horsesmell

In some ways it is hard for humans to appreciate how complicated the horses' olfaction, sense of smell, is when compared to our limited abilities.

Noting the size of a horse's nostrils and their ability to flare and capture more scents gives an indication of how important the sense of smell is for a horse's survival. By flaring their nostrils to a form a “flehman” the horse can analyse the story of the scent molecules once it gets it within the nasal cavity. There is an interesting processes of impulses that then find their way to the limbic system of the brain, which is the flight or fight centre of the brain. It is where emotional responses are held, behavioural issues that stem from memories of interactions with humans and often the part of the brain that reacts first and thinks about whatever it is reacting to later.

Often a scent when it registers with the limbic system can unfold interesting responses and if you are using aromatherapy, access old 'hurts' that are limiting your horse's responsiveness to you. If you access this successfully, you can help your horse release these limitations so when a scent triggers a similar 'memory' you will find a less fearful or aggressive response from your horse. You may even be doing this unknowingly when you wear your favourite perfume to the barn or with the leather conditioner you choose to treat your saddle with.

A horse's sense of smell does not fatigue like ours does, where we will not notice a scent after a while, this does not happen for a horse. If you place any scent on his halter he cannot escape this scent if he does not like it. So when you are using anything around your hose that has a strong odour make sure your horse can access fresh air or his stall is well ventilated.

Every nanosecond of the day a horse is smelling the scents in his barn and pasture. He is in tune with your scents, and many owners find their horses prefer to nuzzle their hair more often when they use one hair product vs another. How your horse identifies his environment will often depend on how he relates to the smells that are a constant in that environment. This can lead to a confused horse or one where he comes to depend on certain smells to feel secure.

A horse can identify his owner often one hundred yards away. No matter how much you try to disguise that nasty tasting medication with something yummy, his sense of smell will always warn him it is there waiting to hit his taste buds.

Often people say they wish they could communicate with their horses, in some ways their sense of smell is a language. We have heard of horses in the wild able to detect danger to the herd by what they can inhale on the wind. They can smell fear in a nervous rider and how they relate to the odour we give off when we are fearful will determine if we have a safe horse to teach us or a horse that takes our fear in through their nasal passages and mirrors it back to us.

Your horse's sense of smell is a very powerful tool if you learn how to utilise it to help with him inviting you into his world. Start observing how he relates to the different scents, aromas, smells, odours and fragrances that bombard his sense of smell each day, by doing this you will gain further insights into your horse's likes and dislikes.

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