Eine neue Studie hat ergeben, dass Pferde, die Geruchsverbindungen ausgesetzt waren, die von Freiwilligen erzeugt wurden, die sich gruselige Aufnahmen angesehen hatten, leichter erschreckten und weniger dazu neigten, sich Menschen zu nähern oder unbekannte Objekte zu untersuchen

According to research published Wednesday in the journal [PLOS One](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337948)**,** horses can detect fear in humans by smell, becoming more likely to startle and more wary of people who are scared.

Researchers collected samples of odor compounds from the armpits of human study participants and then observed how the horses behaved when they were exposed to the different odors during standardized tests, the study found.

While previous research has found that horses can pick up on human emotions through speech and facial expressions, the idea that [they can smell our fear](https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/science/horses-emotions-study-scli-intl?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=missions&utm_source=reddit) has remained just a theory due to the difficulties of studying smell, said lead study author Plotine Jardat, a researcher at the French Institute for Horse and Riding.

“As humans, we are not really aware of all the smells that are around us compared to what other animals apparently perceive, so that’s not so easy to study,” Jardat told CNN.

„i can smell your fear“ now actually makes sense