I’ve been told that when I was very young, the first thing I would do when I got up in the morning, was climb on my rocking horse and go for a ride. Most of my earliest memories are of my beloved Breyer model horses and the time I spent playing with them and creating imaginary worlds for them. My very first model horse wasn’t a Breyer but a big plastic paint horse from the Johnny West action figure series of toys. His name was Storm Cloud in the series but the name I gave mine was Treasure, which just goes to show how much I valued horses in my young mind. I still have Treasure to this day, but he is wrapped up for safekeeping in my attic. I did find a picture online to show what he looked like:

Isn’t he just wonderful? He is still a treasure to me. Much of my childhood was spent in love with horses and wanting to know everything about them. If there was a book about horses in the library, you can bet I read it. My favorite was definitely Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series of books, with Mary O’Hara’s My Friend Flicka and its two follow-ups about horse ranching in Wyoming coming in at a close second. Even into adulthood, my passion for these beautiful creatures has not waned. My home is filled with all manner of horsiness. Despite that, I have never actually owned a horse. Sure, I would love to have one, but I am tragically allergic to them. Oh, the irony! I can manage a horseback ride out in the open air but step foot in a barn or pet a horse? Nope. The sneezing insanity commences. Even so, it has never dampened my enthusiasm.

It seems to me that I pretty much came into this world with a love for horses. It got me pondering this past week if personal likes and dislikes can be inherited? We know that physical characteristics such as eye color and blood type can be inherited, even certain health conditions and diseases. Some studies have even shown that we can inherit things like poor driving skills, insomnia, procrastination, etc. It’s not a big leap to think that we can also inherit a love of horses or flowers or books or whatever the case may be. I’m sure that the environment we are raised in has its influences, but in my case, I was not raised around horses or knew anyone who had a horse. I just loved them right from the start. So where did this come from? I do know that my maternal grandfather had a love of horses. While I never knew my grandfather, I still feel this connection with him because I know he loved horses too. Was there something that got passed down to me from him? Interesting to contemplate.

Before I started to write this post, I asked my husband if he always had an interest in the military. He told me he remembered playing with his army men as a young boy and always being interested in anything having to do with the military. Now I’m sure that his family’s summer trips to Colorado and resulting visits to the Air Force Academy fostered that love and certainly put him on the path he took into becoming an Air Force officer. But there had to be that spark of interest coming from somewhere to begin with, I think. I looked online to see if I could find some research to support my theory about inheriting interests. Some studies show that things like musical creativity can be inherited, but just how specific are these inherited interests? And do these interests skip a generation? I don’t believe my mother had any particular interest in horses and despite my best efforts, my daughter did not succumb to horse fever. Could a future grandchild of mine be born with a love of horses? It’s fascinating to think about. And I hope to find out one day!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think you’ve inherited a love of something from your parents or grandparents? Let me know!