Equine Music Video Project

Horses experience stressful events every day, both big and small. Prolonged periods of stress can lead to undesirable side effects such as equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS).1 Relax Trax is specifically designed to relieve stress in your horse by mimicking the rhythm of a horse's gaits and using string instruments. Listen to animal sound behaviorist and creator of Relax Trax, Janet Marlow talk about the science behind the music with Sarah Reuss, VMD, DACVIM, Equine Technical Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim and Kelly Graber, Associate Director Equine Marketing at Boehringer Ingelheim.

You can download the Relax Trax music track here. To access the music track, veterinarians and horse owners can visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoekmWDxfuaOGuL1ELoPIGQ/videos. Visitors will be able to play the music track and video, as well as gain access to additional resources on stress, EGUS, and ways to help prevent it. The audio only version can be accessed at: https://equinerelaxtrax.buzzsprout.com/1835303/9061146-equine-relax-trax.

The musical arrangement features soothing music designed with the horse in mind. The track was created by Janet Marlow, sound behaviorist, composer, researcher and founder of Pet Acoustics Inc. Marlow focused on creating rhythms and melodies composed for the listening comfort of the horse, including specific pitch, tone and frequencies. Studies show that playing music can help balance equine behavior because it helps mask outside sounds and vibrations, as well as provide a positive and relaxing effect.

“When Boehringer Ingelheim expressed an interest in doing something to help manage stress in horses, I was extremely interested based on my research in this area,” said Janet Marlow, founder of Pet Acoustics. “It’s all about composing music and modifying the decibel and frequency levels of each note for the comfortable hearing range of the animal. Using this process, we have tested music through clinical studies at veterinary hospitals, barns, etc. to see the music elicit a release of physical tensions and stress behaviors.