Horse’s eyes are very complex. Although they have a wider field of vision than humans do, horses cannot see very much detail and have a hard time seeing depth and sensing how far an object is from their bodies. Consequently horses also have many blind spots in which they cannot see at all. Directly behind and in front of a horse are the biggest blind spots. Which is why you should never walk up behind a horse unless you want to get kicked and why a horse might lift it’s head when you try to pet it’s muzzle. The horse does not want to get away from you, on the contrary it just wants to see you better! Most blind spots are determined by the shape of the Horse’s head. Horses with broad heads decrease the blind spot directly in front while a horse with a thinner head decreases the blind spots on either side. A horse’s eyes are very sensitive to movement which is why they get spooked so easily. This is because in the wild, horses have to be on guard all the time for mountain lions, bears, and wolves. Concerning horses and guarding, a horse’s night vision is superb. This is so that the horse can see any predators trying to sneak up on them at all times. Considering color, scientists have not proven whether horses see color or not, but most believe that horses see a few shades of green and/or blue. Horses may have great night vision and movement detection, but all the blind spots and lack of depth perception really makes me feel fortunate to have human eyesight.
Vet In Training 