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Volume

49

Issue

5

DOI

10.34068/joe.49.05.09

Abstract

There is minimal research on the large animal-human companionship bond. The purposes of the phenomenological study reported here were to identify the meaning of the relationship between women and their horses and the impact on their adult lives of the human-horse bond. Analysis is based on in-depth interviews with five adult 4-H alumni horsewomen. The meaning of the relationship was a deeply emotional response to a reciprocal relationship between women and their horses. The central finding was the role of the horse in providing needed social support for the women to meet the challenges of life on an everyday basis.

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