Original Research
Does Music Influence Emotional State in Race Horses?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2015.06.008Get rights and content

Highlights

  • The effect of music on the race horse's cardiac activity parameters has been studied.

  • Desired effect was pronounced after 2–3 months of featuring the music.

  • After the third month, the horse presumably got accustomed to the factor.

  • Positive effect of the music on the prizes won by the horses has been found.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of music featured in the barn, on the emotional state of race horses. Seventy 3-year-old Purebred Arabian horses in their first race season were divided into experimental group (EXP) of 40 horses and control group (CNT) of 30 horses and placed in separate barns. The EXP was subject to specifically composed music featured in the barn for 5 hours in the afternoon during the whole study. The emotional state in the horses was assessed at rest, saddling, and warm-up walk under rider. Measurements were taken six times, every 30 to 35 days, starting from the beginning of featuring the music. The horse's emotional state was assessed by cardiac activity variables. The music effect on the emotional state was also considered with regard to the horse's performance estimated by race records. The cardiac activity variables were compared with repeated measures design, whereas race records were analyzed with analysis of variance generalized linear model. The music positively affected the emotional state in race horses. The influence was noticeable already after the first month of featuring the music and increased in the second and third months. Despite the fact that later the variables began to return to initial levels, a positive effect of the music on prizes won by the horses in the EXP compared to the CNT was found (P < .05). The results suggest that the music may be featured in the barn, preferably for 2 to 3 months as a means of improving the welfare of race horses.

Introduction

Race horses subject to training and races undergo strong stress. The emotional stress is expressed by among others the change of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). The cardiac variables are sensitive indicators of the immediate horse response to external stimuli or indicators of the prolonged emotional state [1]. Heart rate variability parameters enable to analyze the activity of vagal system and sympathetic nervous system [2].

To improve horse welfare, besides training loads on appropriate level, supplements, and so forth [3], a great deal of attention is focused on the possibility of limiting stressors. As in the case of leisure horses and particularly athlete horses, various means are used for this purpose, including natural training methods [4], [5], [6] or physiotherapy [7]. The question is whether music may be also used in enrichment of the stable environment.

Physiological and psychological benefits from listening to the music, such as pain relief, lower anxiety, blood pressure, and HR, are known in humans [8]. Musical stimuli can modify autonomic and neurochemical arousal indices as well as synaptic plasticity. The music may elicit emotions which result in enhanced task performance. A comparative psychology approach to the perception of music displays that animals perceive the basic components of music in a similar way as humans [9]. On the other hand, equine maximum high-frequency hearing (over 33 kHz) extends far above that of humans (under 20 kHz) [10]. The ability of synchronization of movements to the musical rhythm is the most visible sign of the music influence on many animal species, including horses [11], [12]. Studies showed a number of desired effects of music on the animals, for example, reduction in aggression and agitation in chimpanzees, decreased barking and increased resting periods in dogs, increased milk production in cows, and increased growth rates in chickens and carps [13]. The issue of the horse's behavioral response to different music genres was undertaken by Houpt et al [14] and Carter and Greening [15]. The authors reported differentiated reaction to various genres of the music. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of music featured in the barn on the emotional state in race horses.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

Animal care and experimental procedures were in accordance with the European Committee Regulations on Protection of Experimental Animals and were approved by the Local Ethic Review Committee for Animal Experiments.

Results

HR at rest was similar in EXP and CNT and did not show important fluctuations during successive measurements (Fig. 1). Beat-to-beat intervals were similar in EXP and CNT and increased during the study. Root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences were greater in EXP than in CNT until the fourth measurement, when it notably decreased in EXP. Low frequency of the power spectrum was greater in both groups at the end of the study. It was lower in EXP than in CNT in the second to fourth

Discussion

Generally, HR and HRV recorded in the study are consistent and display that the horse's emotional state was affected by the music. The effect of the music featured in the afternoon was noticeable in the variables measured during morning training sessions. The result agrees with Rickard et al [21] findings that the music exposure causes alterations in neuronal efficacy in the animal. Heart rate increases due to the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. The predominance of sympathetic or

Conclusion

The results of the study displayed the desired effect of the music played in the barn, on the emotional state in race horses. The influence was noticeable already after the first month of playing the music and increased in the second month and third month. Despite the fact that later the variables began to return to initial levels, a positive effect of the music on the prizes won by the horses was found. The results suggest that the music may be featured in the barn, preferably for 2 to 3

Acknowledgments

The study was financially supported by the National Centre for Research and Development, Poland (N180061 grant). None of the authors has any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the article.

References (29)

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