Kong Linghai's workday begins at six in the morning. He feeds and grooms his horses, cleans their stables, and then saddles them.

For the 28-year-old horse riding instructor at Mingyang Equestrian Club on the outskirts of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, these seemingly routine tasks are trust-building rituals with the animals in his care.

"Horses are living creatures and you have to understand their nature before you can communicate with them," he said.

Since Kong graduated from the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University with a degree in sport horse training and management six years ago, he has worked his way up from apprentice to instructor, cutting his teeth at equestrian clubs in Beijing and Harbin and teaching more than 6,000 students.

His trajectory reflects a broader shift, in which professionals with university and college equine training like Kong are becoming increasingly sought after in a country undergoing cultural changes in the relationship between humans and horses.

China is home to 3.6 million horses and more than 2,000 equestrian clubs, according to government data, and the sector's market size reached 21 billion yuan (about $2.9 billion) by the end of 2023. The figure is expected to surpass 60 billion yuan by 2030, according to the market consultancy iiMedia Research.