Horse behaviour during partial solar eclipse

Catbird

Catbird

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I'm hoping to ride tomorrow and saw there's a partial solar eclipse - I haven't ridden when there's an eclipse before so was wondering what people's experience was and whether it affects horse general behaviour? Am assuming it will to some extent as it's usual?
 
I was riding at Addington for the regionals back in the 1999, when there was a total solar eclipse. All the tests where stopped for the duration and those of us in the warm up where sent indoors to carry on. Apparently some of the horses in the car park became a bit unsettled, i think mainly because all the birds stopped singing and of course it went dark.
Not sure a partial ecilpse would hae the same impact and it won't last for long.
 
I remember one day at work noticing that the sky was particularly blue. I mentioned it to someone, as I am wont to do, because it struck me as, well, particularly nice, but other than that I noticed nothing different about the day. Later on, perhaps when the evening news was on the tele, I learned that there had been a partial eclipse of the sun.
 
First Frost said:
I was riding at Addington for the regionals back in the 1999, when there was a total solar eclipse. All the tests where stopped for the duration and those of us in the warm up where sent indoors to carry on. Apparently some of the horses in the car park became a bit unsettled, i think mainly because all the birds stopped singing and of course it went dark.
Not sure a partial ecilpse would hae the same impact and it won't last for long.
Click to expand...
I remember that eclipse, I was working as a groom.ans we viewed it through a welding mask. They horses all went very quiet but were settled and it was strangely peaceful
 
I forgot and wondered why it all went a bit grey. We were hacking & he was very unsettled - no idea if it was eclipse or farmers sheep kicking off.
 
It was 11am peak of eclipse. My 2 were taken to different turnout area, loose along our track as normal, and then turned around and cantered back to the top yard! They very rarely do this.
Birds seemed to be singing as usual. But then again its a heavy overcast grey sky, no sun to see at all, so the light levels didnt change as it remains ‘half light’ when heavy with cloud.
 
I’ve been watching from the field, and neither of the oldies ever looked up. They gave my glasses a quick sniff when I held them out to them but I don’t think they even noticed the actual eclipse.

Mind, it was so cloudy I hardly saw a thing.
 
I was outside when it happened and didn't even notice until my brother came out to look at it (using the inner packaging from a box of teabags as we didn't have any of the glasses).
 
I ended up riding this evening so not sure if the horses noticed or not! I did take this rubbish photo which sort of makes the sun not quite round, but weirdly you can see it in the bright bit below.
Anyone know why the photo would have taken like this?
 

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Catbird said:
I ended up riding this evening so not sure if the horses noticed or not! I did take this rubbish photo which sort of makes the sun not quite round, but weirdly you can see it in the bright bit below.
Anyone know why the photo would have taken like this?
Click to expand...
Lens flare if I understand correctly - too much light coming in and it bounces around inside the lens.
 
All of ours were absolutely mental today, it was also very windy but something was definitely off with them - it was too cloudy for us to really see the difference but I am positive the horses knew!
 
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