Image Source: iStock.com

by Nicole Miller

I fell in love with horses the way most young girls fall in love with horses — through movies, cartoons, horse figurines and even a wooden rocking horse. I couldn’t get enough. Every company picnic, I’d spend all day on the pony rides.

Needless to say, my dad knew this wasn’t a childhood phase. My mother had owned horses, and it must have been in the blood.

When we moved onto property, I was given my very first horse, and it was all over for me. A dozen years, two rodeo queen titles, and eight horses later, I’m still as obsessed, though I’m confined to city limits most days.

I now get a lot of my horse fix through blogs such as this one, which is how I’ve come to be the voice in front of you.

Since the day I started cleaning stalls at the age of 12 simply to be around horses, the horse-human connection has fascinated me. It seems to have captured quite a few folks:

In “Hollywoodland”* and beyond, there are many celebs known for their love of horses:
– Selma Blair
– Gisele Bundchen
– Madonna
– Christine Brinkley
– Johnny Depp
– Jennifer Garner
– Elizabeth Taylor
– Viggo Mortensen
– Joe Perry
– Robert Redford
– Nicole Kidman
– Jewel
– Lucy Liu

Nicole Miller & Grunnion

My own list:
– Jennifer Lawrence
– Patrick Swayze (was a champion for the Arabian breed)
– Russell Crowe
– Jamie Foxx (anyone catch the fact that he did his own horse stunts in Django Unchained?)
– Ronald Reagan
– Queen Elizabeth (she’s still riding!)
– Captain Kirk – I mean – William Shatner

There are so many more…

But what is it? What is that spark that draws some people to horses (and not others?)

In future posts, I will examine humans throughout history who have truly loved their horses and sometimes how that love impacted history. First off, I’d love to hear what you think.

Readers: What is it about horses that draws you in? How would you define the horse-human connection?

*I’m reading a great book about the cowboys who shaped the early movies and I just love calling it Hollywoodland.

**Source: http://wonderwall.msn.com/movies/celebs-who-love-horses-12403.gallery