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Interesting. Thanks for posting
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In the video, heard that the background behind the fence visual is key. That would be something to consider, especially in eventing in spaces where it is not a green sward behind the jump visually.
Interesting research. Basing it on the horse’s behavior, rather than hyper-analysis of the eye itself.
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Thanks for posting. I’ve always wondered about this.
This will quickly move into Eventing. Mike Etherington-Smith, who is an Olympic course designer and event organiser, was very involved in the research and is a part of the film.
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I hope it does - but this is not new information for eventers or course designers. This forum was discussing course design and horses seeing white as a ground-line best more than ten years ago.
I hope it isn’t misread as “lets put more open airy white oxers” on XC, though! There’s another contentious point – if white is being incorporated into XC fences, it should be so in a way horses are not misreading them as SJ fences, because that is another area where there is enough data to suggest that horses treat them like SJ fences.
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And that horses are smart enough to know the difference. As well as see it.
The irony is that other studies have shown that, in pastures, black fencelines are easier for horses to see than white fencelines.
I think that because the British study was based on horse behavior, not horse eye structure, we have to remember that the entire picture in the horse’s eye is what matters, not just the fence. The background matters! The white stands out against the rich green background shown in the videos of the study.
I hope that designers will look at the “white” and “color” results in the context of how the study was done, and not just latch on to one easy fact “use white”.
Sometimes white may not be the best choice, based on what is behind it in the visual range of a horse approaching the obstacle. I know eventing course designers tend to already know this, hopefully they are not undermined by this study.
This 2016 Australian study found the opposite, that horses see black better than white. My guess is that black stands out more than white with a sand ring background. Or terrain that is not the color of a lovely English racecourse.
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My white board (RAMM) fence disappears in the winter (snow). Sometimes I’ve even done a double take that the “fence is gone”. Background matters…
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Maybe the Chinese are having a hard time with riding ?
