Many believe that people tend to hang out and relate to those who are similar to them and share related interests. However, this photograph refutes the statement that friends have to share similar interests. The girl in the photo is in a wheelchair suggesting that she can neither walk nor ride horses. However, to many audiences’ surprise, the girl is hugging a horse. As the girl cannot ride a horse, one would expect that the horse and the girl cannot relate and share similar experiences. However, the ironical scene in this photo suggests that there are no limits to friendship and even the most opposite beings can become the closest friends just like the horse and the girl in this photo. Even more surprisingly, the girl does not look dismayed or depressed because she cannot ride the horse; she looks delighted and pleased just to be with the horse. In return, the horse looks peaceful and happy to see its friend. The anonymous photographer who took this photo intentionally juxtaposed the horse with a girl in a wheelchair. If it was a different animal, for example a dog, the photograph would carry an entirely different message and a weaker influence. Also the overall mood of the picture is very warm and pleasant with the sunlight shining on the two friends. Since interacting with a horse requires the person riding the horse, the photographer put someone who cannot ride a horse to demonstrate that a true friendship has no boundaries. This appeals to the audience’s pathos, as the irony and the overall mood of the photo evokes sympathy and warms the heart. It reminds the audience that even the most opposites can become friends and what really matters are the feelings not the similarities. Differences are just characteristics, they do not define friendship.
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