i think horse relationships are much like people relationships. you'll meet people who are brilliant at what they do, but you might not work with them well. you'll meet people who are like your best friends with the exact same personality as you and you can't wait to hang out with them. and you'll meet people that might have an entirely different personality than what you'd consider nice or like yours, but they can teach you tremendous amounts.
horses are the same. you don't need a deep emotional bond to excel. you just need to be willing to work with the situation and learn from it