Domestic pet owners may struggle to imagine having the same bond with a horse. After all, they live outside and can't cozy up with you on the sofa. However, one video has recently revealed that horse owners can indeed feel the love from their equine friends.
Liv Enventing, (@liv_eventing7) shared the moment her white horse, Diamond, realized she was on the other side of a fence. Instantly, "her face lights up," according to the caption, and she gallops over to her owner of more than a decade.
The text layered over the video reads, "When he tells me he likes me, but this is how my horse acts when she sees me," insinuating that no love can compare to theirs.
The wholesome video, shared on January 6, has gathered 728,000 views and over 146,000 likes, at the time of writing.
Can Horses Get Attached to Humans?
Humans have long shared a bond with horses, mainly viewing them as companions for sports and leisure. While past research has focused on how humans view this relationship, one study explored how horses perceive it, particularly their attachment to their owners compared to strangers.
In 2020, researchers from Linköping University, Sweden, observed 26 horses in a structured test that included walking, standing still, separation from, and reunion with either their owner or a stranger.
Owners also shared details about their training methods (negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement, or both) and their horse's personality. The results found:
- Horses showed attachment-related behaviors, like staying near the door during separation and seeking proximity during reunions with both owners and strangers. Their heart rates were higher during separation.
- Horses trained with positive reinforcement showed stronger proximity to strangers during separation and reunion, possibly indicating a unique response to this training style.
- Certain personality traits (e.g., inquisitive, excitable, dominant) were linked to behaviors like staying close to the owner and displaying alertness (ears forward).
Overall, the study, published in the Applied Animal Behaviour Science journal, found that horses exhibit attachment-like behaviors towards humans, but it's unclear if this fully matches the criteria for an attachment bond.
TikTok Reacts
So far, the post has been inundated with comments from hundreds of animal lovers.
"Non horsey people (or even those people who ride but aren't horsemen) will never understand this bond," said one user and Eventing agreed, "It's truly the best feeling ever."
Another person said: "I've yet to meet a human who's been able to rival the love of an animal for its person."
"I would cry if a horse loved me this much," said a third commenter and Eventing agreed: "Trust me, I get emotional."
Newsweek reached out to @liv_eventing7 for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
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