I’ve never experienced a meaningful bond with a pet until I started riding horses. 

A bond with a person is nothing compared to a bond with a horse. It’s almost as if I can communicate with someone who doesn’t speak the same language, and I can understand what they’re saying back. It’s like telepathy. Our brains are channeled together and communicate as though we are connected. 

A relationship means going through challenges and facing difficulties along the way, but getting back up and making your way through them. 

My horses and I, as a team, face many challenges, but we override them. We defeat the complications of learning new ways to communicate. We overcome the difficulties of working together to get to a good spot where we’re both comfortable. 

It reminds me of how a couple should work things out—discussing each other’s opinions until agreed upon by both sides. It’s the same as a relationship with a horse. Trying new tactics and confronting each other until finding that spot where both can concede. This way, both remain satisfied. 

Now, of course, in a relationship, there are disagreements. One person lets the other know in some sort of way that they are upset. 

My horses, as my trainer says, “tattle” on me. This is when my horse disagrees with me and lets me know with a kick or something I can feel beneath the seat of the saddle. This way, like in a relationship, I can solve the problem. Communicating without words, both of us can settle in a way where I don’t make the same mistake again. 

Love–love is also a significant part of a person to person relationship. The love felt for a person involves words and time. Like in a relationship with a human, three words are spoken: “I love you.” These exact words are conveyed back to us. Unfortunately, my horses cannot speak English. Therefore, those three important words can not be uttered back, but the thought of the love being there is still in mind. 

For me, in a relationship with my horses, the number one thing is trust. I’ve always been told that if I’m nervous, the horse will be anxious too. My horses can always tell when there is tension in my body. If I am tense, my horse will also be tense.  When I am calm, my horse will likely be calm, too. 

Like in a relationship between two people, one can tell when another is feeling scared, sad, or angry. It’s part of the bond you have with one another. I know that in a person to person relationship, I can notice different emotions by the person’s actions, such as crying or their voice tone. 

My horses communicate with me in a different way. Communication is key with the movements of my body. The horse beneath me feels the movements I make and responds quickly. If I am tense, my horse becomes tense and scared. If I am not looking beyond something that might seem scary to my horse, he will be scared of that exact object. 

These bonds that are formed with my horses are just like a relationship with a human. There are so many similarities between the two, yet many differences. Even though my horses cannot speak, I know how to communicate with them.