I love this cat photo. I love cats. Big cat, little cats. Aloof cats, bossy cats. Cats that are superior but still deign to let me clean out their cat boxes.
I've never seen a survey, but most horse owners I know also have cats. (Or dogs.) And now there's a study that's found that having a cat lowers your risk of having a fatal heart attack by 40 percent! Here's an excerpt from the BBC story :
Cat owners appear to have a much lower risk of dying from a heart
attack than their feline-spurning counterparts, a study suggests.
Researchers looked at nearly 4,500 adults and found that cat ownership
was related to a 40% lower risk of suffering a fatal heart attack.
The team speculated that having a cat may reduce stress and anxiety, and so protect against cardiovascular disease.
Then it goes on to say that maybe it's not the cat, it's being the kind of person who likes a cat. Yada yada yada. I guess that means that if you don't have a cat and don't want one, you need to reinvent yourself as a cat lover and get one. But, wouldn't that ultimately create more stress since you're really not a cat lover yet there's one in your house telling you what to do?
Enough about that. So, what does owning a horse do for your health? I've not seen a study so far. While I'm sure riding a horse reduces stress and anxiety (though it depends on who you're riding), owning might increase stress and anxiety, depending on how suicidal your horse is and whether or not you can find and afford hay.
Just watching my horses graze improves my mood. When driving, we stop on the side of the road when we pass pastures with moms and foals. Horses are like magnets -- the pull is strong.
I'm certain that if I knew less (I know enough to be dangerous, so I worry too much) and they cost less to keep, that owning a horse would be a boost to health. And that's not counting the ways they make you come outdoors, play, sweat, work and disconnect from the stresses of life.
In fact, when I was in college my father let me bring Spot to school, provided I could find a cheap place. I found a beautiful big pasture with other horses where I could board her for $50/month but I had to feed her. So every day I drove out into the country to feed Spot. Yes, she only got fed once a day but she did fine on that, fortunately. I carried the grain in the trunk of my car (my car smelled great!) and I fed her in a bucket while I watched her eat before turning her back out. Some days I didn't have time to feed her, let alone ride, but she had to be fed so I drove out there anyway -- 20 minutes both ways plus however long it took her to eat. I got a 3.9 that semester -- the highest average I ever had. I believe it's because I spent time every day with my horse. I came back refreshed and ready to learn.
Horses are more than fun. They're good therapy on so many levels, from what we do in our backyard to therapeutic horseback riding that helps people with a range of physical, emotional, cognitive, and social special needs. But chances are you know more about this than I do.
Some days they cause me so much stress I think ownership is overwhelming. And other days I don't think I could live without them.
I know someone who suddenly quit riding, sold her horses, and said she's never had so much time and money. And I know somebody else who's working two jobs to keep her horses.
Horses: stress relief or causes of stress? Are they beneficial to your health? What do you think?