What You Need to Know About Your Horse's Vision

Seeing the world through your horse's eyes can help you understand why your horse reacts to his environment the way he does. Some horse problems stem from the fact that we don't understand how the horse perceives certain situations. Understanding how horses perceives their environment can go a long way into understanding why horses behave the way they do.

There is some controversy surrounding the eyes structure of horses. Horses were thought to have ramped retinas, meaning their eyes don't form a true arc making the retina closer to the lens, but now it is believed that this may not be the case. A horse's eyesight is optimised for grazing and watching for predators at the same time, but as such, it becomes a handicap when judging distance and height and this is why you'll notice that horses lower their heads when approaching a jump. As a horse approaches a jump you will notice he lowers then raises his head as he appraises the height of the obstacle. When approaching an obstacle, the horse will lose sight of the jump right before takeoff; experienced riders take this into account and allow their horses to raise their heads before jumping.

Horses are also colour blind, they don't see colours like we do and they perceive the world as a mosaic of different light reflections. They do however notice movement instantly and can react accordingly, much to the dismay of the inexperienced rider! An inexperienced horse may shy violently at any sudden movement, especially when in an unfamiliar situation. A horse will also shy or bolt if an object moves suddenly into their peripheral field of vision.

Horses have a very wide visual field, their only blind spots being that which is immediately in front of them and their rear which is why you should never approach a horse directly from the rear as you may startle him. When riding through tricky terrain it's always a good idea to allow your horse free rein so he can see what's under his feet.

Your horse's eyes are very sensitive to light and this is why young or inexperienced horses seem nervous when you are trying to load them into a horsebox. Their eyes need to adjust to the darker environment of the horsebox so they can see properly. Entering a horsebox is akin to entering a dark cave and your horse's reluctance to do so is what saved its ancestors - caves housed dangerous predators!

Understanding your horse's vision can help you understand why your horse reacts in various situations; a lot of the time inexperienced horse owners mistakenly believe their horse is intentionally acting up when the real reason for their horse's behaviour is related to the his vision and way of seeing the world.

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