VioletStripe
Well-Known Member
just wondering, most show jumps are really brightly coloured and was wondering if there was another reason than to just look pretty, so yeah, as title, do horses see in colour?
xxx
do horses see in colour?
- Thread starter VioletStripe
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Katie__Connie
Well-Known Member
Ooh good question i have no idea...will be watching this thread with interest
I was once told they find some colours harder to see than others but that may be a load of rubbish
I was once told they find some colours harder to see than others but that may be a load of rubbish
jenh166
Well-Known Member
Apparantly not according to many articles - just shades of grey/black/white. I guess that's why they often spook at a plain white shiny set of planks in the middle of a coloured course???
Katie__Connie
Well-Known Member
yeah that would make sense... I was told they find white/pale yellow jumps harder to see/jump?
Rambo
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Apparantly not according to many articles - just shades of grey/black/white. I guess that's why they often spook at a plain white shiny set of planks in the middle of a coloured course???
[/ QUOTE ]
I would disagree with that on the basis that one of mine will spook at absolutely anything....blue ! No other colours worry him but he has even stopped in the middle of the ring to spook at a water tray that had been discarded on the bank at the edge of the arena some 30 metres away
Apparantly not according to many articles - just shades of grey/black/white. I guess that's why they often spook at a plain white shiny set of planks in the middle of a coloured course???
[/ QUOTE ]
I would disagree with that on the basis that one of mine will spook at absolutely anything....blue ! No other colours worry him but he has even stopped in the middle of the ring to spook at a water tray that had been discarded on the bank at the edge of the arena some 30 metres away
V1NN
Well-Known Member
I would like to think that they see in colour.
jaypeebee
Well-Known Member
Yes they can see in colour but it is not the same type of colour in which we view the world. This link gives a photo indication of how they see. http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=11776
Umbongo
Well-Known Member
I had previously studied journals regarding colour perception and from what I can remember it is highly subjective and each paper comes up with different results. Horses mainy see in shades of black and grey, they can mainly discriminate between light and dark.
From results it has been shown that horses may not be able to discriminate green from grey (it is suggested as green may be a "safe" colour). However another paper I had read suggested that the subjects discriminated green from grey quite quickly.
There needs to be further research but it is all down to the wavelengths that colours produce, each shade of a colour will produce different wavelengths, so it is very variable and each horse may percieve these colours differently!
Horses can LEARN to discriminate between colours using positive reinforcement, but I believe they mainly see in shades and so are actually only able to discriminate between light and dark.
From results it has been shown that horses may not be able to discriminate green from grey (it is suggested as green may be a "safe" colour). However another paper I had read suggested that the subjects discriminated green from grey quite quickly.
There needs to be further research but it is all down to the wavelengths that colours produce, each shade of a colour will produce different wavelengths, so it is very variable and each horse may percieve these colours differently!
Horses can LEARN to discriminate between colours using positive reinforcement, but I believe they mainly see in shades and so are actually only able to discriminate between light and dark.
Law
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
I had previously studied journals regarding colour perception and from what I can remember it is highly subjective and each paper comes up with different results. Horses mainy see in shades of black and grey, they can mainly discriminate between light and dark.
From results it has been shown that horses may not be able to discriminate green from grey (it is suggested as green may be a "safe" colour). However another paper I had read suggested that the subjects discriminated green from grey quite quickly.
There needs to be further research but it is all down to the wavelengths that colours produce, each shade of a colour will produce different wavelengths, so it is very variable and each horse may percieve these colours differently!
Horses can LEARN to discriminate between colours using positive reinforcement, but I believe they mainly see in shades and so are actually only able to discriminate between light and dark.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ditto this. I attempted to do a literature review of this at Uni but there were so few papers on the subject at the time 8 years ago. What I do remember was that no, they don't see true colour, just varying shades of a grey spectrum. I remember it was to do with rods and cones in the eye structure.
I saw a great photo of what Australian scientists thought horses saw and it was really interesting. I'll see if I can find it
This is a good article. http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/anatomy/colorvision_012706/
I had previously studied journals regarding colour perception and from what I can remember it is highly subjective and each paper comes up with different results. Horses mainy see in shades of black and grey, they can mainly discriminate between light and dark.
From results it has been shown that horses may not be able to discriminate green from grey (it is suggested as green may be a "safe" colour). However another paper I had read suggested that the subjects discriminated green from grey quite quickly.
There needs to be further research but it is all down to the wavelengths that colours produce, each shade of a colour will produce different wavelengths, so it is very variable and each horse may percieve these colours differently!
