From the tender age of five, I knew I shared a connection with horses. Luckily, my wonderful parents agreed to let me scramble up on 38-year-old (around 113 in human years!) pony, Muffet, at our local stable and try it out. Years later, I am still unfathomably grateful that they did.

Since then, I've loved their steady teaching style and have learned trillions of lessons from observing, training, caring for and riding my equine family. These skills have carried over into my daily life tenfold and will help you become a better-functioning part of society as well. Here are just a handful of those super powers these inspiring beings have taught me:

1. Having loads of patience.

In any situation with a horse, or really any situation period, must begin from a place of patience. Horses have an innate sense of humor and of creative mischief that will send you reeling (quite literally) from time to time.

The amount of times I have been shown up by a horse cannot be counted. They know their sh--.

A horse will consistently outsmart and outclass you given the opportunity, and you will not get anywhere, I repeat anywhere, by unnecessarily manhandling or attempting to outmuscle them. You must have a clear head and calm actions at all times if you dream of working with an equine. Good traits to have for any human being! Finding your patience will only get you further in the long run. Through my 15 years of horse experience, I have gathered a good deal of patience for those around me. Messed up my phone bill? No worries, at least you didn't toss me in that fresh pile of manure!

Much like multitudes of humans that will likewise humiliate you at some point or another or just bottom-line tick you off, horses are unfortunately unable to constantly read your mind. They are, however, amazing at reading and responding to body language. Learning to clarify what your body positioning and movement is relaying to the world is an important step towards saying what you mean, and only what you mean, at any given moment.

They also have an extraordinary barometer for the fear level of any person they are interacting with. Once you gain a horse's trust, it's a beautiful privilege you get to keep until/unless you show them you don't deserve it. Think back to Harry Potter bowing to Buckbeak the hippogriff (that's half horse-half eagle for you, Muggles) in the third book or film. Showing respect for animals will always garner their respect for you.

Horses also have extreme amounts of their own patience. Like a golden retriever tolerating a chihuahua, horses will allow smaller creatures (such as humans) to climb over them, run under their feet and make all sorts of weird noises without judgement or retaliation. Just look at all the crazy things we ask them to do! They usually help us out without blinking an eye.

If only we had similar patience with one another.

2. Knowing my strength.

A full size horse's shoulder muscle is larger than the whole of your torso. So, if you were thinking about messing with one, don't.

A horse in relatively good condition can travel 30-60 miles a day and can sustain speeds of around 40 mph for over two miles at a time. They carry themselves with amazing power, the likes of which we still measure our vehicles against!

Equines will not allow others to usurp their power without a good reason. They generally stand up for themselves when able and don't give up. As humans, we often let others degrade and belittle us; but, if we can learn to stand on our own two feet in our power, the downtrodden will not remain so for long.

If you have spent any time working with an animal larger than yourself, you will have learned that the adage "less is more" holds true under nearly any circumstance. It is through guiding them step-by-step into doing what you wish that you will gain the most ground in the long run. Horses know when they're being forced into something and will respond negatively. They can out-stubborn anyone, I'll wager it!

That said, there are also moments in working with an equine counterpart that the human has to know when and how to stand in their power, using the horse's own body language to let them know that certain (possibly harmful) behavior is not OK and that you are their benevolent but strong leader. Therein lies the balance mentioned before: kind, clear and firm training works best in harmony — necessary pressure and body language shifting from moment to moment.

Use gentle coaxing to bring out the best in those around you, but don't let anyone boss you around.

3. Balancing act.

Horses know how to balance themselves over four strong legs and hard feet that are significantly too-small for their size. They also know how to balance their eating, spending 60 to 70 percent of their day grazing (when possible), with their exercise and resting time.

Showing horses growing up, I learned early on how to balance my barn-time with my homework and school time. That is to say barn-time always won, but hey, I tried!

Riding a horse comes down to so much more than pulling on the reins: left-right-whoa. Much like we can when giving piggy-back rides to children or friends, horses notice every time you shift your weight on their backs. Leaning forward encourages forward movement, leaning back slows them down and learning how to help them to support you is imperative to every rider-equine duo.

They will do their best to stay cohesive, but it is up to the rider to hold their own balance as best they can. Most oftentimes, a rider's fall is their fault not their mount's.

In life too, we can all do better holding our own balance and to not blame others when we fall!

4. Inner peace and presence.

We all know horses are the most graceful land mammal, or at least we should.

They don't know what it means to *not* be "in the flow" as we like to call it and manage to make serious speed look effortless. When a horse is allowed to run, he becomes the ultimate symbol of freedom, unfettered by his surroundings and completely present with himself.

Trail riding is one of the most calming experiences in the world. Try it sometime.

You come away feeling at peace with yourself, connected to your animal partner and to the earth beneath his feet.

"I can’t help thinking he’s so screwed up from running in circles he’s forgotten what he was born to do. He just needs to learn how to be a horse again."

Humans likewise get so entangled in daily stresses and worries that oftentimes we forget who we truly are or what our purpose in life is. Be like the horse and let yourself unwind. Go for a gallop or have a good laugh with a friend. Life is always better with some perspective.

Another aspect to horse life is letting the inaccuracies of horses portrayed in films, books and TV roll off your back. Because there are many. "Yah" is not a cue in any horse language, nor do horses readily rear up when it looks cool. "Reins" and "to reign" are two very different things. While yelling at the screen, "horses don't whinny every five minutes!" may be cathartic in some cases, in others, restraint might be a better call.

5. Persevering.

Training and caring for a horse is no easy feat. They require a tenacity of perseverance unknown to many people. I have acquired a deep sense of purpose and of seeing things through to their end that I have learned from many years of horse life. When those rascally ponies escape and take off down the road, you can't not go after them no matter how hot the day! Getting bucked off leaves you no choice but to get back up again. And when its -20 degrees out, they will still be hungry and in need of your help.

When life gets you down or may begin to seem impossible, there's nothing else to do but get up and shake yourself off to try again.

Get back in the saddle. *bah doom tss*

6. Loving unconditionally.

The best part of any animal relationship is their ability to love unconditionally. Since being away at school, my horses have had to be on semi-permanent vacation while I'm gone. That doesn't keep them from running to the gate the second I call for them on spring break!

They have been some of my best friends that were there when no one else wanted to hear about my sadnesses or troubles. They accept you just as you are; all a horse cares about is how much respect you treat them with and whether or not you've got a carrot in that back pocket.

Learning to love without condition is the most important thing we can learn from our animal friends. It will be what heals the world.

7. Be majestic.

No explanation needed. Find your calling, and go after it with style!

Oh, and hang out with horses whenever possible.

They help with the majestic thing.