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bhetti
Phoenix
Joined: May 18, 2009
Posts: 864
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 Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:41 am Post subject: |
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I talked to the doc about my childhood horse obsession and she pointed out it's not the object of the obsession but the depth of the interest to the exclusion of other interests... so, even though a girl loving horses or unicorns is considered a "normal" interest, if the love leaves little room for other interests it falls into the realm of "special interest" for AS?ASD. I supposed normal girls can love horses or anything else like that, too, but that's only one criteria for dx.
horses, pillows, math, chemistry, miniatures... makes no real difference in the end. |
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LinnaeusCat
Deinonychus
Joined: Jul 23, 2009
Age: 42
Posts: 383
Location: Le Monde
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| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:20 am Post subject: |
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I find almost all animals fascinating, but since I was raised in a large city I saw them rarely (only rode twice) and instead ended up getting obsessed with stray cats and owned but neglected dogs (which were plentiful). I used to fantasize about being the next Jane Goodall as a child, only for cats, and used to try various communication/body language experiments on them.
I still have periods where I indulge my various "animal crushes"...hours of watching capybara, frog, turtle, lion, etc. videos, researching, etc. when I am stressed.
I'm planning on launching a labor intensive daily updated website about animals sometime next year and have scooped up the appropriate domain names in advance. 
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Last edited by LinnaeusCat on Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
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wigglyspider
squirrel frustrator
Joined: Apr 24, 2009
Posts: 1172
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:23 am Post subject: |
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I thought many girls were obsessed with horses.
My HFA best friend loves them and has one, but I have no interest in them that exceeds other animals.
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elderwanda
Lemon Zing
Joined: Nov 18, 2008
Age: 42
Posts: 1416
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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| bhetti wrote: | my horse obsession lasted a decade, but I think was born from the disappointment that I would never own a dinosaur.
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I don't know how old you are, bhetti, but do you (or anyone here) remember that kids' show called "The Land of the Lost", with those two kids named Holly and Will, who were white-water rafting with their dad and went over a waterfall, and landed in the age of the dinosaurs? And they had that baby "brontosaurus"? And some annoying cave-man kid friend?
And the Sleastaks (?) who would come hissing around whenever they tried to go into that pylon thing with the crystals? Anyone?
Sorry, way off topic here. The idea of having a dinosaur for a pet made me think of that show, which I haven't thought of in decades and now it's all coming back.
My sister went through a horse phase, which was mostly satisfied by collecting Breyer horses. She has some aspie characteristics, but I really don't know her well enough to make a judgment one way or another. |
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bhetti
Phoenix
Joined: May 18, 2009
Posts: 864
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| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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| elderwanda wrote: | | bhetti wrote: | my horse obsession lasted a decade, but I think was born from the disappointment that I would never own a dinosaur.
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I don't know how old you are, bhetti, but do you (or anyone here) remember that kids' show called "The Land of the Lost", with those two kids named Holly and Will, who were white-water rafting with their dad and went over a waterfall, and landed in the age of the dinosaurs? And they had that baby "brontosaurus"? And some annoying cave-man kid friend?
And the Sleastaks (?) who would come hissing around whenever they tried to go into that pylon thing with the crystals? Anyone?
Sorry, way off topic here. The idea of having a dinosaur for a pet made me think of that show, which I haven't thought of in decades and now it's all coming back.
My sister went through a horse phase, which was mostly satisfied by collecting Breyer horses. She has some aspie characteristics, but I really don't know her well enough to make a judgment one way or another. |
I don't think I ever saw that show, but I remember watching monster movies with dinosaurs in them when I was quite young and thinking they were the coolest thing ever.
I still have a few of my Breyer collection... can't bring myself to give them up. I also have a collection of dinosaurs and got a bag of gravel so I can make a gravel pit in my yard for them to play in. |
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RainSong
Seatbelts Totally Cause Autism
Joined: May 02, 2006
Posts: 4502
Location: Georgia
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| Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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I loved horses for years. Had horse clothing, horse bedding, my room's border was of horses (as was my light switch), had tons of books about horses (fiction and non-fiction), rode horses (vaulting for a year, then English), talked about horses all the time, collected horse art, etc. I never had my own (I always looked at the horses for sale though, knew which barns charged what for boarding, and asked for one every year). That was my big obsession for six or seven years.
I do think a lot of little girls are interested in horses. However, I never met one as interested in them as I was.
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Markie
Tufted Titmouse
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Joined: Jun 14, 2007
Posts: 47
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 6:35 pm Post subject: Male here obsessed with Horses |
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Hi all,
I'm a guy, have Asperger's syndrome diagnosed, am 39 and I am so obsessed with horses that I am looking for a woman who is also to marry, so we can have (a) horse(s) together. I identify very strongly (and communicate very well) with stallions, which are big trouble makers for many, just like I always was I guess... :-)
That's why I fight for animal rights and against castration of horses which I see as a crime against and a disrespect of their dignity. Like I said, I'm probably "obsessed" with them... And I like it! :-)
As to the original poster's question:
> What is it about horses that attracts Aspie girls (over other animals or other possibilities)
This is a question which I find very intriguing and fascinating myself. In fact, it's not just Aspie girls, but girls in general, much more than boys who are fascinated with horses. This means it's gender related and that makes the question even more interesting! :-) |
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pensieve
Autist and Artist
Joined: Nov 19, 2008
Age: 24
Posts: 3208
Location: NSW, Australia
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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I wasn't obsessed with horses I was obsessed with dogs.
A horse kicked me when I was 4 so that probably had something to do with it. And know it wasn't my fault. I was 4. How was I supposed to know you don't walk directly behind a horse?
