Don't hold me!

"Don't hold me!" he tells me as soon as I've put him up on the horse. I tell him okay, but he keeps glancing behind to make sure I'm not sneakily holding on to him anyways. "I can do it by myself!" I tell him I know he can, and promise not to hold on unless he needs me to. "I'm a big boy!" And don't I know it.
It would make me sad, except just as he's becoming more and more independent he's also getting new habits that make it a bit easier... like the hug, kiss and snuggle I get on the couch every morning when he first wakes up along with the quiet "I love you". That's when I get to hold him and he doesn't mind.