These Are 8 Scents That Horses Find Calming

Horses have a highly developed olfactory system, allowing them to detect smells that humans cannot. They can recognize individual scents and may even change their behavior in response to them. For example, horses may sense danger if a human has previously interacted with an aggressive horse before approaching them, or if they detect fear or nervousness in a human.

Introducing pleasant scents to your horse can help calm them, encourage them to eat, or improve their mood. According to the Enriching Equines blog, stimulating a horse’s senses, including smell, is a good way to help your horse experience variety in the stall and keep them from getting bored. They recommend soaking gauze pads or wooden blocks with essential oils, or even grooming the horse with a few drops of its favorite scent.

Watch for signs that your horse likes the scent. For example, your horse might sniff it for a while, display the Flehmen response (curling their lip), spend extra time near the scented object, or appear more relaxed near the scent. You may need to experiment, as not all horses have the same scent preferences. To get you started, here are a few research-backed scents that horses love and find calming. Keep in mind that you should always consult your veterinarian before using essential oils on or near your horse, and that many scents and oils may be prohibited in competition settings.

1. Lavender

A 2018 study in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science compared cortisol levels of horses who were transported in a trailer (a stressful event). The horses that were exposed to lavender aromatherapy had lower cortisol levels than the control group, showing that this smell is biologically calming to horses.

Another 2018 study measured horses’ heart rate variability and other data and found that lavender significantly calmed horses compared to chamomile. Pretty cool, right?

2. Anise

When researchers added the smell of anise oil near horses’ oats in this 2024 study, they ate more of the food, signaling that they enjoy this smell and showing how their olfactory senses impact their appetite.

3. Cherry

Kentucky Equine Research conducted a recent study to determine horses’ preferred fruit flavors. They found that cherry oats were preferred to apple, citrus, teaberry, and plain oats. So this could also be a smell worth using for your horse!

4. Peppermint

Horses love to eat peppermint candy, which makes great treats. Research has also found that horses enjoy the smell of peppermint. One 2022 study in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience discovered horses spent more time sniffing and licking when exposed to peppermint versus orange, lavender, and cedar wood.

5. Rose

When presented with drops of rose oil on wooden blocks in their stable, horses were more relaxed compared to other essential oils like peppermint and sunflower oil, according to a 2006 study. Notably, Roman chamomile oil also showed increased relaxation.

6. Valerian

Valerian root supplements are known to ease anxiety in humans, and the oil distilled from the root may have a similar effect on horses. Veterinarian Susan Albright, DVM, wrote for Equine Wellness Magazine about the benefits of horses smelling Valerian.

“This oil offers a profound grounding effect in addition to its calming properties,” Dr. Albright wrote. “For an ‘energetic grounding’ (reconnecting the horse to the earth), apply this oil around the coronary bands and to the cannon bones, finishing with a sweeping motion from the knee or hock downward.”

7. Spikenard

An amber-colored essential oil from a Himalayan flower, the smell of spikenard essential oil has been found to help horses relax, according to a 2021 study in the Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine. Out of all the essential oils tested in this study (including lavender, chamomile, and vetiver), spikenard was the best at inducing a relaxed facial expression in horses.

8. Chamomile

In the same study above, chamomile oil was found to be the most successful essential oil at reducing spontaneous muscle contractures in horses, showing that it physically helps horses relax. In addition to calming muscle cramps, chamomile can also help relieve stress in your horse, according to the Equestroom blog.

Benefits of Scent Exposure

As long as you do so safely and under your vet’s guidance, exposing your horse to a variety of scents can be interesting, calming, and beneficial for them.

Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., nutrition advisor for Kentucky Equine Research, explained it like this in an article for KER: “Olfactory stimulation may increase behavioral diversity, allowing horses to behave more naturally, to deal with stresses and challenges, and to stimulate species-typical behaviors.”

Giving your horses apples or sugar cubes is fun, but if you want to give them a fragrant new treat, try diffusing one of these enjoyable essential oil scents instead! The potential calming and relaxing effects make these scents well worth trying.