Why do we love horses?

What is it about horses that make people love them so much? Facts or opinions

Because they are just AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL animals all around...who couldn't love a horse lol! And when they give you "the look" it is so hard to resist lol.

Horses are beautiful and majestic, but I think there is also something intriguing about the partnership that forms between an over 1000 lb animal and its rider that doesn't happen with other animal species. There is also something empowering about working with horses because they so readily respond to such subtle communications and cues. Yes, horses are beautiful animals, but personally, I think I love them for the whole experience of being with them.

Because NOTHING in this world, puts a bigger smile on my face than going into the paddock and having my horses vying for my attention. Having one head under each arm as they doze off, enjoying a good ear scratch.
To have such a huge, potentially dangerous animal with a strong flight instinct, want to be with us, and allow us to do so many unnatural things to them, is an increadibly humbling experience. Knowing that that animal has put so much trust into you.
I would have my horses even if I couldn't ride them, just because of the joy I get from their beauty and curiosity.

Being on the back of a horse makes me feel free. If I am having a bad day I just saddle up and take off for awhile and there is nothing better. Plus, the friendship between me and my horses is so strong.

We really get to know their personalities and they get to be a real companion. They make us laugh, they make us happy, they make us frustrated, they make us cry, they make us sore, but they also heal us. They may only look like livestock, but they're individuals; no two are the same.
From a sporting standpoint, It's almost like a puzzle a rider has to solve; they have to know which buttons to push and which ones to stay away from, which makes horseback riding the hardest sport AND the most addicting sport, in my opinion.

Evolution. Humans and horses have been co-evolving for well over 5000 years. In most of Eurasia, humans who could bond with horses were more successful hunters & warriors, and left more offspring, passing on their bonding ability. Of course something similar applied to horses as well: those who bonded well with humans got to pass on that trait.

Because, though I loved my dog, and cat, and my budge, even my fish probably, I can’t ride any of them. I don’t get the physical and sensory, even emotional, connection with them that I have had with my horses. I could watch my dog work cattle (admittedly he wasn’t very good, but he was MY dog, so he was the best) and I couldn’t feel anything. On my horse, if I saw a cow cut left to head bush Id think of going left after it and my horses feet acted as though they were my own, and I could feel all four of them as they were hitting the ground as if they were my own, everything of mine from waist down felt like part of the horse. I think that’s a connection we don’t get with any other thing in the world, except, perhaps, that special person we love the most.

Because I never cease to be amazed at how such a strong and dangerous animal can be so gentle.

It really depends on the person. I don't think there's any one reason. Some people find a friend in horses, while some people are attracted by the challenge. However, I will say that horses and humans have been working together for a very long time and that may have something to do with it.