Researchers confirmed that horses can smell specific odors in human sweat that reflect emotions like fear and happiness, which could open doors to a whole new way of understanding emotion transfer from human to horse, they say. | Photo: iStock

Have you ever felt that a horse could smell your fear? Recent study results suggest he probably did—quite literally.

Horses can smell specific odors in human sweat that reflect emotions like fear and happiness, Italian researchers have learned. And that finding could open doors to a whole new way of understanding emotion transfer between species—and specifically, from human to horse.

“We noticed that horses had increased levels of arousal when they smelled human ‘fear’ and ‘happiness’ odors,” said Paolo Baragli, DVM, PhD, a researcher in the University of Pisa Department of Veterinary Sciences, in Italy