Have you seen this video clip titled “NEIGH-SMR (aka Horse Eating ASMR)” from Visit Lex’s YouTube channel?
Made three years ago, this clever Kentucky tourism marketing video is definitely for horse lovers.
For those not familiar, ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Wikipedia describes it as “a tingling sensation that usually begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine.”
It can occur when a subject is exposed to certain visual, tactile or auditory stimuli. These responses induce a relaxed physical/mental state (although not everyone experiences it apparently).
Wikipedia goes on to mention that a genre of videos “intended to induce ASMR” has emerged, notably on YouTube. But I didn’t read anything about horse-induced ASMR on Wikipedia. Guess they have not seen the NEIGH-SMR video yet.
Equestrians however know that many “horse sounds” can be super relaxing. They often contribute to the overall “good-vibe” feeling in the barn.
I venture to guess that many horse people probably have recorded at least one NEIGH-SMR video of their own. I thought today I would share my latest such clip. But first, I’ll give you a little background.
In 2021, I posted videos of Shiloh’s hay dunking behavior. You can see them HERE if you missed that post.
Since capturing those videos, I have noticed that Shiloh’s behavior comes and goes. I used to only see Shiloh do it during the Summers, but this Winter he has been hay dunking too.
In the year and a half or so that I’ve had Shiloh’s herd mate, Piper, I never noticed Piper eating any of Shiloh’s leftover dunked hay. Until just recently, that is.
While I still have not seen Piper carry hay over to the water trough like Shiloh does, Piper clearly enjoys benefiting from Shiloh’s hay dunking.
Hint: be sure to turn up the volume. 🙂
The Backyard Horse Blog 
I love the sound of horses chewing on hay or grazing. That video you shared is viewed over 2 million times!! Wow`
The video you share from Shiloh: he really takes a big mouthful of hay first! Interesting to see.
I’ve seen horses dunk with (smaller) bites of hay.
Since two weeks one (or both?) my mini’s are dunking and I’ve wondered about the reason (I can think of 3, so I have to figure out which one or maybe something else) is going on.
Why do you think Shiloh is dunking his hay?
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With Shiloh, he may have developed a preference for wet hay as a youngster. The story that came with him is that he was kicked in the face early on in his life and has a slightly off-set jaw as a result. I imagine his breeders soaked his feed/hay while he healed. Maybe Shiloh decided that wet food is just more palatable as a result? And I agree that the sounds of horse chewing is very appealing. There’s nothing like feeding a barn full of horses and hearing them all chewing at once!
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