I've recently stumbled upon a new way to relax that I wanted to share with you: watching videos of folks shedding their horses! A quick search for "horse shedding ASMR" brings up lots of examples—some of my favorites feature adorable horses named Raven, Frisby, and Mr. Wilde getting the shedding (or, really, the "de-shedding") spa treatment.
Rutgers University's New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station explains that as the days get longer and horses are exposed to more sunlight, they begin to shed their winter coats:
The chemical process in the brain that affects hair growth in horses starts in the pineal gland. Essentially, the pineal gland controls melatonin (a hormone) production during nighttime hours, which triggers a whole slew of other reactions in the body, causing hair to grow or shed. When less melatonin is secreted from the pineal gland (spring time, because of less dark hours) the horse will shed its winter coat. In the fall, when the number of dark hours increases, more melatonin is secreted from the pineal gland, resulting in a thick winter coat.
Folks who care for horses help facilitate the shedding by giving their equine companions a good grooming, using tools like metal shedding blades, rubber curry combs, and fiberglass grooming blocks. Rutgers' New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station provides details about how to use these grooming instruments to help a horse shed:
You are better off starting with the metal shedding blade because that will take off all the detached hair from your horse's body. Then, to lift up and loosen the next layer of hair, you need elbow grease. Use the rubber curry, in circular motions all over its body. This is most likely where your horse will enter a state of bliss from the back massage you are giving it. Fiberglass blocks remove hair similarly to the curry, but use it in a stroking motion, not circles.
All of these tools are used in the videos, below—see if you can spot them!
Enjoy watching these beautiful creatures become even more gorgeous. I find the videos so relaxing and satisfying to watch—if you need a few minutes of de-stressing, definitely check them out. And I also think it's cool that not only does the process of shedding give humans satisfying ASMR content and make the horses more comfortable, but dislodged leftover hair can also be used by birds for creating nests! It's a win-win-win all around!
Previously:
• The sound of horses crunching carrots is so satisfying!
