Leaving music on in the Barn

[invinoveritas]

That’s cool, Beowulf!

I was raised on symphonic music but morphed into folk and rock as I grew up. Even my father said that some of the rock music was good although he was all for symphonic music and wanted me to play first violin in a symphony orchestra. Didn’t make that after 4 years of piano lessons.

I admit I was upset when one of my horses liked a hard rock group that one friend played at a barn. I told my horses, symphonic, folk, rock but no heavy metal and definitely no country music or rap. I let him listen to Metallica, but told him I’d not buy it for him to play.

I’m glad your horse enjoyed his song. They do like certain music and you can tell when they like it.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8802106]
short story, but one that coincides with your experience. I used to truck over to an indoor and ride my TB, ‘Spooky’ in their indoor to practice our dressage. He had about as much talent for dressage as a pig has for formal plate-setting, but he was an excellent jumper so made a decent eventer. Anyway, we used to go after hours or close to it (with permission from B/O) so it was always real quiet and lonesome, so I’d pop my iPod playlist into the speakers and have myself a nice, focused ride. Music helps me concentrate.

Anyway it was always the same playlist I called my ‘riding playlist’ which had mixed songs on it mostly R&B, not a lot of angsty stuff. Well I started noticing during one song especially, he’d get really ‘up’ - not spooky up, but moving out and forward up and just really ‘bopped along to the beat’. He didn’t do it with the other songs, so I added it a few more times to the playlist to see if it was just a fluke… it wasn’t. He’d find his little ‘metronome’ and just get very sashay-ish and strut his stuff, and he was not much of a dressage horse but he always seemed to try harder when that song was on. He’d just perk up and I got some of the best rides from him out of that song:

The song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x46GaoCodAQ[/QUOTE]

Starting colts, some really acted mellow and slow at the old "Que sera, sera … " the radio used to play regularly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azxoVRTwlNg

So, when one was ridden outside in the canyons and started seeing ghosts behind every bush, we would sing that one and they calmed right down and went to walking with a slow swing, heads low, happy forward gait.

[cayuse]

My husbands old mare loved Lady Gaga. I boarded her one winter and they usually had music on in the indoor. Everytime Lady Gaga was played that old mare stepped right out.
About leaving the music on in the barn, I do sometimes. Usually classical or country and only for a few hours and not loud.

[Scribbler]

Interesting. The two linked articles reach entirely different conclusions! I can see where playing race radio next to race horses would be pretty stressful since presumably they would associate the announcer’s voice with being on the track!

I know people like having the radio on in the indoor arena when it is raining heavily or windy, the idea being to mask the noises outside for spooky horses. Since my horses isn’t reactive to those things, I’m happier with the sound of the rain on the roof!

I dislike having music playing in the barns or in the arena, especially radio with its constants ad breaks and slightly flat acoustics. I play the radio during my long commutes, so my personal association with the radio is being slightly tense driving in traffic, and I want it off when I’m at the barn!

I do like riding to music the times I’ve practised drill team. So maybe if I could choose my music, and have it played on a decent stereo system, I’d like it.

Horses are so attuned to sounds, that I could imagine a wide variety of responses to music, some learned. Absolutely I can believe that horses would learn to be calm for a particular tune, or up for another, and maybe even want to trot in sync.

As far as in the barns, I expect it would depend on what the larger environment was like. I could see playing music softly as white noise. But if the environment was peaceful and quiet, I’d leave it that way. On the other hand, I haven’t had any adult experience with horses being stalled 24/7, so that might change what you needed to do as far as environment.

[Foxtrot_s]

Horses are always listening…

At a barn I was at, every time Col. Bogey came on all the old racehorses would stick their heads out of their stall, prick their ears and remember their old racing days.

[StormyDay]

I think a lot of the time when a horse is reacting to music or a stimulus like that, they are actually reacting to the change in attitude that the human has. They can feel if you are calm or tense, scared or happy, etc.

[Luseride]

I put it on sometimes but don’t leave it on all the time like some barns do. I know I like some quiet on occasion and think that the constant noise has to be stressful after a point in time.

I HATE it when we are showing and people play a radio all the time, including the night. That should be a quiet time for the horses so they can rest.

[Libby2563]

I had a similar experience to Beowulf–one BM liked to play an Enrique Iglesias CD and whaddya know, my horse loved Enrique! He has always been lazy but he would perk up and get more schwung. I wasn’t really a fan so I don’t think he was responding to me, and my CDs didn’t have any effect on him.

[fordtraktor]

I don’t play music in the barn but I do play it when I ride, on my headphones. Frankly it helps me keep a good rhythm. And that is the base of the training pyramid so I find it very helpful to keep me honest.

