For absolutely no underlying reason whatsoever, here’s 10 fine photos plucked from the archives of footballers of yore enjoying their time spent in the company of horses.
Garrincha rides his horses through the Brazilian countryside with his shotgun by his side, 1957
Southampton and England forward Terry Paine (left) poses proudly with horse ‘Tornado’ and stable lad Raymond Davies, 1966
Pele looking every inch the western dandy while filming a cameo scene for the 1972 movie ‘A Marcha’
Liverpool manager Bill Shankly meets a fellow Red: Grand National champion Red Rum, at Ginger McCain’s stables, 1973
Kevin Keegan and wife Jean take the horses out for a ride on a crisp December morning, 1975
Mike Channon introduces everybody to a few of the horses he breeds at Lower Chase Farm in Hampshire, 1976
Liverpool captain Emlyn Hughes (nicknamed ‘Crazy Horse’) and his young son get on famously with Red Rum after the latter’s Grand National win in 1977
Liverpool striker Steve Heighway dresses the part while posing as a Highwayman (geddit?) for a photoshoot, 1977
Liverpool again, and this time it’s forward David Johnson who is the man in the silks, 1980
Zinedine Zidane, seen here with matching hair and knitwear, just hanging out at the stables, 1994