I lived in Texas for a few years - I also knew someone who used this phrase in the same manner.
In my experience…always horse and always meaning they were going to go pee in the bushes, weeds, trees or whatever while drinking outdoors.
Buying weight?
Yeah, with the horse it probably means something else.
Only ever the dog, never heard the horse variation
I’ll wager this is a generational thing. I’ll wager “horse” is older.
I’ll be back to tell you.
Guess I’m wrong.
Michael Quinion writes a great blog on linguistics.
I’ve commonly heard both, and always to mean going to the john.
EDIT: Now that I think about it, the “horse” version may have been more common back in Texas.
(Here in Thailand, men say they’re going to go “shoot a rabbit,” ladies that they’re going to go “pick some flowers.”)
Never heard of this expression before in my life!
“… about a horse.”
Or, “I’ve got to visit the little [whatever your job is]'s room.”
Or, “I need to go make my bladder gladder.”
You go on ahead, I just saw a tree that needs watering.
I’ve never heard either one of those phrases, or any other variation, used in real life.
The most recent non-IRL example I’ve heard comes from the dentist in Finding Nemo who says he’s going to see a man about a wallaby as he’s heading to the bathroom.
I’m not a Texan (nor do I play one on TV), but I have been saying that for that reason ever since I first heard my friend Dennis say it (and that was well over 25 years ago). I thought it was funny as hell and still do.
No one ever knows what the hell I mean either.
I was going to make a joke about dogs referring to the product from the other end, but I can’t seem to remember the euphemism that uses that metaphor.
Can anyone help?
Dog. And it’s a colourful way of saying “I’m leaving”, nothing to do with “I’m going to the toilet”.
It’s an obvious reference to dog racing: I’m going to see a bookie and betting on a greyhound race. So, I’d expect that in places where dog racing is rare or unknown, the phrase got adapted to horses. I’d also expect that the phrase was coined in the UK, where greyhound racing was a very popular working-class pastime.
ETA: Oh look, there’s a Wiki page which agrees with my opinion.
Nice link, thanks!
My sister is sometimes fond of quoting Madeline Kahn from Paper Moon: “This little snowflake has to go winky-tink or she’s gonna wet her pantaloons!”
Horse.
Now I’m off to drop the kids off at the pool.
It varies depending on location and audience. Around the farm it’s usually to see about a horse. More urban settings get a dog. And when pulling off on the side of the road while travelling, it’s to “chase a rabbit”.
Me too. Never heard the dog variant until now.