Queen Elizabeth II never wears perfume when she visits her horses in case the scent bothers the animals, it was revealed Tuesday
British TV sports presenter Clare Balding said the 86-year-old monarch has "the touch of a true horsewoman" in an article for UK TV guide the Radio Times.
"She recognizes her horses by sight, is fascinated by their mental and physical development and always talks in detail to the groom who looks after each one," Balding wrote of the queen. "One tiny example of the attention to detail: The queen never wears perfume when she visits the yard to see her horses as it can excite testosterone-fueled young colts."
The queen not only is an accomplished rider, but she owns top-flight racehorses and regularly attends the Royal Ascot thoroughbred meeting.
Balding also spoke of the queen's admiration for the US horse trainer Monty Roberts and said she regularly uses his methods in her training, such as walking foals and yearlings over blue plastic sheets to get them used to crossing water.
Roberts, 77, was honored privately by the queen last summer for Service to Her Majesty's Racing Establishment.
The legendary trainer, believed to be one of the inspirations for the novel "The Horse Whisperer," reduced the late queen mother to tears in 1989 when he managed to tame one of her wildest horses.
