever compete with a human relationship?

But just think about it. How much time in every day do you spend with your horse? There's the mucking out, the putting out in the field, the grooming, and then there's the riding. It all takes time out of your day. And it all happens every day. Some days, generally at the weekend, maybe when your partner is off work too, it can take up even more time. Owning a horse is not something you pick up and put down when you feel like it like yoga or pottery. The horse will be there to be looked after every day, and you can't just take a day off from it, at least not without some forethought and organisation.

And we're not all Katie Price, with the money and resources to get someone else to look after a horse. If you want a day out, chances are you have to race home early to get the horse in or muck out and do feeds. Life becomes tied into a fixed routine that revolves around an animal.

So is it just the time spent down the yard that turns partners off? And is there a way to manage the other half to take away some of that resentment towards the horse?

 One obvious solution is to get your other half interested and involved in horses. The trouble is, you either love horses or you don't. It's not the sort of thing you can suddenly develope an interest in, or you can really take up half heartedly. If your partner doesn't like the muck, or is just plain scared, as a lot of people are, there's not a lot you can do to get over it.  Peter Andre was never really interested in dressage.  It was Katie Price's thing, but not his. 

A better idea might be to do a deal, and agree an amount of time for each of you to spend independently on your own interests. This can be a good thing. Rather than spending all your free time together and feigning an interst just because you think you should, allow your partner to do their own thing. Trouble is, with the amount of time you're likely to spend down the yard, if your partner is there too, you're not likely to see a lot of each other. And that might or might not be good for your relationship.

Perhaps the best idea is to sit down and talk about how you can best accommadate a horse in your relationship. And if between you, you come to the decision that you can't, would you dump your partner or the horse?

And if you really begin to think it's your partner who needs to go, just think carefully. Maybe it has been your dream to have a horse. Maybe you don't mind spending all your spare time and cash on your passion. But the nights will still be long and lonely, and mucking out hard work, on your own.