After reading this, you may have to change your play list at the barn if you want calm and relaxed horses. :yes:
1 Like
wow⊠it took a âstudyâ for someone to figure that out (smacks forehead) LOLâŠ:lol:
2 Likes
I seem to remember another study reported in Equus that indicated that horses do better with no music than they do with constant background music.
Iâm with the horses, the staccato tempo thatâs often found in jazz and rock would not be very soothing if youâre stuck in a 12 x 12 stall. They probably feel the way I do when Iâm trapped in the waiting area at the doctorâs office with the TV playing on some morning news program.
5 Likes
I wonder if they studied the reactions to âCol Bogeyâ with those TBâs.
In the stable where I used to board years ago, they would all come to the front of the stall looking for the race.
2 Likes
Iâd love to know how much they spent on that study. Years ago, somebody did a similar study to determine whether horses preferred to have the barn lights on or off. They figured out the horses didnât really care very much either way, and it cost something like two million dollars. :rolleyes:
1 Like
We used to listen to Top 40/Hip-Hop at my old barn, until that guy Bubba Sparxxx came out with that song that was just him going âbooty booty booty booty bootyâ over and over again (not sure what the song was called - Booty, maybe?). Barn manager had a FIT and said she refused to listen to that garbage anymore and started putting opera and classical on instead.
I donât know if it relaxed the horses, but it did create a very pleasant atmosphere.
Didnât last very long, unfortunately.
2 Likes
Agree with hinderella â previous research indicated that horses NEED quiet time to rest mentally and physically (which seems fairly obvious!) so that ever present barn radio (aside from annoying the heck out of me) was actually correlated with a higher presence of ulcers. The raw data was not posted so I canât say if it was a spurious correlation but it is plausible, especially with horses who may get little to no turnout.
6 Likes
I worked for a lady once who refused to play country western music in the barn because she said it depressed the horses. (seriously!) 
1 Like
[QUOTE=realrush89;6788390]
I worked for a lady once who refused to play country western music in the barn because she said it depressed the horses. (seriously!) :D[/QUOTE]
Funny, I worked for somebody once who insisted on country music in the barn to keep the horses relaxed! Which made me crazy, since at the time I hated country music. :lol:
1 Like
[QUOTE=MHM;6788400]
Funny, I worked for somebody once who insisted on country music in the barn to keep the horses relaxed! Which made me crazy, since at the time I hated country music. :lol:[/QUOTE]
Wonder what happens if they listen to the news? :eek:
I wonder if I can get a âgrantâ to start a âstudyâ⊠on the effects of TB race horses watching footage of racesâŠ
on a new 70" screen TV of courseâŠ
I will need a new barn for the studyâŠ
and an indoor arenaâŠ
of course, a TV⊠I will also need a new dressage saddle so I can âstudyâ how they ride dressage after watching racing⊠ummm, what else??? :winkgrin:
4 Likes
I only got to like country music because of constantly hearing it where I boardedâŠ
1 Like
Mine listen to what ever station is coming in clear and as long as the feed cart is rolling they donât seem to care what is playingâŠthey can have silent time outside grazing.
I did like the idea of doing your own study with the new 70", etc. LOL
I recently heard on the radioâWTOP that the most relaxing music for people had a beat similar to the human heart rate. They found the most relaxing song was one by Nora Jonesânot sure which one.
So that made me think about what you do, Mike. Since you work with BPM of each gait, have you ever tried matching the BPM of a horseâs heart rate?
I was thinking about a horse on stall rest that needs to be calmer and maybe music would help.
1 Like
Talk RadioâŠ
Worked with a girl who blasted talk radio (the controversial kind) thru the barn while she worked and horses were in. I doubt it was soothing for them! I mentioned it and she told me it kept the deamons in her head away!:eek: She was serious. I was freaked out. One of my horses seemed to enjoy hispanic music.
I am waking up this zombie thread because I put on some classical music for my leased horse â crappy day weather-wise so I just was out visiting and told him Iâd put some dinner music on for him. He was transfixed. I donât mean mildly intrigued, I donât mean grudgingly tolerant; he was gobsmacked (in a good way). Then, once his brain returned, he had to inspect the iphone with much fascination. He actually left his hay to inspect the source of the music (unheard of). Eventually he went back to eating his hay, but with his neck and shoulder lightly pressed against my leg. So cute.
I tried some other genres, but while he listens with grudging curiosity when I sing things like, âI Ride an Old Paint,â on trail rides (yes, this can be embarrassing if other people come upon us before I see them and stop singing), rock music and hip-hop have gotten grouchy ears. It is definitely classical that resonates with him.
14 Likes
I was just wondering why they never seem to test Latin music. Iâve heard barn workers playing some good tunes.
1 Like
I used to sing Neil Young songs to my very hot Hackney pony. I think he was partial to âAfter the Goldrush.â Or maybe he liked it because I knew all the words. I canât carry a tune to save my life, but singing to him kept me from holding my breath and increasing the tension when he acted up. It got very embarrassing when the neighbors heard me. I bet the real reason he liked it was because when I was singing, I didnât have a death grip on the lines.
Rebecca
2 Likes
John Khonkhe (sp?), (vet) says that 100% of horses with radios have ulcers.
2 Likes
But which came first, the radio to soothe the nervous horse, or the ulcers caused by the constant noise? As they say, correlation doesnât prove causality.
5 Likes
