Research on Sound-Reducing Equine Ear Gear

A lot of horses are wearing ‘ear gear.’ These noise-dampening devices showed up on many Olympic horses. Sometimes riders put things inside the horse’s ears, and other riders use ‘bonnets’ that cover the entire ear.

But do these things work to help the horse not react as drastically to sounds?

A 2023 study¹ from England suggests that it does. But it also depends on the horse wearing the ear gear and the source of the sound.

Simple Research Summary

The authors of the research presented the following summary of this work:

“Auditory perception is a key driver in behavioural and physiological responses and as prey species, horses have evolved to identify these stimuli and respond appropriately to maximise chances of survival.

“Sport horses are required to perform without distraction by external, irrelevant auditory stimuli and to help achieve this, ‘noise-damping’ ear covers have been developed.

“This study investigated behavioural and physiological (heart rate) responses of horses to different sounds commonly present in a competition environment and compared these responses in the presence and absence of ear covers.

“A difference in both physiological and behavioural responses to different auditory stimuli was found, suggesting an ability to discriminate the sounds and alter responses based on the individual stimulus. An overall difference in both physiological and behavioural responses with and without ear covers was also found with a reduction in responsiveness when wearing ear covers, although responses varied between sounds presented.

“The attenuation of these responses when wearing ear covers implies a reduced perception of sounds with varying levels of effectiveness. We suggest this information can be used to predict responses of sport horses, enhancing management and optimisation of performance while improving horse welfare.”

About the Ear Gear Research

In this research, a total of 18 horses were presented with 5 sounds commonly heard in competition or stable environments. The sounds were applause, hoofbeats at a trot, music, a whinny, and feed being poured into a bucket.

The horses were presented the sounds with and without ear ‘bonnet-style’ fabric ear covers in a randomised order crossover design. The 18 horses were regularly ridden in competitions wearing this style of ear gear.

Behavioural and heart rate responses were recorded and were compared between sounds and with/without ear covers.

“Differences in physiological and behavioural responses to different complex auditory stimuli were shown,” noted the research. “An overall difference in physiological and behavioural responses with and without ear covers was detected, although the only difference in heart rate between ear covers and no ear covers that individually achieved significance was the feed sound.”

The research findings suggested that horses can discriminate sounds and alter their responses based on the individual stimulus. The responses are reduced when horses were wearing ear covers with varying effectiveness for different sounds.