Mine are both my pets. Once their working days are done I’m lucky to also have the ability to retire them at home.
My horse is definitely my pet, and I consider my pets members of the family.
I remember a former trainer once exclaiming (with amusement? disgust?) that my horse was “like a pet.” I never even thought that would have been a question before.
When DH retires from the military, in a couple years, we’re planning on moving one last time to another state and building our forever home.
The only stipulation I have for our home is to recreate something I saw at a barn I boarded at in UK.
They had a customs designed home with a sliding barn door in the kitchen. The for slid open into their 10 horse barn. That exactly what I want for my big, oversized, pets!! To be bale to pour a morning coffee and say hi to the horses without leaving the house 
I try to raise all my babies to be pocket ponies (and pets). I think they’ve got a better chance at a permanent home and a good life that way.
I consider my horse a pet but I don’t consider racehorses pets and wouldn’t really consider them pets if I owned them.
For me, the delineation is the reason for ownership. If you own the animal for work reasons, it is not a pet. I own my horse whether or not I can ride her and whether or not I can show her. I prefer to ride and show her but if I couldn’t for any reason, I would not sell her.
Likewise, I don’t think fox hounds are pets as they are owned for a specific job. I don’t think professional agility dogs or racing greyhounds are pets either.
Barn cats are the only cats I can think of that may not be pets.
People who own a dog or cat because they primarily like the company own pets. Same with birds and fish and anything else owned by a person.
So, MY horse is a pet, but someone else’s may not be.
My first cat in Haiti was a pet.
The second was taken in because I needed a working mouser, though eventually she became a something of a pet - but I always knew she’d have to be rehomed when I left Haiti. My riding pony was another working companion who became petlike but whom I knew would have to part company with me. Even more than Cat #2, he wasn’t really interested in being a ‘pet’ as he was fairly standoffish. I knew there was no way I could bring either back to the US, so they were between pet and working partners. I gave them the best life I could while I could, and then had no choice but to accept rehoming them as best I could, so I kept a bit of emotional distance with them.
The other ponies I worked with because I enjoyed helping care for them, didn’t like seeing them neglected, and wanted them to have the best chance at a good life. But I was constantly telling myself, ‘I don’t have CareCustodyControl, I don’t have CareCustodyControl, I don’t have CCC…’ they had to stay livestock for their sakes and mine.
The sheep were owned by HAS and were strictly livestock by their choice, mine, and my employer’s.
Oh, and the dang chicken hen just plain appropriated me over my objections!
[QUOTE=clanter;8602067]
my horses consider me their pet[/QUOTE]
I have to go with this one for my animals…
No, like my cats, my horse is family. Only better than family because I actually got to choose to have her in my family.
Cows, no matter how pet-like and cuddly are livestock. Horses that are on the move (not staying for indefinite training) are livestock. They don’t get treated poorly, nor are favourite treats or petting styles withheld, it’s just that there’s (in theory*) an understanding on my part that I shouldn’t allow myself to get emotionally involved the way I do with one of my own pets to whom I’ve made a life long commitment.
*I have failed at this more than once
My horse would kick my ass if I called her my “pet.” If I had to give her a label, I’d say she’s my partner…no other term really comes close to the bond that she and I share. My dogs and cats, while technically should be considered “pets,” are never called that by me - they are my family.
To those of you that are calling horses a Luxury/ Hobby I think it might be more accurate to call it a Luxury Lifestyle.
In my opinion that much time and money qualify it as a lifestyle not a hobby (:
I consider my horse a pet, she works but is still a pet.
I guess for me, growing up with horses at home and such, I think of them as pets. Having them from birth to death at an old age, living through rough winters when you can’t ride at all, etc–horses were something that didn’t have to have a “job” to be valued members of our family or “earn” our attention. They were just part of our daily life not unlike our dogs or my siblings for that matter. LOL
And they certainly didn’t seem like a luxury. A lot of work, yes. Fun sometimes, yes. A luxury? no.
Now that I board, I do see it as a luxury from a purely financial standpoint because it’s a lot more expensive doing it this way. If I didn’t have a horse, I’d have about $800 more dollars in my pocket every month and I’m a minimalist–my horse has no special needs right now, I don’t have fancy tack or clothing, I don’t compete. I pay board, I do vetting and dental work, I take lessons. I trim my own. And still, averaged out over the year, about 800/mo. But even though I can’t really do the kind of riding I want to now with my mare who is 25 and semi-retired, I would never think about getting rid of her in order to have a horse that could do what I want. I was the first human she saw and I’ll be the last.
So…I think that’s the difference for me. I’m not really a rider. I’m a horsewoman. So my horses are not a means to an end. I honestly enjoy mucking stalls and just being around horses. If I were a rider, then a horse would be a tool and a partner. But I just don’t have that expectation at this time.
I think my next horse–whether I lease or buy–will likely be a tool and a partner. I would like to have a horse that can do what I want to do. If he is lucky, he’ll still be a pet. 
My mare would be appalled if I called her my “pet.” She is the “Princess” and I am her minion:)
.
My problem is that I make my horses into pets. Then I can’t get rid of them when I really should!
