As children, pretend-and-play was one of our most favorite activities. It’s always so incredibly fun to just imagine a new story for yourself. Maybe you’re playing the classic “family”, pretending you and the kids you play with are part of one big family. You may have also imagined yourself in different worlds, reenacting your favorite books or stories with your friends and siblings or toys. This exercising of imagination is such an integral and beautiful part of our childhoods. However, when we try to continue this imaginary fun into our teenaged lives, it’s suddenly not so normal. Society frowns upon this imagination, deeming it child-like and age-inappropriate. One activity whose participants are notoriously subject to this judgement is hobby horsing.
Hobby horsing is something that has been recently popularized by social media, similar to therianthropy which we discussed in this article. And similar to therians, people who participate in hobby horsing are faced with much societal judgement. But what is hobby horsing all about? If this is the question you have, then this article is the one you need to read.
What is Hobby Horsing?
Let’s start with the basics. What is hobby horsing? Hobby horsing is essentially when someone mimics the movement of horse-riding, only with a makeshift horse to “ride” on. Hobby horsing includes many of the disciplines that are in horse riding, such as show jumping, dressage, puissance, western horsemanship, western trail, and horse racing. It is obviously similar to horse riding in the way people enjoy practicing it, but it diverges from there as they become less similar to horse riding.
Being that there isn’t a real horse, all the actions and movements are done solely by the participants. They learn to perform all those disciplines that a horse would typically perform with their own human bodies. When they get to the jumps, hobby horsing starts to look like many track events, like hurdles or high jumps.
The element that makes hobby horsing specifically hobby horsing, though, is the makeshift horse. This horse is typically a long wooden rod with the head of a stuffed toy horse at the end. This object is what people would put between their legs as they perform, imagining a horse to be there instead. This creation is also made, many times, by the person themselves. It’s a way to show the art and self-expression of the person with their horse.
Why Do People Participate in Hobby Horsing?
The next thing you’ll probably ask is this: why? Why do people want to participate in hobby horsing. Well, there are numerous valid reasons why someone may participate in hobby horsing.
#1 : It’s easier and safer than training a horse
Training a horse, like training any animal, is difficult. You’re trying to get another being who cannot understand you, to understand you. It’s very hard to train a horse, and according to this article, it comes with many challenges that both horse and rider may face.
On top of that, an untrained (and sometimes trained) horse can be very dangerous. Horses are big animals so their actions hold a lot of power. A scared animal is already a very dangerous creature. A scared horse could accidentally kill you. They are a separate being that you can never fully control and, like any animal, will act on instinct and impulse. Training can mellow down their instincts, but it will never fully eradicate them. There are, in fact, around 710 horse-riding-related deaths worldwide. It’s no laughing matter. Horse riding can be seriously dangerous, especially for someone who is new to the whole thing.
For some people, the stress and anger that comes with horse riding isn’t worth it, so they turn to hobby horsing. In hobby horsing, you are simply controlling a stick with a stuffed horse on the top of it. There is no training that needs to be done for a horse as there is no living being there other than you. It is far less dangerous, and any injury you get will hardly ever become as serious as a horse injury. This way, hobby horsing can be seen as a safe alternative to horse riding.
#2 : It’s less expensive than buying a horse
It’s no coincidence that horse-riding is often associated with the upper-class. Horses are very expensive to not only have, but also maintain. Here, we can see an approximate estimation for the cost for keeping a horse is $2,426.62. For many people, this is completely not sustainable or even close to possible. On top of that, many people don’t have the money or space to build a separate stable to keep said horses. Overall, horses are way too expensive for the average person, and for many people who might want to experience horse-riding.
This is where hobby horsing can come in. Hobby horsing is incredibly cheap in comparison to horse riding. You simply need a wooden rod which you can find at Home Depot and some craft supplies from your nearest HobbyLobby. With some time and effort, you can easily make your own hobby horse. If you don’t want to do that, you can simply buy it off of Amazon. Since there is no real horse there, you also don’t need you worry about maintaining and keeping any animal healthy.
#3 : It’s a fun way to workout
Let’s not forget that hobby horsing isn’t very easy. It is a physical activity, not something you can sit around with. Because of that, it can definitely be considered good exercise. What someone in hobby horsing is doing is essentially physical exercise. They run, they balance on a single leg, and they jump hurdles as well as high jumps. All of this is very healthy and physically stimulating for the body.
Not only is it an exercise, but it is fun. Many people don’t like exercising for the sake of exercising. To many, lifting weights and running the treadmill is incredibly boring. It makes it feel like exercise is something you have to force yourself to do, and it becomes something you despise. Instead, these people would look for ways to make exercise more fun for them. Some play team sports with their friends. Others dance to express their art while also getting their physical exercise. And some people like hobby horsing. It’s just something that makes exercising enjoyable, not a chore.
