When Horses Smell Your Fear: The Science Behind Spooked Saddles

Horses really can smell our fear, new study finds

A new study suggests your nerves might be “talking” to your horse before you ever touch the reins.

When Horses Smell Your Fear

If you’ve ever climbed into the saddle feeling a little shaky—only to have your horse suddenly act like the world is ending because a leaf moved—you’re not imagining things.

A new study published in PLOS One suggests that horses can detect human fear through smell, and that this may directly affect how cautious, jumpy, or stressed they become around us. And honestly, this might be one of the most important things riders, handlers, and horse lovers can learn—because it means our emotions don’t just stay inside our heads. They may literally drift into the air.

Researchers tested this idea by collecting odor compounds from human sweat using cotton pads placed in volunteers’ armpits. Those volunteers watched a scary video, a joyful video, and also provided a neutral sample. Later, the pads were presented to 43 female horses by placing the samples near the horses’ nostrils using small nets.

The researchers were careful to avoid contamination by making sure the pads were only handled by the person providing the sample, and the compounds were preserved by freezing. After that, the horses were exposed to standardized tests, such as whether they would freely approach a human in their paddock or startle when an umbrella suddenly opened.

What happened next was the real headline. The horses exposed to odor compounds linked to fear became more reactive. They startled more easily, hesitated more, and were less likely to approach people or investigate unfamiliar objects. Even more interesting, their bodies reflected that stress as well, with researchers collecting heart rate data and cortisol levels from saliva, which is a key biomarker for stress.

“The fearful odors from humans amplify the reactions of horses,” said Jardat.

“The significance is that horses can smell how we feel, even if they can’t hear or see us,” she said.

The study’s co-author, Léa Lansad,e said the findings support the idea of cross-species “emotional contagion,” meaning emotions can transfer between humans and animals in ways that go beyond facial expressions or tone of voice. In the real world, this has huge implications for riders and handlers. It suggests that even when we try to act confident, our horses may still be picking up on what we’re feeling through chemical signals.

That doesn’t mean horses are judging us or blaming us for being nervous. Horses are prey animals, and they are designed to scan their environment for anything that might signal danger. If your body is giving off cues that you’re afraid, your horse may assume there’s something worth being cautious about, ut too.

“Horses are prey animals, so it makes perfect sense that they would use any information in the environment to warn them of potential threats,” she said.

“It is important to remember that horses don’t rely on the ‘smell’ of fear from humans bu, but in the real world they will be using all their senses to make decisions on the level of threat,” Pearson added.

The research team is not stopping with fear. Next, they plan to explore whether humans can detect odor compounds produced by horses when the animals experience emotions. They also want to know if this chemical communication happens with emotions beyond fear, including sadness and disgust.

Horses can smell fear study shows ABC-7 KVIA

“We started with fear because this is an emotion that we really expect other animals to also experience, because what fear allows is to detect danger and to avoid it,” said Jardat, who added that researchers plan to investigate sadness and disgust.

“Even if they (horses) don’t feel these emotions precisely, they could smell differences from humans who feel these emotions, and it could mean something for them,” she added.

I love this study because it confirms what horse people have suspected forever: horses don’t just respond to what we do, they respond to who we are in the moment. To me, this isn’t scary—it’s empowering. It reminds us that horsemanship isn’t only about reins and cues. It’s about emotional leadership. And the more we learn about how deeply horses sense us, the more respect we should have for how much they’ve been listening all along.

Source: