Anyone interested in horses? Is it common for us?

See for me is definitely horses its not that I don't like cats or dogs they just put me on edge 

I share a horse who is like a Labrador. He is a gentle giant  

I’m not going to lie, I’m actually quite afraid of horses in person.

My sister works as a vet

I wonder how many autistics work with animals.

Sounds like your daughter has a natural affinity with horses and maybe other animals. It's a gift not everyone is born with.

I had the usual interest in horses when I was about 8 or 9, I had tins of plastic toy horses and a model riding stable, unfortunately Iwas never allowed to go riding and my interest was discouraged.

My daughter attracts horses, I remember walking through a field with 3 or 4 horses minding thier own busines and then I heard screaming. My daughter had wandered off a bit, she was only about two, and she was surrounded by them all rubbing thier lips in her hair and nuzzling her. A few years later we lived in the country and a walk we'd go on ended up having to cut through a field of horses, they try and seperate us and wanted to keep her, they were never really agressive towards me, but they didnt' want me to take her away from them, they even gather by the gate and let me though, but my not daughter, she'd have to push them oout of the way, I've never seen anything like it before or since.

we autistics often find ourselves having a penchant for some kind of animal. For me, it's dogs

All my autistic friends online have been bronies and pegasisters (fans of the My Little Pony franchise), i've watched some MLP with my friend and it's fine.

I don't love horses however I strongly dislike horse racing (hopefully this won't spiral into a debate lol, it's a very taxing and longwinded argument whenever it happens).

Horses always come over to me where a some dogs seem to not like me but ALL horses take to me right away 

I really like horses and they often come over to see me. I find I feel very comfortable in their company.

Yes...since the age of about 11. I found horses while the other girls at school found boys.

Yes it was probably my first and most long standing special interest. I don't think I'm quite as obsessed as I was a child but they are still very much my favourite animal. I think it is a pretty common interest for a lot of people but maybe the interest is just a bit more intensified for autistic people. I think that is one of the things that prevented me being diagnosed in childhood. I had a "normal" interest even if it was completely obsessive. If I had been obsessed with trains or something more stereotypical more questions may have been asked.

Yes since I was quite small. I’m 52 and still love them. Read so many horse stories when I was younger, my Sindy doll and her horse had many adventures. I spent all day every weekend helping out at the local stables. I still share a horse and it takes up a large part of my thoughts. I think autistic people can be drawn to animals. 

Horses are the main animal I have an interest in... Household pets like dogs and cats etc just do nothing for me 

I like how horses are so ingrained in British history too and to me they actually seem to be the animals that are most interested in humans like if you walk UK to any horse fried they are straight over to you 

I think any intense interest can be connected to autism but being horse obsessed isn’t necessarily always linked to autism. 

I’m in my 60s but when young, my main intense interests were horses and dogs. I have retained my interest in dogs, the equine interest less so. 

I used to spend hours studying the form of horses, day in and day out. I had an idea in my mind of the ‘perfect horse’. I knew every horse and dog breed in the ‘Observer’s Book of Horses’ and ‘Observer’s Book of Dogs’. I knew nearly every sentence, word for word in several books on horse care. 

If I had nearby access to horses, I could probably still watch them for hours. These days, I watch my dogs, often observing for long periods. Even if I’m watching TV and the dogs are snuggled up near me, I find it hard to take my eyes of them and focus on the programme, unless it’s something really interesting. Perhaps that level of intensity is an autistic thing.

I can't say I've ever had a particular interest in horses, but this may simply be because I never had the opportunity to be around them. You sometimes hear of life changing moments when someone has an experience which can change their lives and this may be the case with a love of horses.

But tell me, Hope27, why do you think you became obsessed with horses in the first place? Was it because when you saw them in movies or TV programs you just 'took' to them?