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Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Little Happier: Why a Happy Racehorse Depends on a Pony or a Goat

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Lemonada Media

Education, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement

4.7 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2024

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Some animals—in particular, racehorses—are happier and calmer when they have an animal companion, such as a goat, dog, pony, or pig. Just as some people have emotional-support animals, animals have emotional-support animals. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here. Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode is brought to you by Capital One.

0:04.0

There are no guarantees in football.

0:06.0

One minute you're on for an easy win, the next is nail biting penalties.

0:11.0

But with Capital One, you can find out if you're guaranteed for a credit card in just 60 seconds and it won't affect your credit score.

0:18.0

That's one good thing.

0:20.0

Search Capital One Quick Check to check if you eligible today.

0:24.0

34.9% APR representative variable, T's and C's apply.

0:30.0

I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier. I just learned a fact that absolutely

0:36.5

delighted me. It turns out that some animals have companion animals that help them stay calm and happy.

0:44.0

Just as some people have emotional support animals,

0:47.0

some animals have emotional support animals.

0:50.0

Apparently, this is particularly true of thoroughbred racehorses.

0:55.0

Why?

0:56.0

Because racehorses are often high-strung and prone to anxiety,

1:00.0

especially before a big race, like the Kentucky Derby.

1:03.7

So to help soothe their nerves and provide companionship, many race horses are paired with

1:08.8

smaller companion animals such as goats, ponies, donkeys, cats, dogs, pigs, even chickens.

1:16.0

These barn buddies are like the stuffed animals

1:19.0

or security blankets of a racehorse,

1:21.0

and they help the horses stay relaxed and also help reduce

1:24.8

stress behaviors like pacing and head bobbing. For instance one of the most

1:29.6

famous champion race horses was the horse C-Biscuit and C-Biscuit had several animal companions.

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