37 Horse Quotes & Sayings Inspiring Freedom and Companionship

Horses are mighty equines integral to our history for centuries, unlike their striped, undomesticated relative, the zebras. These one-hoofed creatures are herbivores with a lifespan of around 25-30 years and an average height of 14-18 hands (Yes, they are measured in hands!). 

Throughout history, we have been grateful for their strength in partnering with us in transportation, agriculture, recreation, sport, and war. And because of their constant presence in our lives, we linked them with symbols such as power, wealth, prestige, and many more.

Get more insights from our collection of horse quotes below, summarizing everything we must know about these majestic equines.

Related: For more from the equine family, explore the different types of horses, our answer to that burning question, "do donkeys laugh?" and zebras feature in our list of animals that start with Z.

Best Horse Quotes

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With the skyline filled with skyscrapers, it's unbelievable how horses shaped New York. Since they're the former yellow cabs of the city, we can see fountains scattered around the city and narrow streets designed for them. 

Throughout American history, they were also part of ball shows, show jumping, rodeos, films, and many more. There's much to uncover about how these creatures weaved the country's identity today! For further reading, we recommend Sarah Maslin Nir's Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal (here on Amazon).

Unfortunately, horses have been victims of neglect, abuse, and exploitation. According to The Humane Society of the United States, horses, along with dogs, cats, and livestock, are one of the most commonly abused animals. Through increased public awareness and education, we can work together to reduce the number of horse abuse cases.

Let's ensure that the amazing horses we share our planet with are treated with love and respect by reading first how other people appreciate them through the horse quotes below.

"A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart and wins with his character." -Federico Tesio #trvst #quotes #impact #gogreen #horse
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"A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart and wins with his character."

- Federico Tesio

"I have seen things so beautiful they have brought tears to my eyes. Yet none of them can match the gracefulness and beauty of a horse running free." -Unknown #trvst #quotes #planetearthfirst #gogreen #horse #beauty #free
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"I have seen things so beautiful they have brought tears to my eyes. Yet none of them can match the gracefulness and beauty of a horse running free."

- Unknown

"Horses lend us the wings we lack." -Pam Brown #trvst #quotes #changetheworld #dogood #horse
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"Horses lend us the wings we lack."

- Pam Brown

"The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and freedom." -Sharon Ralls Lemon #trvst #quotes #changetheworld #impact #horse #freedom #beauty #spirit
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"The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and freedom."

- Sharon Ralls Lemon

Inspirational Horse Quotes About Courage And Gracefulness

Horses are built with powerful hindquarters and a long, curved neck that helps them reach speeds up to 44 miles per hour. At the same time, their graceful and elegant gait is both mesmerizing and impressive. 

Like how we run, walk, or skip, horses also have different ways of moving their legs. They have four natural gaits - walk, trot, canter, and gallop. While rack, running walk, slow gait, and pace are artificial gaits that benefit not only the horse but also the riders. If you want to know more, you will learn from plenty of online content by horse lovers worldwide.

Listen to these creatures' rhythmic beats as you read the following horse quotes below.

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." -John Wayne #trvst #quotes #thinkgreen #changetheworld #horse
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"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."

- John Wayne

"A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open." -Gerald Raftery #trvst #quotes #ecoconscious #changetheworld #horse #freedom
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"A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open."

- Gerald Raftery

"A stubborn horse walks behind you, an impatient horse walks in front of you, but a noble companion walks beside you." -Unknown #trvst #quotes #socialchange #changetheworld #horse
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"A stubborn horse walks behind you, an impatient horse walks in front of you, but a noble companion walks beside you."

- Unknown

"Success is like a wild horse. If you do not know how to handle it, it will throw you off and look for another rider who can handle it well." -Ajith Kumar #trvst #quotes #bethechange #dogood #horse #wild
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"Success is like a wild horse. If you do not know how to handle it, it will throw you off and look for another rider who can handle it well."

- Ajith Kumar

"There is something about riding down the street on a prancing horse that makes you feel like something, even when you ain't a thing." -Will Rogers #trvst #quotes #bethechange #bethechange #horse
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"There is something about riding down the street on a prancing horse that makes you feel like something, even when you ain't a thing."

- Will Rogers

Horse Quotes About The Creatures' Connection With Humans

Horses are social animals that need companionship to thrive. In the wild, horses form social bonds with other horses, relying on each other for protection and companionship. When confined, we can observe behavioral issues such as aggression, chewing, head shaking, foal rejection, and many more. 

Humans should offer the companionship captive horses need by giving them time to run and engage in stimulating activities to avoid these issues. On a deeper level, horses and humans can bond like with dogs and cats. A 2019 study proved how the equines could recognize facial reactions and voices that match1. And if they don't, it takes the horses more time to respond.

We have formed deep connections with horses, recognizing their intelligence and loyalty. To this day, many people have a special bond with their horses that goes beyond just riding or training them. Observe this connection as you read the horse quotes below.

"I call my horses ‘divine mirrors'—they reflect back the emotions you put in. If you put in love and respect and kindness and curiosity, the horse will return that." -Allan Hamilton #trvst #quotes #impact #thinkgreen #horse #love
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"I call my horses ‘divine mirrors'—they reflect back the emotions you put in. If you put in love and respect and kindness and curiosity, the horse will return that."

- Allan Hamilton

"A good rider can hear his horse speak to him. A great rider can hear his horse whisper." -Unknown #trvst #quotes #socialimpact #dogood #horse
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"A good rider can hear his horse speak to him. A great rider can hear his horse whisper."

- Unknown

"A horse doesn’t care how much you know until he knows how much you care. Put your hand on your horse and your heart in your hand." -Pat Parelli #trvst #quotes #gogreen #ecoconscious #horse
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"A horse doesn’t care how much you know until he knows how much you care. Put your hand on your horse and your heart in your hand."

- Pat Parelli

"When you are on a great horse, you have the best seat you will ever have." -Sir Winston Churchill #trvst #quotes #ecoconscious #socialchange #horse
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"When you are on a great horse, you have the best seat you will ever have."

- Sir Winston Churchill

"A pony is a childhood dream. A horse is an adult treasure." -Rebecca Carroll #trvst #quotes #beinspired #bethechange #horse
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"A pony is a childhood dream. A horse is an adult treasure."

- Rebecca Carroll

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." -W.C. Fields #trvst #quotes #impact #ecoconscious #horse #people
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"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."

- W.C. Fields

"I sit astride life like a bad rider on a horse. I only owe it to the horse's good nature that I am not thrown off at this very moment." -Ludwig Wittgenstein #trvst #quotes #changetheworld #ecoconscious #horse #nature #life
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"I sit astride life like a bad rider on a horse. I only owe it to the horse's good nature that I am not thrown off at this very moment."

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

I'd rather ride on a Mustang, than in one.

~ BaileyAnn Neal

Quotes About Horse and Their Role In History

More than any other animal, horses have made the most significant impact in human history. From the prey and predator, livestock and prey relationship 6,000 years ago, it developed into a true partnership. 

Thanks to their powerful legs, we traveled faster, as did worldwide migration, trade, and cultural exchange. They even helped build the foundation of the greatest empires by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Attila the Hun. 

Alexander and his horse, Bucephalus, have a legendary story. The young conqueror has tamed the once untamed beast and formed a formidable bond that lasted to death. Undoubtedly, we are where we are today, at least in some measure, because of the horse.

Continue admiring the domesticated but respectable equines, whether a horse owner or simply curious, as you read the next set of horse quotes.

"A dog may be man's best friend but the horse wrote history." -Unknown #trvst #quotes #bethechange #beinspired #horse
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"A dog may be man's best friend but the horse wrote history."

- Unknown

"We have almost forgotten how strange a thing it is that so huge and powerful and intelligent an animal as a horse should allow another, and far more feeble animal, to ride upon its back." -Peter Gray #trvst #quotes #gogreen #ecoconscious #horse #animal
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"We have almost forgotten how strange a thing it is that so huge and powerful and intelligent an animal as a horse should allow another, and far more feeble animal, to ride upon its back."

- Peter Gray

"The horse, with beauty unsurpassed, strength immeasurable and grace unlike any other, still remains humble enough to carry a man upon his back." -Amber Senti #trvst #quotes #takeaction #collectiveaction #horse #beauty
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"The horse, with beauty unsurpassed, strength immeasurable and grace unlike any other, still remains humble enough to carry a man upon his back."

- Amber Senti

"The history of mankind is carried on the back of a horse." -Unknown #trvst #quotes #socialimpact #socialchange #horse
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"The history of mankind is carried on the back of a horse."

- Unknown

"I can make a General in five minutes, but a good horse is hard to replace." -Abraham Lincoln #trvst #quotes #bethechange #socialchange #horse
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"I can make a General in five minutes, but a good horse is hard to replace."

- Abraham Lincoln

"In the end, we don’t know what horses can do. We only know that when, over the past thousands of years, we have asked something more of them, at least some of them have readily supplied it." -Jane Smiley #trvst #quotes #changetheworld #thinkgreen #horse
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"In the end, we don’t know what horses can do. We only know that when, over the past thousands of years, we have asked something more of them, at least some of them have readily supplied it."

- Jane Smiley

"No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle." -Winston Churchill #trvst #quotes #beinspired #takeaction #horse #life
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"No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle."

- Winston Churchill

Noteworthy Horse Quotes In Art And Literature

Horses' presence is evident in history books, folklore, mythologies, and even superstitions. For example, Mars, the god of war, is associated with horses in Roman mythology. Meanwhile, Greek mythology has Pegasus, the immortal horse born from the blood of Medusa. In the eastern hemisphere, as the sixth animal of the Chinese Zodiac, horses represent energetic and high-spirited people. 

A white horse signifies heroism, while a dark horse means the underdogs. Horses have been an integral part of our lives for thousands of years and are a source of fascination and wonder.

Read more about these exceptional colts from the minds of authors and poets in the last set of horse quotes below.

"Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider." -Saint Augustine #trvst #quotes #socialimpact #impact #horse
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"Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider."

- Saint Augustine

"A man on a horse is spiritually, as well as physically, bigger than a man on foot." -John Steinbeck #trvst #quotes #planetearthfirst #gogreen #horse
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"A man on a horse is spiritually, as well as physically, bigger than a man on foot."

- John Steinbeck

"There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse." -Robert Smith Surtees #trvst #quotes #dogood #socialimpact #horse
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"There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse."

- Robert Smith Surtees

"It is best not to swap horses while crossing the river." -Abraham Lincoln #trvst #quotes #socialchange #ecoconscious #horse
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"It is best not to swap horses while crossing the river."

- Abraham Lincoln

"It is the horse's gift to connect us with Heaven and our own footsteps." -Ronni Sweet #trvst #quotes #gogreen #dogood #horse
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"It is the horse's gift to connect us with Heaven and our own footsteps."

- Ronni Sweet

"When riding a horse, we borrow freedom." -Helen Thomson #trvst #quotes #bethechange #socialchange #horse #freedom
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"When riding a horse, we borrow freedom."

- Helen Thomson

"No one can teach riding so well as a horse." -C.S. Lewis #trvst #quotes #ecoconscious #collectiveaction #horse
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"No one can teach riding so well as a horse."

- C.S. Lewis

A few more quotes and sayings about horses

The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.

~ Arabian Proverb

Stay away from a horse long enough and you'll start tapping your fingers to the beat of a trot.

~ Unknown

No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses.

~ Herman Melville

God forbid that I should go to any heaven in which there are no horses.

~ R.B. Cunningham Graham

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.

~ Winston Churchill

I've had enough. I'm going horseback riding.

~ Unknown

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Trรถsch M, Cuzol F, Parias C, Calandreau L, Nowak R, Lansade L. Horses Categorize Human Emotions Cross-Modally Based on Facial Expression and Non-Verbal Vocalizations. Animals (Basel). 2019 Oct 24;9(11):862. doi: 10.3390/ani9110862.

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