Are Horses Truly Color Blind?

Question

I know they say it is a proven fact that horses are color blind. If that is indeed true then why when I'm training a young horse to jump different obsticals does it matter if I hang a blue shirt or a red shirt over the jump? Just when I get the horse going nicely over the jump with the blue shirt draped over it, I switch the shirt with an identical red one and its like they've never seen that shirt before in their lives and its back to the start? I can understand that different colors are different shades in black and white but that shouldn't change the reaction that they have to the shirt that durastically? Should it? Just wondering your thoughts on the subject... have you tried any similar experiments?

Answer 1

Here is what I think..and not because I read some article..or I'm super smart..it's my simple observation from owning beasts for 15+ years.

I know that when I ride past those big garbage cans on the road..if it's green Charatee snorts herself past it all huffed up and bug eyed even though it's been there for the past 5 years...like she ain't EVER seen it before. ..but if it's brown one..she could care less.  I know when I through yellow balls around in the pasture and then a volley ball rolls by...the yellow ball is more apt to be the monster to my girls...haha

I think that it depends on the horse....And I think they see everything in muted colors...and then some colors are really bright...like those old black and white photos that people like watercolor..but make something really bright in...does that make sense??

Answer 2

Horses are not color blind.

Answer 3

Horses are not color blind.  But they do not see colors the same as we do.  Colors are most like more vibrant to them.  I ride a horse that wouldn't step into a patch of ground covering that was like a carpet of purple flowers.  I was walking my donkey through a field that had a lot of blue passion flowers in it and he gave them "the look" but didn't really spook.  My horse sees at least green, red, blue and purple as separate colors, I KNOW this is true just through observation.  As I said before, I believe that they just see them more vibrantly than we do.

Answer 4

They've learned a lot more with better studies and found that horses see blue quite well, and see green more as what we see as yellow.  Red is debatable.  Horses don't have as many types of cones in the retina as humans, and their perception of light waves is not the same as ours...but they keep reseaching it and debating it.  The jury is still out on red.

Answer 5

No they are not.

http://www.mini-horse.org/vision_color.h...

Mine freaks over blue stuff. ( Like that paint they spray on the roads when they are going to repair them - makes for interesting rides sometimes)

Edit - oops Sara W, sorry about that ! Have a thumbs up to make up for it.

Answer 6

Until a horse can truly talk, how do we really know for sure?? At one time scientists believed no animal saw color. This is no longer true, they have changed their statements because they have devised tests such as yours that prove to them that color is seen.... I have never quite trusted the scientist to know these things for certain. As I said, when a horse tells me it's colorblind, then I'll believe it. I know for an absolute FACT that they are biased as to coat color. I have a mare that detests to the nth degree any red horse she encounters. Browns, blacks, dark greys..anything but red..don't bother her, but red gets her blood boiling in a hot flash. I have two distint herds. Coloreds and whites. The red horse now will only hang with nonwhite horses thanks to the mad mare. And I don't think it's "tones of grey" as some of the greys are toned the same as red and she likes them fine and the red mare likes them not at all.

Answer 7

No, horses are not color blind.

They cannot see red, because it dilutes it to an orange-ish color, but they can see blue clearly. There was a big article on it in a vetg magazine that I read, but here are a few links to some articles about this.

http://www.mini-horse.org/vision_color.h...

It's not a good example, but it shows you what horses can see.

Answer 8

ha. heck no

i only know this b/c i know of horses that spook at certain colors.. the horse i use to lease hates the color bright aqua... she spooked at a bright blue broom and cleaner.

also i know a horse that hated/ was scared of, my bright lime green polo wraps

Answer 9

No.  Horses are not color blind.  The rods and cones in their eyes are adjusted to where some colors look the opposite of what they are [ such as red can appear green] and some appear grey.  But horses can see most colors.  Their vision is very blurry though.  Their hearing is what the use to perceive their environment the most.