Environmental Sound Enrichment Improves Equine Welfare

Is music the path to a less-stressed life for your stabled horse? Environmental sound enrichment, in the form of classical music, increased serotonin levels in one study.^* Given this, playing music for stalled horses may quell stress and boost quality of life.

Several studies have examined the effect of music on horses and identified specific benefits, such as decreasing the risk of gastric ulcers. Most recently, veterinary researchers in Brazil studied the physiologic effects of classical music at two different tempos (beats per minute) on stalled horses with restricted socialization and movement.

The horses in the study were placed in stalls and exposed to either slow-tempo or fast-tempo classical music for 60-90 minutes. They remained in the stalls for an additional 30 minutes afterwards.

Heart rate, respiratory rate, eye temperature (by infrared thermography), and blood evaluations, including serotonin levels, were measured before playing the music, while the music was played, and after the music was stopped.

Playing music to horses resulted in the following:

• Reduced heart rates with moderate-tempo music;
• Decreased respiratory rates with slow-tempo music;
• Increased eye temperatures with both tempos;
• Increased hemoglobin concentration for both tempos; and
• Significantly increased serotonin levels regardless of the music tempo.

“Additionally, lowered heart rate and increased eye temperatures persisted for thirty minutes after the music had stopped,” said Ashley Fowler, Ph.D., a Kentucky Equine Research nutritionist.

“It is believed that both music tempos were perceived as pleasurable by the animals, with effects prolonged even 30 minutes after the end of exposure to the treatment,” wrote the researchers.

The observed physiologic effects are thought to be due to a coordinated response of the different branches of the nervous system resulting in “relaxation responses” characterized by decreased heart rate and increased peripheral blood flow, the latter of which contributing to the increased eye temperatures.

The researchers also speculated that music therapy may improve performance due to the increased concentration of hemoglobin—the molecule that carries oxygen in the bloodstream, delivering it to working muscles.

Serotonin levels increased with music therapy, and serotonin is associated with mood regulation and stress reduction. According to the researchers, “The rhythmic patterns of classical music may stimulate serotonin release in the brain and peripheral tissues, contributing to an overall sense of well-being in the horses.”

In turn, horses that are less stressed may have a lower risk of equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD), a form of equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS).

“We know that risk factors for EGGD include being exercised more than five times per week and housing in single pens. To lower the risk of EGGD, current recommendations include turning out horses with peers, feeding forage before exercise, and including a minimum of two rest days per week in exercise programs,” Fowler said.

Horses at risk of EGGD may benefit from supplementing with specific fatty acids, such as those included in ReSolvin EQ.

“ReSolvin EQ contains the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA as well as an omega-6 fatty acid GLA. All three of these fatty acids are involved in pathways in the body that produce anti-inflammatory or inflammation-resolving molecules. In a study conducted at Kentucky Equine Research, horses fed ReSolvin EQ had a lower incidence and decreased severity of squamous gastric ulcers compared to control horses,” Fowler explained.

^*Oliveira, F.Y.U., A.M. Odakura, M.F. de Castro Burbarelli, C.C.D. Ouros, I.C. de Lima Almeida Paz, J.M. Braz, R.G. Garcia, and F.R. Caldara. 2024. Impact of musical rhythm on blood, physiological and welfare parameters in stabled horses. Scientific Reports 14:31311.