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“Did you know,” mused Baron, my hairdresser (which still sounds a little pompous as I sit in the back of the barbershop), “that your dog’s heart will synch with yours when you come into the house?”

I cocked my head and passed him another square of silver foil as he applied the tenth highlight on the thin strand that wound around it.

“Never heard that,” I replied. I love these talks with Baron. He has a passion for the science of mind/body/spirit and our relationship with the world and all within it.

“Yeah, they did this study with dogs and owners and measured their heartbeats when they were reunited after being apart. And the dogs’ heartbeats synched to their owners’ heartbeats in 60 seconds.”

“So, if I come in stressed, their heartbeat would mirror mine?” I asked.

Baron nodded. “But what’s really interesting is then both dog and human hearts begin to relax.”

Which really explains the unexplainable bond we have with them. Oh, we love to toss out “Dogs give us unconditional love” and “They’re so loyal” to explain the affection we have for them, but this study, conducted by a University I can’t pronounce which leads to an increased heart rate my dog won’t appreciate (Jyvaskyla, at the Jyvaskyla Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Research), also investigated various background factors for the interconnection of the heart rate variability (HRV) of the dog and its owner.

For example, dogs’ high HRV was also explained by owners’ negative affectivity, meaning, for example, someone who becomes easily concerned by negative things. Like, the price of eggs.

The study suggests this type of owner tends to develop an extremely strong bond with their dog, and “therefore the shepherd dogs of this study possibly had a higher sense of safety with their owners,” explains Neuroscience News.

Now, with  horses, the connection is similar and potentially powerful in what is known as “horse-human heart coupling.” There’s a reason the use of equine-assisted psychotherapy is becoming more and more popular. Anyone, but namely me as I’m writing this, will tell you how invaluable it is to simply sit with a horse as they munch their hay or stand dozing over their stall door. According to Heartmath Institute, “A human heart puts out an energy field up to 8 to 10 feet. A horse’s electromagnetic field, however, is stronger and five times larger, creating a spear-shaped field that completely surrounds you and then directly influences your heart rhythm and emotions.”

(And here I was, thinking it was all about them knowing I had a peppermint in my pocket.)

Why is that? The Institute explains: “Horses have extremely low-frequency heart electromagnetic waves. People? Not so much. These low-frequency heart waves in equines are directly related to health and well-being, and people who don’t have enough are more prone to inflammation, PTSD, anxiety, and depression.”

While it can be extremely stressful as my hooved therapists continue to eat me out of house and home, let me tell you—when I bury my face into my horse’s neck, I absorb every pulse of that massive sphere-shaped field that completely surrounds and soothes me. We don’t call them “heart horses” for nothing…

It’s been a wild week in the news. If I could, I’d have my horse sleep at the foot of my bed every night. But my dogs are already there and waiting.

Good dogs. Good, good dogs…