Eldest and I were discussing this yesterday when he commented that horses looked so fragile. We got into a nice discussion of the fragile looking ones being a stupid shape (big chests with scrawny legs) and being easy to break whereas normal/wild horses seem to be ponies (and a much more practical shape with their stocky bodies and necks and thicker legs).

My inlaws have known horse people (don't know if they owned racehorses, I think one of their friends does/did showjumping and related) who were obsessed about the safety and comfort of their horses and would sometimes even sleep with them.