I have horses at home so I don’t have an issue with headphones, no one here for me to run into. In a busy barn or other away venues I don’t use them because you want to hear people and their "heads up"s and whatnot. Here, the only person I am going to miss is waving at the UPS man.

I do play the radio to drown out fireworks on holidays. Nothing about those nights are restful so I don’t think it matters.

[Brnord]

I like walking in the barn and having the music already going - sort of sets the tone. But, I don’t like it very loud - more like ambiance. I’ll turn it up if I’m going to be in there for more than 20 minutes and back down when I leave.

We have a station called “The Duke” that plays only classic country, anything from the 50’s through the mid-to-late 90’s…nothing that sounds anything close to the crap they call “country” today.

My horses are stalled so rarely that I don’t really care what they think of it - it’s quiet anyway. I spend more time in there than they do so my barn, my rules.

[dog_amp_horsemom]

I read a study that having music on can cause ulcers in horses. I don’t know if its true but I always remember reading that article so I don’t leave music if I’m not around the barn.

[beowulf]

i still dont know how the increase in ulcers could possibly be quantifiable in those race horses mentioned in the AUS study for thehorse.com - so you are telling me nothing else changed about the aspect of their care for the entire duration of the study? they didn’t race at all, just trained day in/out, no new stressors, handlers, riders, feed changes, grooms, exercise regimes, changes in daily handling/turnout, feed? because even one day of racing could trigger ulcers.

[Guilherme]

I don’t know if it helps; I doubt it hurts. But I did find these:

http://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/playing-music-stress/

http://equinefacilitydesign.com/equine-care/music-relax-horses.htm

G.

[findeight]

Two pages on music in the barn? Who cares (unless it’s truely obnoxious)? My barns have all had it on with whatever the working staff preferred. Last two working barns were classic country, current lay up/retirement barn is classical. Eons ago when I kept privately, I had a radio on when I was there, top 40 pop I sang along to.

There are studies on music’s effect on animal behavior but they are obvious, soft rock and classical are soothing, loud heavy metal not so much and that might be picked up by animals observing human reaction. But they don’t really prove anything and are largely anecdotal since there’s nothing to really test to compare. Seem to recall one on laying hens and another in dairy cattle that hinted at mood improvement but had no effect on egg or milk production. Staff liked it though. That was, like, in college centuries ago.

[SuzieQNutter]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8802710]
i still dont know how the increase in ulcers could possibly be quantifiable in those race horses mentioned in the AUS study for thehorse.com - so you are telling me nothing else changed about the aspect of their care for the entire duration of the study? they didn’t race at all, just trained day in/out, no new stressors, handlers, riders, feed changes, grooms, exercise regimes, changes in daily handling/turnout, feed? because even one day of racing could trigger ulcers.[/QUOTE]

John Konkhe (sp) is an Australian vet and in his lecture he said that 100% of horses that have music in the stables have ulcers.

So that is not one place. He goes all over.

The theory being that they are a prey animal. Quiet means safety. Noise means disquiet.

[findeight]

[QUOTE=SuzieQNutter;8802914]
John Konkhe (sp) is an Australian vet and in his lecture he said that 100% of horses that have music in the stables have ulcers.

So that is not one place. He goes all over.

The theory being that they are a prey animal. Quiet means safety. Noise means disquiet.[/QUOTE]

Thats a rather sweeping claim, 100% of horses with music have ulcers therefore music causes ulcers…what’s his theory on the ones living without music with ulcers or those living with music that display no symptoms and scope clean?

[tazycat]

I can’t stand having a radio on all the time it rates on my nerves no matter what kind of music. Even on low volume,so i don’t subject my horses to a radio on in barn,going all day long.

[Outyougo]

Had one who was happy listening to baseball…go figure

[pony_baloney]

[QUOTE=SuzieQNutter;8802914]
John Konkhe (sp) is an Australian vet and in his lecture he said that 100% of horses that have music in the stables have ulcers.

So that is not one place. He goes all over.

The theory being that they are a prey animal. Quiet means safety. Noise means disquiet.[/QUOTE]

Some time ago I read an article that said horses were more stressed by music in the barn because they can’t easily hear other sounds that could mean danger for them.

[woodrwo]

Thanks for all the responses! I am in the camp of wanting the peace and quiet. Then again there is nothing better than doing dressage in the ring with a great play list going on in my ear. When I start singing along I am pretty sure my guy gets slightly annoyed. Can’t blame him!
Like our different taste in music I do think it may effect each horse differently.
Blessedly the horses in our barn are out more often than not.