I’m watching ‘National Velvet’ and think back to when I plowed through the book - tough sledding for a 12 year old American - because it was about horses. One of my favorites! But I was horse crazy in those days, I had about a hundred horse figurines and statues, the Breyer horse models were more precious to me than anything I owned, I lived, breathed, read about, and drew horses. This phase was after dolls, before boys. I knew a few other horse loving girls but never hear about this kind of thing any more.
Yep.
My daughter is a horse camp counselor. Lots of horse crazy girls - many of whom are broken of their passion after a week that includes cleaning stables.
My niece certainly was. She translated that into a degree in equine science, a career working with horses, making money on the side with horse related artwork, and owning a thoroughbred.
I think is better suited to IMHO than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
A friend’s 13-14 year old daughter is. It helps that she goes to a private school and has friends who have their own horses. One of the disadvantages of going to an expensive private school if you’re not rich is developing expensive hobbies, so she works at a stable to afford the horse (although I’m not sure if she actually owns the horse she regularly rides).
Tina Belcher is
Why exactly was this a thing, the idea of girls (specifically girls) being interested in horses? This isn’t the first time I’ve seen references to it, but I still don’t really understand it. Horses are traditionally associated with warfare which is associated with men, and associated with agricultural labor which is also associated with men. It could be a “cowgirl” thing, but the “horse girls” seem to overlap more with upper-class WASP Americans than the “country girl” demographic, which it seems is just as likely to enjoy jeeps, 4x4s, 4 wheelers and other mechanical contrivances as horses. What exactly is up with this?
Absolutely yes. I helped my friend and her daughter build a saddle stand. She’s been nuts about horses since she was 9 or 10 and since 12 has been helping at a stable in exchange for getting to give the horses their exercise. (Riding them) She is horse crazy.
My daughter went through a horse phase for a bit also, though not to that degree. She absolutely loved the dude ranch vacations we took.
She’s over the Equestronauts, though.
Horses are very expensive, both to buy and to maintain. If the horse is not a working animal, then only rich or upper middle-class people can justify the expense.
Bill Gates and Steve Job’s daughter are very into horses and very good.
It’s definitely popular among the rich kids.
The pseudo-psychology I always heard was that it was pseudo-sexual. Girls that aren’t old.enough to have a real sex drive but still somehow attracted to a big indomitable muscular beast that is still gentle and attentive to her wishes.
Nowadays though, it’s all unicorns.
I wanted my girls to want horses and want to ride, but it’s just too red-necky around here. They both love small pets. My oldest daughter did a bit of dog showing semi-locally. And actually started college with the idea of Vet.school. She changed her major her second year. Love got in her way, so she decided a quick way to make money was more important. No horses though. Made me sad. And OP, I watched ‘National Velvet’ today too.
Neither my sister nor I were horse-crazy, although we certainly had friends and acquaintances who were, and did enjoy the opportunities we had to go riding with our Girl Scout troops.
My brother’s oldest daughter went through a brief horse craze, but that’s all I know about it.
Horse-crazy girls, absolutely!
In Britain, a 2013 study showed that girls/women made up 75% of participants in equestrian sports. In the USA, it seems to be even higher, approaching the 90% range.
However, equine professionals (instructors, trainers, etc.) are male dominated – way more males than females.
In competition*, female participants outnumber males, at 3 or 4 to 1 in amateur level. But by professional-level competition, especially at higher levels, the number of men goes up to 50% or more. And at the very top levels of equestrian sports (the Summer Olympics), females still outnumber males – 75% vs. 25% male – by count. But males predominate in winning medals.
Reasons for this are unclear. (And nobody seems very interested in studying it.) Some allege that it’s due to unconscious bias by the Judges – but it seems to happen just as much in events that are judged on objective results (like jumping) as those decided on subjective judge’s opinions. Another reason given is that males are more aggressive (due to higher levels of testosterone & cultural conditioning) than females, and this is important in a sport involving control of larger, stronger animals. But personally, most top-level equestriennes I’ve met can be quite aggressive when required. So I don’t have an explanation.
*Note that equestrian competition is about the only sport that is completely gender-neutral.
It treats genders fully equally – men and women compete equally against each other. And gender of the horses used is completely unrestricted, too.
I wouldn’t say my daughter is horse crazy (she doesn’t have a roomful of posters and toys) but after her first time riding (a Girl Scouts trip) she asked us consistently for lessons for over a year until we finally decided she really wanted to do it. We don’t own a horse, but she usually rides the same horse (“her” horse) at each lesson.
She is expected to groom and care for the horse though not (yet) shovel the manure. Every other person in the class is an adult (she’s 10) and I would say that some of the adults might qualify as “horse crazy”–one woman has a tattoo of her favorite horse, though she doesn’t own it. Of the adults in the class only one is a man.
We are white though of the usual mongrel American ancestry (not WASPs). And although it doesn’t feel that way when I pay the bills, I guess we’re in the upper part of the middle class. We can afford the lessons, but not an actual horse.
I don’t know the economic status of the people I see riding in the class and also just riding by, but they are fairly mixed–mostly white but also people of East Asian descent, Hispanics, and African Americans.
Yes indeed. My daughter has been riding for six years, is working at her stable once a week, and will be a CIT next year. And sure some give up after mucking stalls, but others actually like it just because it means being around horses.
Not really. Around here, in TN, lots of people keep horses. Some are wealthier than others, some horses are kept better than others. I have 2 horses and a mini. My two big horses are thoroughbreds. One’s off the track, the other I’ve had since he was a yearling. I spend approximately $30/mo on grain per large horse (the mini gets a negligible amount). $200/yr per horse on hay (again, the mini’s consumption is limited to picking up what the others leave behind). Shots are about $150/per horse per year. Mini is as expensive as the big ones there. Farrier is $30/every other month per horse for a trim. I own my farm, so I had expenses fencing it. I have hot wire and put it in myself. I figure regular expenses per horse per year is about $900/year. You can find sound, sane horses for anywhere from $1500 to $150K.
If you show, the expenses can add up fast. A friend of mine was boarding her A rated hunter at a training barn. Training board was about $1200/mo, I think. The added costs for showing, transporting, your trainer, etc., can add up beyond that. A luxury, but she’s by no means wealthy. That is her extravagance. She wears clothes until they wear out, rather than the top of fashion. She keeps her other horses at home, inexpensively. She drives an older car.
StG
I’d wager most “horse crazy” girls don’t ride or otherwise have any regular contact with actual horses, so while not being wealthy may preclude being actively involved with real horses, there’s plenty of current tv series, movies, books, toys, etc. to feed the craze.
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My daughter is 22 now, but when she was young she was horse-crazy. A friend of mine just happens to own horses, and one of my daughter’s fondest memories is going to visit her horses when she was little.