Music is good for horses – but no heavy metal or rap, please

The idea of horses lending an ear to mellifluous notes was revealed to me years ago by a wily old trainer, who swore by a battered ghetto-blaster and the soothing strains of Classic FM in his barn.

He experimented with various types of music. Gentle classical worked a charm on the animals, as did country and folk ditties; rock ’n’ roll had no effect on some animals but seemed to excite others. Jazz got them very jittery, while rap was likely result in stable hands getting badly injured.

Scientific studies in Britain, France, the US and Poland have confirmed exactly what that wizened horseman discovered yonks ago – right down to the varying effectiveness of different musical forms.

It’s now even being suggested that racehorses be kitted out with earphones and cool sounds before a race. If athletes, swimmers and football players can chill to their favourite ditties before a race, why not horses?

The question arises: What would the nags like on their playlist?

They might like country music songs that are actually about horses, so old favourites like Back In the Saddle Again and Horse With No Name might go down well. Or Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Stud. The Rolling Stones’ Wild Horses might stray too far into unsettling rock.

Willie Nelson sings of horses, one memorable warble being Beer For My Horses (“Whisky for my men, beer for my horses”). His personal favourite was The Red Headed Stranger, which recounts the tale of a dude from Blue Rock, Montana, who rides into town on a ragin’ black stallion with a riderless pretty little bay in tow. The filly was once the mount of his love, now lying dead in a hillside grave.

The warning goes out: “Don’t cross him, don’t boss him / he’s wild in his sorrow / He’s ridin’ and hidin’ his pain.”
But a “yellow-haired lady” from the local saloon tries to nick the bay and the stranger shoots her dead. Then the climactic line: “The yellow-haired lady was buried at sunrise / The stranger went free, of course / For you can’t hang a man for killin’ a woman / Who’s tryin’ to steal your horse.”

What horse wouldn’t be cheered up by that?

Equine earphones aren’t allowed on racecourses – yet. But innovation is what the game needs and proof that music benefits horses will surely eventually persuade officialdom that it is the way to go.

Researchers Claire Carter and Linda Greening of Hartpury College in Gloucester, England, studied eight stabled horses, exposing eight thoroughbred geldings to 30 minutes of four different kinds of music, as well as 30 minutes without music. Interested in the effect of different types of music, the researchers played: Beethoven, Hank Williams Jr, Green Day and New Stories.

The first two got a better reception from the audience than the rock and jazz.

Polish research involved 70 three-year-old purebred Arabian racehorses in their first season of competition.

They were divided into an experimental group of 40 and a control group of 30, placed in separate barns. The experimental group had “new age” guitar music played in the barn for five hours in the afternoons for three months. The control group had no music.

The emotional state of the horses was assessed at rest, saddling and warm‐up walking under a rider, by measuring cardiac activity, mostly heart rate. Measurements were taken six times, every 30 to 35 days. The music effect on the emotional state was also considered with regard to the horses’ performance as determined by race records.

The results were clear: music positively affected the racehorses’ moods, becoming noticeable after the first month and increasing in the second and third months.

Sensationally, the musical nags performed better on the racetrack, winning more stake money, on average, than those in the control group.

This, of course, strays into an entirely unchartered area of “audio doping”. What will the stipes say?

For the moment, it seems the musical drug will be confined to a tranquiliser effect.

American website ihearthorses.com, surveying some of the scientific studies, concludes: “Taking a horse out of his home environment can be very stressful and scary. If we can keep things close to what they are at home, we can bring about a small sense of safety. For example, if you haul to a different barn for a competition, having his favourite tunes playing by his stall can help him feel more at home.”

There are some opponents of music for horses. They worry that playing background tunes will block out natural environmental sounds that a horse uses for situational awareness.

However, increasing numbers of equestrians are finding a little music is a harmless, but useful, tool.

Equine Wellness Magazine offers hints on using music to help horses relax in their stables. It says one must mindful of the wider range of hearing that horses have over humans, and warn that a decibel comfortable to us might be extremely loud for them. Also, be wary of a radio dial as animals are very sensitive to the static.

Carter and Greening recommend playing music at a volume of 21 decibels when in the barn.

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