Music not only has positive effect on us but also horses, music can help horses relax and riding to music helps increase your endurance and stamina and puts you in a more positive state of mind, it also helps filter out background noise so that you and your horse and concentrate better and can create a positive and relaxing environment, it can act as an internal metronome to help you maintain a regular rhythm.
When you walk into most yards or stables you are almost certain to hear a radio usually for the benefit of the human but also for the horses. Music can have a calming effect on horses, helping to reduce stress and improve their behaviour.
Horses are thought to hear higher frequencies than human and one uk based study at Hartpury college found that horses were more relaxed when listening to classical or country music, although perhaps horses have different preferences.
I love riding to music, it has helped both myself and the horse I was riding, to relax, create a positive atmosphere and stay in a regular rhythm, and music defiantly had a positive outcome when training and framing a horse. Horse riding should be a rhythm it should be a dance between rider and horse that is just complete harmony and magic.
There is a profound connection between music and horses. Horses help us listen to the music we can’t hear, but also if music helps you both feel good and adds an extra layer of interest to your ground work sessions, then go for it, ride, listen and enjoy, the most important thing is that it brings positivity to both you and your horses. Horse and music are both a fairytale dream and when you combine them together there is true enchantment.
