Go Ahead, 'Horse Around': Study Shows Caring for Companion may Lower Stress Hormone

"Horsing around" doesn't typically carry the most positive connotation. Yet a recent study shows that young people who regularly work with horses may experience a significant reduction of stress.

"We were coming at this from a prevention perspective," said Patricia Pendry, a developmental psychologist at WSU who studies how stress "gets under the skin" and the effects of prevention programs on human development, via a press release. "We are especially interested in optimizing healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents, because we know from other research that healthy stress hormone patterns may protect against the development of physical and mental health problems."

Pendry specifically studied the reduction of the stress hormone cortisol when young people were actively involved with horses. As human-animal interaction programs with other companions--including horses, cats, dogs and other animals--have shown improved social competence, self-esteem and behavior in children, there has been little to no actual research to back up these claims.

For the study, Pendry led a research project that engaged students in grades 5 to 8 over a 12-week facilitated learning program in Pullman, Wash. Children were randomly assigned to participate in a program, in which they learned how to properly care and groom their horse, ride, etc. Participants provided six samples of saliva over a two-day period before and after the program so that cortisol levels could be measured. 

"We found that children who had participated in the 12-week program had significantly lower stress hormone levels throughout the day and in the afternoon, compared to children in the waitlisted group," she concluded, via the release. "We get excited about that because we know that higher base levels of cortisol - particularly in the afternoon - are considered a potential risk factor for the development of psychopathology."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the April edition of the American Psychological Association's Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin.