Safety Tips from

Equine Vision

Working with horses is a very rewarding and exciting activity, but in order to enjoy it to the fullest there are a number of safety procedures that should be followed every time you are around a horse.

First of all, we must realize that nature has equipped our equine friend with some vital skills that were necessary for his survival in the wild. While these skills are great for allowing the horse to survive in the wild, they can work against us with domesticated horses unless we have a clear understanding of these instincts.

One of the horse's most basic instincts is to flee. There are many predators in the wild which prey upon the horse such as mountain lions, bear, etc. For the horse, its best defense is its natural ability to run to escape these enemies. It is this built-in instinct to flee that can make it difficult when training young horses especially those that have not been handled much by humans. For this reason it is important that time is spent developing confidence in young horses.

An aspect of the horse that many people forget or don't realize is that horses were given a very special form of eyesight. They have both binocular vision and monocular vision.

Binocular vision is used when the horse is interested in something in front of them and focuses both eyes on one subject. You can tell when a horse is using binocular vision by observing the position of his ears. If the ears are pricked forward, the horse is observing something in front of him. When a horse is using binocular vision he is able to judge depth and distance because both eyes are fixed on one subject.

Monocular vision is used most of the time by horses and this is his ability to see things separately from each eye. When a horse is using monocular vision, his ability to judge the distance of the objects observed is limited. Because he is only using one eye, there is know depth perception. It is this fact that confuses novice riders when they don't understand that something that was moving clear across a field can upset green horses. Also it is also this fact that makes it very important to familiarize your horse with an arena or pen by walking him around in both directions. When you change directions the arena becomes totally new.

Even though horses possess both binocular and monocular vision, their vision is pretty poor in relation to ours. Because their eyes are set on the sides of their head rather than the middle they are given to many blind spots. These include directly behind them, closer range directly in front of them, and under their neck and head. It is these blind spots that can cause a horse to react in panic when an object moves from one side to another through a blind spot. If the handler understands this concept, working with horses, especially green horses, can be much more enjoyable.

Another common problem some handlers encounter when working with horses comes when loading a horse in a trailer or entering a dark stall. Horses eyes take some time to adjust from the light to dark. A common error that many handlers have is to ask them to immediately load into a trailer. First you should walk the horse up to the opening and allow him to quietly exam it. This process allows for two things. First, it gives the horse's eyes a chance to adjust to the darkness inside the trailer or stall, and secondly, the horse is allowed to judge the size of the opening by sniffing the floor and raising and lowering his head. Many loading problems can be avoided by allowing the horse to judge the situation without forcing him right away.

Basic Safety Rules Related to Vision:

1. When approaching a horse from behind always speak and let him know where you are.

2. When walking around a horse that is tied, speak to him and either travel very close to the horse keeping one hand on the horse's croup or travel far enough around the horse that you are out of kicking range. (If you travel close with your hand on the croup, the horse will not become startled when seeing you appear in the other eye, and you are close enough to the horse to avoid the full brunt of a kick if the horse is startled.)

3. Never position yourself directly behind the horse. This is one of your horse's blind spots in which he cannot see you unless he turns his head.

4. Never stand directly in front of your horse. This is another of your horse's blind spots and if startled from the rear, your horse could bolt forward and unintentionally hurt you.

5. Never cross under the neck of a tied horse. By doing this, you are crossing from the horse's vision in one eye to the other crossing through another of your horse's blind spots. This action very often causes a horse to become startled, and their first reaction is to pull back. If the horse continues to pull without any release, the only place for him to go is to lunge forward causing harm to both horse and handler.

I hope that this information has been of help. If you have any comments, please don't hesitate to drop me a line or send an email.

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