Women who love horses have been turned into a bit of a meme by the Internet, but it’s silly to mock a group of people for what they love.
Besides, owning pets is sure to have some benefits for an individual – and this isn’t just restricted to cats and dogs!
Countless studies have shown that owning all sorts of animals can result in plenty of benefits.
Recently, a study specifically dedicated to women who own horses was conducted encompassing women in Northern Virginia, Northern Florida, and Western North Carolina – and it’s found that women who own horses will live 15 years longer than those who don’t!
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Several colleges conducted a double-blind study that followed a variety of women in different age groups, following their lives over forty years.
This provided researchers with some pretty surprising and very striking objective data results.
One of these bits of data found is that women who own horses have a life expectancy of up to 15 years higher than those who do not.
Conclusions about this were reached after analyzing a variety of data from women in more than fifty countries, and one of these pools involved those who are horse owners and those who aren’t.
This study split the pool into women who had owned horses for a minimum of five years and those who had never owned horses.
The life expectancy difference between women who do own horses and don’t is approximately 14.7% in the United States and 16.5% in Spain, and the overall average over these fifty countries is a 15-year difference.
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According to scientists, they’re not entirely certain why this happened, as all they aimed to do was test and record results, and their study was not meant to investigate the reasons behind their findings.
The data analysis doesn’t provide any inferences, either.
Gary Cockburn, who was one of the lead researchers behind these studies, stated that doctors, psychologists, and biologists must now lead the way into further investigations.
As for now, there are a number of possible reasons behind this surprising statistic.
The regular socialization that occurs, as well as the increased outdoor exposure and exercise experienced by these women, may aid in their longevity.
Many horse owners also state that their horses are fantastic for their personal well-being, and this can lead to fewer issues with diabetes, blood pressure problems, and heart conditions.
With all these ideas combined, it’s likely that this is how horse ownership can contribute to a longer lifespan.
Image Credit: Pixabay
Right now, we still don’t know for sure why women who own horses get to enjoy longer lifespans, but we can certainly guess that all that exercise and socialization have a lot to do with it!
Until further studies are conducted, however, we’ll just have to wait and see what the truth is.
In the meantime, don’t forget to spend plenty of time with your own pets.
While dogs and cats are fantastic for health, too, maybe it’s time to consider throwing a horse into the mix!