Horses can LEARN to discriminate between colours using positive reinforcement, but I believe they mainly see in shades and so are actually only able to discriminate between light and dark.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ditto this. I attempted to do a literature review of this at Uni but there were so few papers on the subject at the time 8 years ago. What I do remember was that no, they don't see true colour, just varying shades of a grey spectrum. I remember it was to do with rods and cones in the eye structure.
I saw a great photo of what Australian scientists thought horses saw and it was really interesting. I'll see if I can find it
This is a good article. http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/anatomy/colorvision_012706/
Orangehorse
Well-Known Member
It was always assumed that they did't see in colour, something to do with the receptors in the eye, not having the same structure as a human eye. But I think that recent research shows that horses can see colour, although I'm not sure to what extent. I'm sure I read this quite recently (we have the New Scientist magazine).
Horse owners would always have said that horses can see colour!
There was one incident years ago when there were pit ponies and when they painted the walls in the stables green the ponies perked up.
Horse owners would always have said that horses can see colour!
There was one incident years ago when there were pit ponies and when they painted the walls in the stables green the ponies perked up.
VioletStripe
Well-Known Member
thanks guys! sorry, i'm a bit geeky like this and find this stuff fascinating!
hehe, i think i have a little bit too much time on my hands thinking up stuff like this! xx
LadyRascasse
Well-Known Member
well my mare spooks pink or blue flowers, squashes yellow one for a laugh and isn't fussed by the rest.
DarkHorseB
Well-Known Member
I think they can certainly differentiate. I have a horse who hated the colour blue after being hit by a dark blue wagon. Would jump all sorts of fillers but loathed plain dark blue after that happened.
Natch
Well-Known Member
I had a lecture on this last week
This lecturer (who has a gobsmacking number of equine science research credentials) told us that current thought is that horses can see red and blue, (I think that conclusion is from the type of rods and cones in their eye), and can distinguish them from all other colours, but that the rest is seen in greyscale. For example, I think the study healther_bambi cites compared green with the grey that green would make if it were seen in black and white... if that makes sense? No difference, but that horses can distinguish between different greys.
As for coloured stables, I will look that up, sounds very interesting but could be related to the energies the different colours give off (I'm talking energy from a reiki point of view now). Green is associated with love, so if a stable were painted in that I could see how that energy would be nice for a horse to be in, regardless if they could see it or not
This lecturer (who has a gobsmacking number of equine science research credentials) told us that current thought is that horses can see red and blue, (I think that conclusion is from the type of rods and cones in their eye), and can distinguish them from all other colours, but that the rest is seen in greyscale. For example, I think the study healther_bambi cites compared green with the grey that green would make if it were seen in black and white... if that makes sense? No difference, but that horses can distinguish between different greys.
As for coloured stables, I will look that up, sounds very interesting but could be related to the energies the different colours give off (I'm talking energy from a reiki point of view now). Green is associated with love, so if a stable were painted in that I could see how that energy would be nice for a horse to be in, regardless if they could see it or not
Mike007
Well-Known Member
My understanding is that horses do see in colour,however it is very different to our perception of colour. The colours we see are an interpretation by our brain of the relative strengths of three primary colours. Red,Blue and green(or possibly yellow). Horses ,it would seem,have only two,Red and Blue,and the colours they interpret are from a mix of these two.I assume that they see the entire landscape in colour, but of a much simpler and more contrasting degree of shading than we do.
Depp_by_Chocolate
Well-Known Member
I remember reading an article that horses can see in colour although not in the same way we do but in various shades of greens, blues and yellows.
A horse I owned I nearly always used to wear my fluorescent jacket, when I sold him his new owner had difficulty catching him so he decided to wear fluorescent to see if it would make a difference and it did! I'm sure horses can see and recognise colours.
A horse I owned I nearly always used to wear my fluorescent jacket, when I sold him his new owner had difficulty catching him so he decided to wear fluorescent to see if it would make a difference and it did! I'm sure horses can see and recognise colours.
PennyJ
Well-Known Member
My pony definitely recognises claas Tractors (the lime green ones) and gets very upset by them. The other colour ones he's really not bothered about. There is a reason for this which goes back to a very muddy and traumatic New Forest Show 2/3 years ago and the claas tractors were doing the towing in and out of the showground.
So yes I think they recognise colours to some extent.
So yes I think they recognise colours to some extent.
Kenzo
Well-Known Member
Just to add, horses can also see much better than we can in the dark providing there is some little light (moonlight for example).
Shay
Well-Known Member
I'm sure horses can see colours - if not exactly the way we do. You should see my daughter's pie gelding's face when she approaches him with yet another bright pink rug. He knows exactly what colour it is, poor long suffering lad!
sonjafoers
Well-Known Member
My horse can spot a red hunt coat miles away so I'm sure she can see in colour!!!