Horse & Human Heart Rate Synchronization: What the Research tells us

Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people
Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables

Research conducted by Dr. Ann Baldwin at the University of Arizona has confirmed what equestrians have always known and felt - that horses seem to have a way to connect with your soul. In fact, that feeling is your heart rate frequency synchronizing with your horse! Dr. Baldwin's research program focuses on finding ways that humans can resist stress and she has combined this research with her own experience and passion for horses.

Her team discovered that as humans interacted with horses, horse and human heart rate variability  became coherent in the majority of participants studied, meaning their heart rate frequencies matched that of the horse they were working with.  Normally, human and horse heart rates have different levels of frequency.  They found that this coherence between horse and human heart rate frequency happened with the human heart rate following that of the horse heart rate over time, suggesting that the human heart rate was trying to match or follow the horse heart rate frequency.  These matching frequencies in heart rate were shown to be strongest when humans were told to express positive feelings to the horse, but were also found when participants were just sitting quietly in the horse's presence.  One possible explanation for these matching frequencies was proposed to be that horses have a larger electromagnetic field than humans and that this can influence human heart rate frequency. 

So what does this mean?  This is part of the phenomenon we talk about when we spend time with horses;  that individuals are able to focus on the present and live in the moment.  When our...

Read More