Owning a horse makes no sense in today’s world. In the humdrum, tick-tock, click-click pace of our modern life, there is little use for a horse. Horses were once man’s traveling companion, biological soulmates to our own species, though now they’ve been replaced by trains, cars, skateboards, and on. We don’t need horses like we used to, and their need for green open space and their costly biorythmm—up at dawn to devour mash every day—makes them even more difficult to keep around in a digital economy that favors scale and efficiency.
Which is why we’re buying one. Or rather, why we are breeding The People’s Horse.
Are you in search of your own horse? Here are four reasons why you may need one:
1.) A horse forces us to surrender to nature’s whims. Racehorses are such maddening creatures, other owners tell us, because they cannot be controlled. Anything can happen. Many get sick, just like humans, and it takes a lifetime of expertise to understand and care for them properly, considering they can’t talk and simply tell us what’s wrong. We’re up for learning and facing this humbling challenge.
When you see a horse, or happen to hang around them, there is an undeniable shift of emotion and change of mood.
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2.) Horses are healers. When you see a horse, or happen to hang around them, there is an undeniable shift of emotion and change of mood. Experts call it “the calming effect,” a sense of relaxation, and horses are routinely used to treat humans with depression and psychological disorders. One jockey told us the reason was the large size of a horse’s heart: it created a massive aura, and their unusually low blood pressure was to blame for triggering a relaxing feeling in us.
3.) Horses are messengers of hope. Racing horses is among the oldest pastimes we have, and controversial in modern times. Still, despite the issues, there is an undeniable, awe-inspiring thrill that comes from watching a field of horses making the far turn and tear down the home stretch, hearing that thunder of hooves, and challenging each other to run faster. In this way, they teach us to compete. Never give up on your horse, they say, because your horse never gives up on you.
4.) We can love our horse blindly. The complex web of human emotions make it hard for us to love each other without conditions. Often consumed with what we receive in return from our relationships, loving a horse is a one-way street. We can love without expecting anything return, and already with nearly 500 members signed up to our club, we can all love our horse together. We can’t predict what will happen, which is the point. Among strangers, it’s a bond we can all share, no matter our differences, and a foundation for a new, emboldened community to achieve great things.
Photo by Mark Bonica
That’s interesting that horses cause a sense of relaxaion. I bet taking care of an animal like that could help people that are really stressed out. Taking care of things, in general, can help deal with anxiety since it forces you to exist in the present.
I’ve only had one horse in my life, and I am forever grateful that I owned her! She came into my life at a time when I would otherwise have been desperately miserable for reasons beyond my control. Who can feel sad when they are mounted on a fiery steed who gallops like the incarnation of the wind? Yet in the stable she was so huggable! These days horse ownership is beyond me. Instead I’m an equine artist and freelance reporter on horses at shows. For various reasons I can no longer cope with the day-to-day care of a horse,… Read more »