Are horses pets? If not, what do you consider them to be?

Recently a non-horsey friend asked me if I thought of my horse as a pet and the question completely threw me! What do people think? Is your horse a pet? If not, what is he/she? We buy and sell them like commodities, we 'use' them for sport, we breed from them (does that make them 'livestock'?) and in some countries we eat them (although I guess no-one who comes on this forum would be doing that!). So ... what are they to us?

I'd love to hear your views!

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Permalink Reply by Ann Crago on September 10, 2009 at 10:46am

...I find it really easy to call a "little ,aged or rescue horse,pony or donkey a pet.....the animals we talk about and endlessly discuss as far as health care,training,and so on I kinda lean to the lines of "recreational sport or activity...like hockey baseball and so on.....yes a horse is a living creature and we bond with them too....but it's the social connection to people with the same interest that we spend our recreational time with , that makes me classify our connection with horses this way.......

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Permalink Reply by Fiona Hill on September 15, 2009 at 2:37pm

That's an interesting view, Ann, thank you - and one I'd experienced but never really thought about.

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Permalink Reply by Fiona Hill on September 15, 2009 at 2:39pm

Yes, I think you are quite right Leah. I used to always describe my old pony as 'an expensive pet' in the days when she cost me a fortune but I didn't DO anything with her other than look after her. Thank you so much for joining the discussion - it's great to hear people's views.

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Permalink Reply by Alanna P. on September 17, 2009 at 2:01pm

I don't really consider my horses to be pets, because I think that a pet is an animal that lives in your house and is house trained. Cats, dogs, rabbits, fish (well, ok, you can't really train a fish =P) are pets. I know, I know, lots of people have pets that are stictly outdoor animals, but all the same, they could be indoors. You don't buy horses at a pet store, you buy them at a horse sale or from somebody's farm.