Today was Spa Day for Geno!
Nothing on God’s green Earth smells better to me than my horse after he’s been lathered up in Cowboy Magic’s rosewater scent.
Actually, in general, nothing smells better to me than my horse, and I had to research why.
The Science Behind Why a Horse Smells So Good
Scientific research shows that the smell of soil, trees, and other natural microorganisms increases alpha wave activity in the brain. Alpha activity is the signature of meditation, deep relaxation, and mental stability.
Another study shows that the smells of nature cause a measurable decrease in salivary cortisol levels and automatically trigger the parasympathetic nervous system.
Cool, so the smell of nature calms us down. That makes sense, as I imagine our natural state is to be … in nature.
Still, it’s not exactly the research I was looking for.
I wanted to know why my horse smells like heaven on Earth to me.
Where's the research on why one good sniff makes all the tension leave my body?
Turns out we have to go all the way back to primal times to understand the research. See, our ancestors used scent to build mental maps, so they could remember where they had been and how to get back.
Because of this, we have biologically evolved to have a close link between scent and memory.
“Sights, sounds, and other sensory information must travel through the brain’s thalamus before reaching the amygdala and hippocampus,” whereas scent travels directly to them.
But that still doesn’t answer why one good hit of my horse’s scent works better on my stress levels than an hour-long massage.
Right, so scent travels to the olfactory bulb before it goes to the amygdala, which generates emotions, and the hippocampus, which stores memories.
Source: Harvard Medicine
If the hippocampus decides the combination of the scent + the emotion seems important, it can store that information indefinitely.
Ah, now it makes sense.
When I first met Geno and got a whiff of him, we were both extremely calm. He fell asleep on my shoulder, and I thought, “This is the best moment of my life.”
My hippocampus went, “WHOA WHOA WHOA; she’s calm for the first time in her 39 years of life. We need to bank this scent + feeling combo for future use!”
Now, whenever I smell Geno, my system goes ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. This smell means we’re calm and happy, and naturally I’m always going to be chasing that feeling, which is why I’m always running after my horse, begging him to let me get a sniff!
How My Scent Affects My Horse’s Mental Stability
I suspected that if Geno’s scent affected my emotions, that mine could probably maybe possibly do the same?
Yeah, of course there is research on horses being made to sniff the sweat of stressed-out people and happy people to see if they can tell the difference.
Spoiler: they can.
When the horses were presented with the smell of sweat from humans who had been experiencing fear, the horses' heart rates spiked, and they started spooking.
On the flip side, when the horses were presented with the sweat of people who were calm or happy, they remained relaxed and curious when shown new objects to investigate.
Additionally, horses have a vomeronasal organ above the roof of their mouths that can analyze scents.
When they smell your calm scent, their parasympathetic nervous system is regulated. But when you are producing adrenaline and cortisol, they feel a spike in anxiety, too.
Well, it’s a good thing my hippocampus marked Geno’s scent as associated with calm, so I don’t come in with all my anxious baggage and pass it on to him!
TBH, sometimes I think I’m too relaxed with him; shouldn’t I be a little more anxious when I’m riding?
Why am I more anxious about dismounting than I am about riding?
Why do I trust him with my life?
Why would I literally co-sign a mortgage for him?
Sometimes I think, “Kay, maybe you’re too chill about all this. Maybe the Lexapro dose is too high?” Nah.
If I go out because my horse accidentally tramples me, just know I spent my final moments totally relaxed. I could see Geno’s hoof about to stomp down on my face, but I could also smell him, and that scent relaxes me.