When interests become insanity: Horse girls and car guys

I’m going to describe a certain type of person, and I want you to think of someone you know or used to know who matches this description. They constantly talk about their interest or post incessantly about it on social media. They are able to recognize very specific details about things pertaining to their interest even if they only catch a glimpse of it. Given the option between choosing which was their favorite, the journey or the destination, they would immediately say, “the means of transportation.” I, of course, am referring to horse girls and their male equivalent, car guys. 

On the surface, these two groups seem like they would have very little in common, but when you look a little deeper, you can see just how similar they both are. Both groups have their own splinter groups that are obsessed with the smaller or larger varieties of their respective object of fascination. For horse girls, this would be those who are more obsessed with ponies/miniature horses than regular horses. For car guys, this would be the infamous Motorcycle Michaels and Dirt Bike Darylls that plague the streets whenever the weather permits it. 

Another commonality between these two seemingly opposing groups is their obsession with specific types of cars or horses. We all know of those car guys who are ride-or-die for a specific brand of car and will borderline crucify those who dare to drive anything else, but this is also a problem that can be seen within the horse girl community. Some will only ride a certain breed of horse and would rather die than so much as touch any other kind. This exclusive obsession with only one type of car/horse is by far not the norm within these two groups, but it is an ugly similarity that they sometimes share. 

The question of why some people develop obsessions like this may be on your mind, but the answer is not an easy one. The simple solution would be to say that it is merely a hobby and that they are simply showing their love for something they enjoy, but that can’t be all there is to it. After all, if everyone expressed their interests in the same way these two groups do, then we would not view them as the obsessionists we do. Although we may never truly know the reason behind why they act the way they do, it is nonetheless fascinating to see how these two groups continue to flourish in nearly every community out there.

By Caleb Schaber