Yard radio?

Sometimes people don't recognise the signs of stress. (Not accusing anyone here of that, it's an observation). A horse that is very "chilled" can be shut down, a horse that sleeps a lot in the stable is probably not enjoying life. Horses sometimes show stress in ways that are easy to understand, like stereotypical behaviours, and sometimes they just look like the quietest, most laid back animal in the whole stables. I've been to help people with a "problem horse" and heard something along the lines of "He's really happy in his stable, he just goes in there and sleeps all the time". Or even more worrying "Every time I bring him on the yard and tie him up he just relaxes and goes straight to sleep".
Just some thoughts.
 
thatsmygirl said:
I can't find the report but I have read that research was carried out and horses with a radio playing in the yard are more stressed out.
I play one while mucking out and that's it. It would do my head in having a radio playing all day and wouldn't put my horses through that. Horses like peace and quite I feel
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My guess would be as a horses defense is running away from
danger, by listning out for preditors... having constant noise would make it hard for the horse to switch off and relax perhaps?? unless they learn to filter out the noise from the radio or traffic...
 
All I can say is your new livery bonkers????

We have DAB radio on - not loud unless its firework week!!!!

The horses like it having something on in the back ground- they like magic or absolute radio!

Always gets switched off after evening stables at 7pm
 
Yep, I'm another one who puts the radio on quietly (Heart FM) when I'm working in the barn and will also leave it on for a few hours during the day if any of the horses are left in. I tend to turn it down when I leave, so it's just a quiet back ground noise.

I would have thought it was the radio station alone who applied for the licence to play copyrighted music? Otherwise, does this mean my car radio contravenes the law if I play it when giving someone a lift? Or have the car window down at the traffic lights in summer and someone happens to over hear my music??? :eek:
 
YM has just bought a radio for our yard - either plays R2 or linked into his ipod playing country music (western yard :) )
He's of the belief that the horses should be exposed to EVERYTHING if possible (just backed 2yo had a ringside view of the farmer's tipper lorry in his first ride in the big school :D ) and as music is always played at our shows, this is part of it. We do have another 'quiet' barn for horses that don't cope with the busy atmosphere and my mare is in there.
Interestingly, I took a horse that could be like an unexploded bomb to a non-western show at Addington and though she was about to combust when we went in their big indoor. As soon as she heard the music over the tannoy, she took a big sigh and chilled out, so it obviously works!
 
I have Radio 2 on when I am mucking out, then once the horses come in from the fields or are moving in and out being ridden etc I put classic FM on to keep them calm whilst "busy" things are happening. I do like to turn off all radios and noises at feed times just so they can have a moments peace and quiet. However some of mine are very particular to their certain music and get more stressed by "pop music" type stations like radion 1 or local stations with adverts so I won't have those on.
 
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I think exposing horses to stuff is a good thing. Flooding them with it is not. If you expose a horse they should have some choices available to them. Playing a radio for daylight hours, or even 24/7 is flooding. Some horses will be fine with it, for others it will be too much and they will shut down or stress. Probably shut down because of the prolonged exposure.
 
Mine was at a yard last year where they played Radio 1 for the daytime, and it drove me up the wall let alone the horses! Tho' agree its personal choice - this was a "young" yard so that's presumably why Radio 1 was the preferred channel.

There was some research done a while back on cows & milking etc and I seem to remember that the cows who were played classical music produced more milk than either the cows who didn't, or who were played pop music! Probably to do with the slower rhythmic patterns and less of the frenetic drum beat stuff which relaxed them more.

IF the yard is classed as a "workplace" then beware of playing radio however!!! Coz some killjoy might come along and hear it and you could be in trouble for copyright/licence infringement - I remember something about this in the press backalong. So, technically, if you're like me and your vehicle is classed as a "workplace", you could be had for licence infringement if someone is a passenger and you've got the radio on. Like smoking, its the definition of "workplace". So if people are employed at a yard, its a "workplace", so be prepared for some little official to come snooping and spoil everyone's fun - it could only happen in the UK, you couldn't make it up if you tried!!! :(
 
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