#4 : It exercises your imagination
Finally, hobby horsing really does delve into your imagination. The reason it’s seen as such a childish activity is because it is very reminiscent of the make-belief we’d play as children. You are imagining yourself riding a horse when you really aren’t. However, imagination shouldn’t be something limited to just children. It can be so special and unique to each one of us, and is something that makes life so much more enjoyable.
Hobby horsing is something that helps preserve this imagination. It is good and healthy to exercise your imagination regularly. A colorful and fun world doesn’t need to be something you just forget with age. There is more than enough reason to practice an activity that helps you keep imagining, even if it is in a childish way.
Sport or Not?
The big debate online over hobby horsing is this: is it really a real sport? As surprising as it may be, many people online are arguing with each other over the legitimacy of hobby horsing as sport.
Hobby Horsing is a Sport?
Some people argue that it is a sport. As the Cambridge dictionary defines it, a sport is a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job. Hobby horsing does fit this definition pretty well. It is physically demanding, as we’ve mentioned earlier, and has its own techniques, rules and styles that you must practice to get better at it. Many people do hobby horsing as a hobby for their own enjoyment, and many people attend competitions for hobby horsing as well. If it fits the general definition for a sport, why should it not be considered one?
Additionally, many say it is comparable to many track and field events, which are all sports. It is especially similar to hurdles, as the people who do hobby horsing often jump over bars during their routines in a very similar fashion to hurdles. Sometimes, they even have high bars to jump over, similar to the high jump in track and field. If it requires similar physical exertion to track and field, which is widely considered a sport, many believe hobby horsing should be considered a sport as well.
Hobby Horsing is Not a Sport?
The opposing side exclaims that hobby horsing cannot be a legitimate sport. Some say it is far too ridiculous to be respected as a sport. They believe it to be childish to run around with a makeshift horse to ride on and such an activity does not have the dignity to be considered a sport. According to this research paper, one social media user remarked that hobby horsing is “fine up until you are like 8…above that age is…disturbing” (Monsees 12). They believe childishness should not be rewarded with a title, and should rather be shunned.
Others believe hobby horsing should stick to its name and remain a hobby. It’s a good pastime for those who enjoy it, but it’s nothing more than that. It’s something you can play by yourself or with friends in your own time as a hobby, but is not capable of being called a sport. “Hobby” is in the name after all.
There are even people who consider it disrespectful to call hobby horsing a sport. People find it rude to bring the comparison of hobby horsing to horse riding. To quote this research paper once again, some equestrians have exclaimed it is “extremely offensive to those of us who take pride in our sport” (Monsees 12). Many equestrians find that the work they put into their sport is far more than what people in hobby horsing do and it would be disrespectful for it to be considered a sport alongside horse riding, especially when horse riding isn’t fully considered a sport by many.
My Thoughts
So, after doing all my research and writing, I wanted to add my own input on this debacle. I’ve tried my very best to represent both sides as best as I can so that you can know the full story. Now, you can hear my side.
Personally, I find that the fact that this is a debate is silly. I don’t understand why people find it important to argue over whether what a group of people do is valid or not. Hobby horsing is just an activity that some people enjoy practicing. Some like to take it a step further and make it a sport for themselves, hosting conventions and competitions for the community to participate in. What does it matter what they do when you have no intention of taking part in it?
Many people online judge hobby horsing very deeply. They find it ridiculous, which is ironic in my opinion, as caring this much makes one seem ridiculous themselves. Truly, what importance is it if hobby horsing is a sport? What difference does it make? It is embarrassing to see for some people, sure, but it is entirely harmless in any form it takes.
Conclusion
This article gave you everything you need to know about hobby horsing in the simplest ways possible. You know what hobby horsing is, why people may participate in it, and also the discourse surrounding it. However, that isn’t just what I want you to take away from this article.
I hope you can understand from this article that there will always be something new and weird. There will always be something that comes up and seems very off and ridiculous, something you think you can’t condone but also can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t. It’s not comfortable to learn things you don’t understand. That’s fine. But don’t let that control how you interact with these groups.
Essentially, I just want to say that there is no reason to judge anyone based on something as harmless as hobby horsing. It’s ok if it’s something you wouldn’t enjoy, but some people do. There is no reason to judge people for what they enjoy doing, especially when it does nothing to harm anyone else. Let’s all keep our mind open to others and not let our judgement get the better of us. That’s the only way we can hope for a kinder society.
