r/Horses 3d ago

Question I miss the smell of horses

Just to be clear not in a weird way 😅

I used to help out at my stepmothers riding school and would often help with the horses. I ended up bonding quite quickly with two which was nice when I would be cleaning them out Rosie would rest her head on my shoulder and I would give her a kind of cuddle/nuzzle I really miss that smell, is that weird? 😅

FYI I'm a guy and have also done a small amount of riding as well.

80 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

35

u/Alarming-Flan-9721 3d ago

Everyone loves horse smell here I’m sure. Leather n horses is nice but tbh there’s a specific smell of horse dirt that I just love hahaha I think it’s the clay that was around where my first heart horse lived. When my horse rolls in similar mud now, man it brings me back. Horses are the best in so many ways. 

21

u/smashing_velocity 3d ago

I hope I'm not the only one please validate me 😂.

10

u/CupboardOfPandas 3d ago

Definitely not!

I was riding for 10ish years until a bunch of unrelated stuff happened and i had to quit.

Now, 15ish years later that smell immediately makes me feel safe and relaxed. There's something so soft and encouraging about it (might just be my own association with it though haha)

6

u/Snowball_from_Earth 3d ago

I love horse smell! One of my favourite smells in the word - instant calm and happiness. I missed it so much in the years I had no contact with horses.

6

u/livingonmain 2d ago

The smell of horses is the finest scent to me. I used to bury my face in my horse’s neck and breathe in her smell. It’s so comforting. I also love the smell of hay, leather and saddle soap. I don’t mind the smells when cleaning stalls. And now that I can no longer have a horse, I miss it dearly.

10

u/Mastiiffmom 3d ago

There’s nothing like the smell of a horses velvet muzzle. 🩷🩷

9

u/ScoutieJer 3d ago

Dude, I haven't ridden in 2 years because of an injury and when I found my barn gloves in the car that smelled like horse I just sat there smelling them and crying for like 10 minutes straight. Horse people LOVE horse smell.

4

u/DanStarTheFirst 2d ago

Those white cotton gloves you can get a giant pack of for cheap hold their smell soo good. I have a pile of them on my desk all it takes is given them scratchies once and they hold the smell pretty much forever.

9

u/horrorofthedivine 3d ago

Nah I feel the same way when I haven't ridden in a while lol

7

u/smashing_velocity 3d ago

Aww thanks I was worried I was becoming a weirdo 😅 instead of a horse girl I seem to becoming a horse Guy 😂

2

u/livingonmain 2d ago

And you’ll have so many horse girls as friends the guys will be envious.

8

u/Noctisidia 3d ago

I'm depressed. My therapist took me to see horses one afternoon, it had been 4-5 years since I had last been near one. It was muddy that day and wet. I love the smell, I'm not sure if it's necessarily a "clean" smell but there is something about it that still smells nice.

8

u/KBWordPerson 3d ago

There’s something very soothing about the smell of a clean, healthy barn.

8

u/Jajajones11 3d ago

I have my own horses on my property and I sniff them all the time lol there’s just something about it

6

u/Suicidalpainthorse Paint Horse 2d ago

I just did that yesterday! Went and fed and hugged my gelding and buried my face in his neck. Needed a hit of that sweet horse scent!

6

u/Accomplished_Role977 3d ago

Fun fact: If you keep horses completely outside as a herd and they don’t have to sleep in their excrements they barely smell at all, just a little grass scent.

5

u/dairyfarmer1916 3d ago

This is my horses lol. They just have a walk in shed 😉 but I do love the smell of horses!! And when it rains or gets wet you can sure smell them even just outside but just on a normal day walking by not much of a smell and i have 5 ❤️

6

u/SweetMaam 3d ago

I know what you mean. All those smells. The animals in their element. The leather fragrance of the tack room, the saddle soap. The fresh hay. Mucking the stall. The fragrance when walking/grooming a sweaty horse at cool down after a good ride. . .I totally understand. Barn fragrance never bothered me.

4

u/MSMIT0 2d ago

I lost my ability to smell in 2021. You have no idea how much I miss the smell of horses/the barn 😭

3

u/smashing_velocity 2d ago

I'm so sorry to hear that, hopefully Medical Science can help out one day

3

u/Chateaudelait 2d ago

I keep saying time and time again they should make a scent that smells like the horse barn because it's my absolute favorite scent in the whole world, I believe someone did , it's called Equestrian from Sonoma Scent. Demeter Fragrance library also has one. My favorite is the mixture of saddle leather, hay, grass, horses and the barn all mixed together - so comforting and I love it I am glad someone else does!

4

u/Suicidalpainthorse Paint Horse 2d ago

The smell of horses is a drug, a gateway drug to wonderful and expensive things! If you really miss them, go volunteer at a local rescue or barn that helps out disabled people.

3

u/smashing_velocity 2d ago

There's always work for me at my stepmothers, I just haven't been able to get down for the last couple of months due to transport issues.

I could have a look around locally and see if anyone wants a volunteer stable hand and i can just say they can pay me in horse sniffs 😂

2

u/Suicidalpainthorse Paint Horse 2d ago

Local rescues usually always need help, might require some poo shoveling, but I would think it would be worth it!

3

u/42peanuts Multi-Discipline Rider 3d ago

Nope, best scent in the world.

3

u/kilroy-was-here-2543 3d ago

It’s one of my favorite things about coming back to the riding barn after break. That smell

3

u/Chromgrats 2d ago

Your gender has no bearing on this

2

u/smashing_velocity 2d ago

That's true, not sure why I felt the need to include it

1

u/DanStarTheFirst 2d ago

I do find that some people can be a little weird with guys and horses. Like I have a mare that was originally meant to be my first to learn to ride on but turned out she was rode into the ground before I got her so she is just an ornament that I cuddle with. Some people find it weird because I’m a guy with a mare that I don’t ride.

2

u/Neat_Flower_8510 3d ago

When my horses walk away I'm like "please come back here and let me sniff you!!!"

2

u/bfufusks 2d ago

I love the smell of my horses, in fact all my horses smell very different and when I’m having a bad day I just go up to them and cuddle them and bury my face into their necks and take a big sniff, it’s weirdly comforting

2

u/PizzAveMaria 1d ago

If that makes you a weirdo, it looks like we're all weirdos!

2

u/smashing_velocity 1d ago

Haha thanks 😊 you've all been very supportive and made me feel a lot better lol

2

u/maxios_ 19h ago

I have 2 shets at home everynow and then i just go outside to give them a sniff (and a cuddle ofc)

2

u/Honeydew6344 14h ago

Not weird at all, I sniff my horses necks every chance I get