That old saying “music soothes the savage beast” could be true for our horses. Although they are not savage beasts, listening to music has proven to relieve stress in horses as well as humans.
Research has shown that horses are not fans of Rock n’ Roll or Heavy Metal, but prefer classical music or country, my choices too.
Along with Bluetooth technology, earphones have been adapted to adjust to horses’ ears.
Claire Neveux, MSc, is an equine behavior consultant at Ethonoica in Normandy, France. Neveux along with a group of researchers at the University of Caen and the University of Strasbourg (France) tested the earphones on 48 horses.
The group found that both in traveling in trailers and having farrier work done, stress was reduced when listening to music. Although heart rate still increased, recovery from stress and return to normal heart rate proved to be faster when listening to classical music.
If you are interested, your horse will be tested and monitored to make sure of no unusual reactions to the earphones and the music they deliver.
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