THE EFFECT OF AROMATHERAPY OILS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF STABLED HORSES Christine Glover, Deborah Goodwin

1
THE EFFECT OF AROMATHERAPY OILS ON THE BEHAVIOUR
OF STABLED HORSESChristine Glover, Deborah
Goodwin School of Psychology, University of
Southampton, UK.
Results
INTRODUCTION Aromatherapy is becoming
increasingly popular as a complimentary therapy
for treating physical and behavioural problems in
animals. Such oils are used to promote relaxation
in animals housed in stressful conditions (Graham
et al., 2004). Traditional equine management
practices can create an environment that some
horses find stressful (McGreevy et al., 1995).
This study aimed to investigate the effects of
aromatherapy oils on behaviour of stabled horses.

Fig 1. Group Mean Duration of Oral Investigation
of Wooden Blocks Trial I results found that the
three most attractive aromatherapy oils were,
Rose, Roman Chamomile and Peppermint.
Fig 2. Difference Between
Treatments in Mean Duration of Behaviour Patterns
Friedmans test was used to analyse the main
effects of treatment, and showed a significant
effect of treatment on duration of movement (X2
9.9, df 3 Plt0.05) and standing alert (X2 9.0,
df 3 Plt0.05). There were no significant effects
of treatment on duration of other observed
variables, though the difference in duration of
dozing approached significance (X2 7.4, df 3
P lt0.1). Wilcoxon signed ranks tests were used to
compare treatment effect.
Discussion The results from trial I showed that
the horses found some of the aromatherapy oils
more attractive than others (Fig 1). Further
study involving paired preference tests is
suggested to further investigate equine
preferences for different aromatherapy oils. In
trial II, no significant difference was found
between the duration of the nine behaviour
patterns recorded on days 1, 3 or 5 of trial II,
suggesting that the horses did not habituate to
these odours. Rose and Roman Chamomile are
thought to produce a calming effect upon mood
(Umezu, 2000 Williams, 1992). The results of
trial II (Fig 2), suggest that both Rose and
Roman Chamomile do produce a relaxing effect upon
horses resulting in less movement and standing
alert behaviour. Peppermint oil is generally
thought to have a stimulating effect upon
behaviour (Umezu et al., 2001). The results from
trial II suggest that Peppermint does not produce
a stimulating effect upon the behaviour of
stabled horses. However, Peppermint was the last
oil to be presented in trial II, so the observed
results may be due to the carry-over effects of
previously calming oils. Limitations of this
study included the small sample size, and its
short duration, as equine aromatherapy treatments
are normally of 2 weeks duration (Faith, 2002).
Further study is required to observe if the
effects of these oils becomes more pronounced
with increased exposure to the fragrances.

• METHODS
• In two replicated trials we investigated the
  behavioural effects of aromatherapy oils on 12
  stabled horses, housed in three groups with
  different stable designs. briefly state designs
  /or group nos.
• TRIAL I
• In trial I, 12 aromatherapy oils were separately
  presented as drops of oil on wooden blocks.
  Behaviour was videoed and the mean duration of
  olfactory investigation of the blocks used to
  assess attractiveness of the 12 oils. The three
  oils with longest duration of olfactory
  investigation were used in trial 2
• Rose (Rosa damascena),
  
• Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)
• Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
• TRIAL II
• In trial II, these oils and Sunflower oil as a
  control, were each presented individually for
  five days. On days 1, 3 and 5 behaviour was
  recorded for 30 minutes using wall-mounted video
  cameras. Data was harvested from tapes according
  to a nine mutually exclusive behaviour ethogram
  using the Observer v.5 package and analysed using
  SPSS v.12.

Fig 3. Mean Duration of Movement Behaviour
Friedmans test indicated a significant
difference between the three groups (X2 11.3,
df 2 P lt 0.005) in mean duration of the nine
behaviours.
Conclusion In this short-term trial the horses
demonstrated increased attraction to Peppermint,
Rose and Roman Chamomile aromatherapy oils. Rose
and Roman Chamomile oils resulted in behaviour
suggesting increased relaxation. This study did
not demonstrate any stimulating effects of
Peppermint oil on behaviour of horses.
Significant differences were found between the
behaviour of the horses housed in the three
different types of stable.
References Faith, C., (2002), Essential Oils
for Horses. J.A. Allen, Clerkenwell House,
London. pp 18-75. Graham, L., Wells, D.L.
Hepper, P.G., (2005), The Influence of Olfactory
Stimulation on the Behaviour of Dogs Housed in a
Rescue Shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour
Science. Volume 91 (1-2) 143-153. McGreevy,
P.D., Cripps, P.J., French, N.P., Greene, L.E.
Nicol, C.J., (1995), Management Factors
Associated with Stereotypic and Redirected
Behaviour in the Thoroughbred Horse. Equine
Veterinary Journal, 27 (2) 86-91. Umezu, T.,
(2000), Behavioural Effects of Plant-derived
Essential Oils in the Geller Type Conflict Test
in Mice. Japanese Journal of Pharmacology, 83
(2) 150-153. Umezu, T., Sakata, A. Ito, H.,
(2001), Ambulation-promoting Effects of
Peppermint Oil and Identification of its Active
Constituents. Pharmacology Biochemistry and
Behaviour, 69 (3-4) 383-390. Williams, R.A.,
(1992), The Effect of Olfactory Stimulation on
Fluency, Vividness of Imagery and Associated
Mood A Preliminary Study. British Journal of
Medical Psychology, 63 (2) 197-199.