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IdahoRose
Deppologist
Joined: Feb 25, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 6226
Location: Idaho, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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I was never obsessed with horses. My only animal obsession was wolves. I had wolf posters all over my room, wolf books, wolf movies...
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"You're mad, bonkers - but I'll tell you a secret: all the best people are." - Alice in Wonderland |
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McCann_Can_Triple
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Jun 01, 2008
Age: 25
Posts: 191
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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I don' t care for them. To big and to... big. I've ridden before and everything, but... meh.
I like cats.
I did love reading the saddle club books though and I didn't mind playing with horse toys. Not horse's toys, but toy horses.
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ColdBlooded
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 07, 2009
Age: 22
Posts: 541
Location: New Bern, North Carolina
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| Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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| I've always loved animals in general, but i never had an interest in horses in particular. I know a lot of young girls seem to like horses... I can tell that much from all the little girls buying horse-related video games at work. I kind of likes rats a lot at once point when i was younger, but it wasn't to the level of a "special interest." I've also always liked wolves and dogs, but they were never an intense focus. I just love animals. Reptiles, though, are an obsession. Mainly snakes and lizards, really. Tarantulas have been a kind of mini-interest also. Maybe my animal interests aren't typical for AS females, lol... But i was never very interested in trains, or any other type of transportation, either... |
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Markie
Tufted Titmouse
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Joined: Jun 14, 2007
Posts: 47
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| Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:21 am Post subject: Crabs too |
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Posting of which...
If we're talking about non-horse obsessions, I can say I like all animals. I grew up with cats and get along well with them, I have a very good dog and my animal obsession before horses were crabs. I love crabs, and NOT for eating!!! 
I collected crab shells wherever I could get them, pictures, had them in aquariums, etc.
Mark |
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PunkyKat
meerkat
Joined: May 15, 2008
Age: 23
Posts: 1670
Location: Kalahari Desert
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| Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:09 am Post subject: |
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I never was crazy about horses plus my riding instructor was an absolute b***h. My parents assumed I didn't like riding because I supposedly didn't like anything that required effort. No, it was because I couldn't stand that woman. She even abused one of her horses because he was too hyper and wary of humans. She said it was "punishing" him. The scary part is that for her day job she was a school physiologist. Sure she may have fought tooth and nail for me in school but I was so sick of her comparing me to Temple Grandin all the time just because I have autism. Temple Grandin took meds; so therefore I should. All kinds of BS. She supposedly knew how to work with kids with sensory issues. Yeah, tell them to knock it off when they try to tell you that long pants and helmets hurt and tell them to suck it up. I wanted to learn how to ride but she turned the whole thing into a physical therapy session. Face it people, I'm not that coordinated and if you want it to go away completely you're going to have to shoot me. She knew NOTHING about autism and she was EXTREMLY pushy and had this dominant streak to her. I was actually afraid of her most of the time. My parents may sing her praises but after being treated like a stereotype, no sympathy for my sensory problems and especially seeing what she did to poor Storm, I wouldn't want her anywhere near my children.
Animals were always my special intrest and meerkats will always regin supreme. |
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Markie
Tufted Titmouse
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Joined: Jun 14, 2007
Posts: 47
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| Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:22 pm Post subject: Dominant people around horses |
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Hi Punkycat
I worked as a horse groom for 3 years and I must say I don't like horse people at all. I never got along well with them. I think many of them are indeed very dominating, often in an excessive, unnecessary way, and enjoying it, sometimes even abusive kinds of people. Such people always repelled me. Actually they're the reason I used to hate horses when I was a kid. I looked at how horses let themselves be treated by such people, what they let people do with them, allow stupid little people, often little girls to turn them into puppets, to command their every move, I looked at the people and their behavior, their spurs, whips, their knee-high leather boots and I found that domination-lust and -sport perverted and revolting. And I still do.
But the horses are both innocent and totally O.K. I think they need to be saved from such people and such "sport". Just like the kids you described.
One day I heard a girl talk about how a farmer castrated young colts without anesthetics and that's the first time I thought: Wait, maybe it's not the horse's faults that they are made to be and behave like slaves. Maybe they are the victims in all this. Then I went out to get to know them myself as a horse groom and I found all my suspicions true: People were egoistic and mean, often without even realizing it, and the horses the innocent victims. That's why I could never work as a horse groom for someone else again. I feel like a humanitarian in a concentration camp when I do. |
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leschevalsroses
Snowy Owl
Joined: Dec 15, 2009
Age: 21
Posts: 128
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| Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:33 pm Post subject: Re: Girls, Aspergers, and ... horses? |
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| ozzie_girl wrote: | | I've read in a couple of places that it's stereotypical for girls with Aspergers to be obsessed with horses. I was and I mentioned this to my psychologist and he said is was a dead give away! I was so obsessed with horses I could draw an extremely good likeness from memory (of course I've only ever ridden a horse twice in my life). I still have a soft spot for them (I even have drew a couple last year) but I'm no longer obsessed. I have a soft spot for dogs but didn't obsess over them like I did with horses. So what is with this stereotype? What is it about horses that attracts Aspie girls (over other animals or other possibilities) and any female Aspies out there - were you ever obsessed with horses? |
I was really obsessed with horses too when I was little. I used to ride all the time. I still freak out whenever I see a horse. Love them. I think it's typical for Aspie girls to like animals, and maybe we like horses because of the feeling of being on them? With the motion and feeling of cantering and stuff? For me I love the idea of being able to be on such a powerful animal, it's such a euphoric feeling.
Why don't/didn't you ride, Ozzie Girl? |
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