Dante Weltino
Research into the way equines see and interpret colours could provide useful information across equestrian sport to help horses read fences more easily
The stallion who turned heads at last year’s Europeans
RACING’S distinctive orange take-off boards and crossbars could be phased out if a study concludes other colours are more visible to horses — while there could also be implications for showjumping and eventing.
The research, funded by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the
Racing Foundation, and run by the University of Exeter’s sensory ecology and evolution department, has already indicated that white or neon yellow might be better alternatives.
Professor Martin Stevens, who heads the department, said that while the final results are still being analysed, there is a “good chance” one of these colours would enhance visibility.
“Our main aim was to understand if changes could be made to help horses better respond to fences and hurdles in order to reduce falls and injury.
“It’s complex as many things affect those behaviours, so [changing colours] is not a magic bullet, but it could help as part of
the picture,” he said.
The study took existing information about equine vision — which sees predominantly a palette of blues and yellows, with reds and oranges indistinct — to select fence colours racehorses might see more clearly.
Scientist Dr Sarah Paul then filmed and assessed the responses of a dozen racehorses from trainer Richard Phillips’ yard as they jumped orange, white, blue and neon yellow fences. She also visited racecourses to assess the colours in different lights.
Former top jockey, journalist and H&H columnist Marcus Armytage, who witnessed some of the work over fences, thinks the study is “very interesting”.
“I think any little thing you can do to lessen fallers can only be good,” he said. “I saw white and orange jumped and I did think the horses were picking their feet up more over the white fence; though just because they are picking their feet up more does not necessarily mean they will fall less as there are many factors involved.
“Funnily enough I think the real application might be in eventing and showjumping — particularly because eventing has had more problems [with rider injuries] than jump racing.”
DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES
A SECOND branch of the study has analysed horse performances over cross-country and showjumping courses at venues including Bicton and last year’s Badminton. Both studies are expected to report during March.
British Eventing’s (BE) national safety officer Jonathan Clissold said Dr Paul had presented to officials and BE had found it “so interesting”, she had been asked to do further research.
“The idea is to get fences as clear and understandable to horses as we can,” he said. “We have a cross-country advisory group and we will be able to pass findings on to course-builders.”
Prof Stevens said the eventing study had thrown up some “tantalising hints” that might warrant further investigation.
“We have done some prelimary work to see whether you can keep things challenging, but at the same time reduce risk to both horse and rider,” he said. “The fences are so variable it’s more of a challenge than in racing, but it will probably include the effects of light conditions and materials.
“There are things we need to explore which are not always that easy to understand, such as issues around jumping into water, which can be quite difficult to interpret. The way the horse is positioning its head is also likely to be very interesting — that might strongly affect their way of seeing patterns or judging distance.”
British Showjumping level five course designer Michael Bainbridge said the sport was in a slightly different position with regards to safety than eventing and racing, with “colour questions” sometimes deliberately incorporated at higher levels.
“Through to 1.30m, you’re looking specifically for good strong colours and contrast to help the horse, as height and distances are big enough questions, but you can bring colour and design in at a higher level,” he said. “There are fences — such as the red postbox fence [introduced for London 2012 and still in use] that can be difficult for the horse to see.
“Course-building is a bit of artistry and a bit of theory and we do have some research at our disposal — such as what a horse sees as he’s coming into a fence — but a lot of current knowledge has been passed on between course designers.”
A spokesman for the BHA said it would give the study’s final results “due consideration”.
“We are always looking for ways to further enhance the sport’s welfare record — an example of this has been the ‘One Fit’ padded hurdle which was trialled and then rolled out to racecourses, with eight now using them,” he said.