>>1618980Horses can be awesome - if they are properly trained, and respect the rider as their herd leader.
The simple reality is that horses, while being amazing animals, are the dangerous retards of the animal kingdom. In the 1800s people used to get killed by horses all the fucking time. The most common cause of death among cowboys was getting dragged to death. Most of this is due to lack of "horse sense". A simple mistake with a horse you've know for years can kill you - like walking behind one, getting kicked, and dying in a stable from a ruptured liver. They're powerful, huge, and terrified of everything until they've been trained to calm down. Even then, they're never going to be like dogs, they're not cuddly, and they will try to challenge their trainer's position of dominance despite the trainer knowing better.
Horses have to be taken for what they are, not for what we want them to be, or for what TV and westerns would have us think of them as. They are livestock, not pets.
If you want a cuddly pal, get a burro. They are 50% ears, 50% weesnaw.
