Serious question aboout horse hearing ?

Question

I have always been of the understanding that they ( having bigger and more directional ears) hear better than we do and are able to better distinguish individual sounds from others.

My daughter ( college student) told me recently that one of her tutors told them that horses cannot hear music - that all they hear is a "high pitched static whine" - which would mean that a radio or musical accompaniment to, say, a dressage test would actually be annoying, distracting and possibly painful to them.

Surely this cannot be right, your thoughts ?

Answer 1

of course horses can hear music...thats why it is recommened to play something along the lines of motzart to them, if they are freaked out...it calms them down

Answer 2

Wow. That would explain why my horse bucks everytime I sing while riding. HA! I am pretty sure that horses can hear music, Infact I am pretty sure horses hear better than us. So I would go to say that poor speaker quality would make that high pitch static whine. Like at a rodeo that uses PA speakers then they try to blast ''Welcome to the Jungle", I think it annoys everyone.

Edit- Really John? Techno? Wow! You must be a roper HAHAHA! *unt tish unt tish unt tish* Give me Celine Deon anyday haha. Uh no!

Answer 3

I think horses can hear music because if they can only hear high pitch sounds then why when we talk to our horses do they move thier ears like their listening? I know if I ride my mare with music playing we both have a better time..  Test it yourself if you own a horse..

Answer 4

Makes you think doesn't it about yards that have screaming noise that they call music all day and night long?

Answer 5

It's rubbish!

Horses hearing is more sensitive and covers a greater range than our own. My hunter "Willed It" LOVES Mozart.

Read about horses ears (and see a picture of some) right here.

http://www.extension.org/pages/Horse_Hea...

Answer 6

Horses hear at higher and lower frequencies than humans, what we call ultrasound and infrasound frequencies, so their hearing is more sensitive and, loud to us is louder to them.

Their tone perception is similar to ours and I haven't read any studies that say differently.  Studies aside, my own observations tell me that soft music is soothing, not annoying, to them.  Loud music, while it gets their ears cocked toward it, doesn't appear to be pleasant for them.  They react to it more like when they alert to any potential danger.

I would be interested to read any more information on this that supports what your daughter's instructor said...I don't want to believe it.

Answer 7

i have never seen any scientific evidence to say that horses hear music any different than we do,i have seen evidence that they do hear in a broader range than we do.white noise that you hear on a badly tuned radio may sound harsh if turned up loud,but my horses love music and dont really mind if i sing to them.i listen to a large range of music,from classical to techno and everything in between(except rap) and one of mine really likes drum and bass (he gets goofy) maybe there is a million dollar grant out there to find out  about it.

Answer 8

Huh?

(Sorry...couldn't resist...)

I think it's probably a crock of c**p.  First of all, music is not just one simple pitch or tone.  It's a combination of many, many different sounds.  While SOME tones or pitches may be indiscernable to horses, mine seem awfully interested when I sing to them.

It is funny, too...my Amish neighbor often sings...very loudly...and very well, thankfully, while going down the road in his cart, while mucking the stalls, while mowing the grass...I can hear him across three fields...when he sings, all the horses...mine and his, and the ones in the field between immediately stop eating grass and turn to look for him.  When he's driving, the horse will **** an ear back like he's listening...and sometimes, my little 1/2 corgi, 1/2 aussie shepherd howls along with him.

So since he sings in PA Dutch, and my dog came from an Amish family, do you think he howls along in PA Dutch, too???

Answer 9

Horses can hear music as well as we hear music.  It relaxes them.

Answer 10

I had highly rated equine specialists tell me to play Barry Manilow for a horse we had to help him relax. It helped. Country music wound him up into heart failure. It was played at the barn he was stabled in for 4H Fair and he associated it with all that excitement, then the owner of the barn he was boarding at decided to play it and the poor horse collapsed from the stress. My barn radio plays all kinds of stuff, depending on what station comes in at the time. But it's always plaling and I have very relaxed critters. So either high pitched whine is hypnotic and soothing or these scientific types are full of hooey.

Answer 11

Horses can hear music just fine.  They do not have overly sensitive ears to high pitched sounds, they have ears well adjusted to hearing low pitched and quiet sounds because of their natural instincts.

Answer 12

It should be right. I saw it in many shows and books.

Answer 13

Of coarse horses can hear music! At my barn, we leave the music on all the time, because it makes the horses more relaxed. One of the horses I used to ride LOVED the music. We put some head phones on her head and she seemed a bite surprised at first but then relaxed and liked it! LOL It was a sight to see.

Answer 14

i have never seen any scientific research or mention of it to substantiate that claim.  i have always used classical, and we have played it for racehorses and show horses.  they seem to really enjoy it.

Answer 15

Everybarn Ive been to has always had a radio playing and the horses don't mind it.  Some are even calmed by it.

Answer 16

I leave the radio on in my barn all the time..especially if I have to leave a beast in there alone..it soothes them.  Your daughter's tutor is a nit.

Answer 17

I would say how can we possibly know, its not as if we can ask them. I find if I have the radio on around my horses they are much calmer specially if I leave one in the stable on their own. So I would say I dont agree I think they can hear music may be not as we do but not as an irritant.