A horse is on the outside [spirit] like a man is on the inside [spirit]. Horses without fail reflect the Human, or what within the human is. Crazy Horse was a mystic, but the name Crazy Horse was given to him by his enemies, whom seeing him untouchable on horseback were dismayed and frightened of him. Both he and horse were somehow protected.

as far as aristotle goes, he is pointing out that a horse does not do well when alone. common practice is to place a small pony, or a burro, with a horse. together they are a joy to watch as they happily interact. but he speaks from the sense of a man owning a horse that he is not with unless he wishes to visit the horse. Unlike horse cultures, whom at early ages pair child with colt to become friends, always together. Like the Souix called the horse "Big Dog". This can also be seen in afganistan, or mongolia, and in the bedouin. these horse cultures bind with the horse because their survival is interdependent as horse to man and man to horse.

horses as beasts of burden, breeding stock, work animals...is a rather late outworking in mankind's history, perhaps very western civilization as formation. though horses as prized bloodlines go all the way back in man's coexistence with horses, but this is more at the horse cultures. Arabs hold the horse most high as spirited partners, their Arabians are the most durable horses on the planet.

though, the common Arabian horse or bred mix we find outside the Arab culture are misunderstood horses, dismembered from their original purposes. they thereby command a different approach when training, but sadly most folks deal with all horses the same, with human brute force.

the return of Natural Horsemanship techniques is gaining popularity in western culture, this where each horse as an individual is through an individual human working toward equal partnering, not through a human will overpowering, but rather allowing the horses's natural capability to reflect the human...be the language that brings about that partnering. that right there is what horse cultures have done for ages. from this returning western angle, in that humans are so far removed from natural, this practice is a very healing outcome through the partnering with a horse. this is why equine therapy is being utilized more and more with children, young adults, and even adults who have handicaps/disabilitys. however, it ~behooves~ anyone to enter into such a healing modality with a horse.

something mystical happens, as it has always happened just so between one of man and his/her horse/s.