[Edited to add: I wrote this post over the weekend and scheduled it to go live on Wednesday (today). I almost postponed it just now, but decided to leave it, in case anyone needs a little light reading this morning.]

A few days ago, I found myself thinking about horse-themed fragrances. I’m not sure what got me onto that topic; it could have been the death of actress Teri Garr and my consequent musings on her role in the movie The Black Stallion, or a recent walk past Manhattan’s Grand Army Plaza, or some trend piece that I skimmed on my phone. There’s been a recent small wave of horse-y perfumes…Snif’s Show Pony, Papillon’s Epona, and the whole Maison D’Etto line, for example. (I’m curious about the first two of those, although I have little interest in the third.)

Here are five others that have been trotting around my perfume-brain for a while. Saddle up!

Twenty years ago (!), Brandy Eau de Toilette (c. 1997) was a cult favorite on the MakeupAlley fragrance board. This perfume doesn’t actually smell like horses, the board’s longer-time members were quick to assure newcomers: it’s more of a fresh apple-and-hay scent. Creator Patricia Namm’s muse for this scent was a palomino Central Park carriage horse named, yes, Brandy—and he reportedly gave feedback on the final mods of the scent. ($150 for 100 ml; Brandy website)

More than one equine-inspired scent has been developed by an independent perfumer with a real-life love for horses. Laurie Erickson’s Sonoma Scent Studio Equestrian (2016) combines fresh notes of apple, grass, and hay with earthier accords of leather, woods, and amber for a fragrance that gives us the ambiance of a stable’s tack-room as well as the olfactory impression of a canter through a summertime meadow. ($30 and up, samples also available; Sonoma Scent Studio website)

I’ll always cherish the memory of a visit to Akuura Kulak’s Aroma Sanctum shop in Salem, Massachusetts. Akuura has since moved to Arizona, where she still makes hand-crafted perfumes and other scented goods and, just as importantly, is able to ride horseback as often as she likes. Aroma Sanctum Horse Whispers is Akuura’s ode to a relaxing ride on a sunlit day, with notes of bergamot, orange blossom, leather, hay, styrax and labdanum. ($45 and up, samples also available; Aroma Sanctum website)

The accessory designer Naomi Goodsir is also the creative director of her own niche perfume brand, a meticulously edited line that unfailingly elicits respectful compliments from true scent aficionados. Naomi Goodsir Corpus Equus (2021) is a leather-forward blend created by Bertrand Duchaufour. It also features notes of black rose petal, horsehair, cigarette ash, Tonkin musk, and amber, for a smooth, smoky composition that’s as elegant as a new pair of riding boots. ($187 for 50 ml; available at MUSE and Aedes)

I was an “early adopter” of Edward Bess products, starting with a lipstick purchased directly from Edward himself at Bergdorf Goodman circa 2008. His perfume line, currently standing at seven scents (all composed by perfumer Carlos Benaïm) is as high-quality and quietly trend-setting as his cosmetics. My personal favorites are Spanish Veil and La Femme Bohème, but I’m also intrigued by Edward Bess Genre (2016), an androgynous blend of frankincense, suede, and an animalic “living stallion” note. ($320 for 100 ml; Edward Bess website)

Have you tried any of these fragrances? What did you think—yay or neigh? (Sorry, so sorry.)

Just to leave on a more sophisticated note after that bad pun, here’s an image from photographer Richard Burbridge’s campaign for Hermès Cavalier Jewelry (2023), some of my favorite luxury-goods advertisements of recent years.