Learn more about the Equine Eye - Horse Eye Facts

As horse owners and lovers I think one of the things that attracts us to them is their huge beautiful eyes 👀

People often refer to horses as having a ‘kind’ eye and most of us know that seeing the ‘whites’ of the eye means a horse may be frightened or scared.

But how much do you really know about your horse’s eyes❓

▪️The horse has the largest eye of any land mammal

▪️They are usually dark brown, but can be a variety of colors, including blue, hazel, amber, and green

▪️The horse’s eye ball is quite flat in comparison with the human eye ball which is spherical

▪️Horses have 2 colour vision, meaning they can see the blue and green colours of the spectrum and the colour variations based upon them, but cannot distinguish red

▪️Horses can use their eyes as a pair for binocular vision or individually for monocular vision, seeing different things with each eye

▪️The horse has around 350 deg vision with a blind spot directly in front of them and directly behind them

▪️To see what is in these blind spots the horse must adjust their head and neck position

▪️This is why it can be easy to startle a horse by walking straight up behind them and why your horse will often put their head to the side to see you if you stand directly in front of them

▪️This is also why the horse raises their head when approaching a jump to get a better look at it

▪️Humans often encourage their horses to approach ‘scary’ things head on. But not only can the horse not see things well head on, as he gets closer, the object will actually disappear from view

▪️This is why is it always best to approach anything your horse is unsure of from the side

▪️Horses have a reflecting membrane in the eye that increases the amount of light available to the photoreceptors, giving them superior night vision

▪️This also means they can see better on slightly cloudy days, in comparison to bright, sunny days

▪️A 'staring' eye can be a sign of a horse that is in poor condition or unhealthy and can also be a sign of pain or fear

▪️In general 'if he's blinking, he's thinking' and a healthy, comfortable horse will be the one with the 'kind' eye we all look for

😃 Just a few fun facts for you all 👀

Jess | Jessica Limpkin Equine Massage Therapy