There are many different varieties of ‘ear stuffies,’ but the desired effect is to slightly muffle the sensory reaction to noises that may cause a horse to spook or start. I prefer the cotton ‘pom poms’ over the foam cat balls or memory foam stuffies, as I feel they better allow you to get them in the correct position within the horse’s ear. When applied correctly – not too far down into the horse’s ear or ‘overstuffed’ – it causes no discomfort to the horse and in my experience allows them to be even more confident when they are in an unfamiliar environment.
The majority of my hunters and equitation horses go to the ring with them. The horses can still hear and react (believe me, they still hear me cluck when I’m standing outside the ring) but it slightly muffles the sounds. Horses are flight animals, and if they hear something behind them they are going to shoot forward. I’ve had horses react to loudspeakers, rails coming down hard in an adjacent ring, buzzing lights, babies crying, dogs barking – all of the unfamiliar sounds at a horse show. With ear stuffies, we are simply taking a natural sensory reaction and taking it down a notch in a way that makes it more comfortable for the horse to perform, and is also safer for the rider. It doesn’t make them deaf, but it makes them a bit less nervous. The jumpers also have the option of wearing ear bonnets that are lined to muffle the sound.
I often put ear stuffies in when the horse is still in the stall relaxing before a class, so that they can get used to the sensation before going to the ring. If they are applied correctly, the horse will show little reaction in the form of head-shaking or cocking an ear, and I find any discomfort that would cause these reactions to be a case of improper application. The in-gate or warm-up ring is not the place to put in ear stuffies, as it will just upset the horse. The horse show generally isn’t the place to introduce anything new, so introduce them at home.
There are no real rules: just match the colour as best you can, don’t overstuff, and do your homework before you come to the horse show.
