A horse smells a person’s fear

A horror movie smelling the armpits of people watching makes horses behave more fearfully than the sweat of people watching a comedy.

The matter was found out in the experiments of French researchers, where dozens of horses smelled the scent collected in cotton buds.

The sweat of people who rated their emotions during the viewing as the strongest was chosen for sniffing.

In front of both nostrils of the horse, cotton swabs were attached with cloth, which had been in the armpit of a person who was afraid or happy, or were unused.

Then the animal was either startled by suddenly opening the umbrella or socialized with it by chattering.

Fear sweat the horses that smelled the shadow spooked clearly more, and their heart rate rose clearly faster.

They were also more reluctant to participate in sniffing than sniffers of the sweat or clean vaginas of people watching a comedy.

The ability to react to the smell of human fear has previously been demonstrated in dogs.

It is only natural that our other partners are also able to do it, because the smell warns of dangers effectively, the researchers think Plos One – in science magazine. It works even in the dark and also after the scared person has already left the place.

Published in Science in Nature 3/2026