CityChick

I know a lot of animals have only black and white vision. That's why there are hunting camouflage out fits that include blaze orange. We can see it well but most animals can't. Most of those same animals can see ultra violet light which means if you use laundry detergent with brighteners for them you are lit up like a Christmas tree. What about horses?

alexis

I think they can see certain colors but not all. I remember reading they have issues between grays and yellows (maybe because of the shading, not sure) but interesting none the less.

Equineimity

Horses do indeed see color, however they have only two types of cones in the retina, as opposed to the human three. This means that their experience of color is going to be more limited, and studies actually found that it is red that they have the most difficulty distinguishing.

OldnGrey

The vet told me that they can see certain colors, and some better than others, but not the full range as we do. He had a fancy name for it but I don't recall now what it was.

mustangsally

Citychick, can you explain that bit about brighteners making us light up like Christmas to horses? What does that have to do with ultraviolet light? Do laundry brighteners reflect UV light?

I'm intrigued.

Roy Rogers

As others have said, Horses can indeed see colors. While their sense of color may not be as developed as ours may be, they still can indeed differentiate the colors to some extent.

Either way, they still have a better sense of colors than many other animals out there.

flatback_frannie

I was under the impression that horses were red/green color blind, which I think means that they can't distinguish between certain shades of red and green. Interesting about the fewer cones in the eye... that makes sense.

CityChick

My Dad loves hunting and my Mom had to wash his hunting clothes in special detergent with no brighteners. They do reflect ultraviolet light. I guess that's how it makes the colors seem brighter to us. His big hunting catalog from Cabela's has some pictures of how an animal might perceive clothes that are reflecting uv light. I'm sure it is not really that spectacular but it sells that special laundry soap.

Equineimity

Yeah the brighteners for whites make you glow say if you go to a disco or nightclub with the UV lights. It's a wonderful effect when you are clubbing but not so much when you are trying to blend in with foliage.