Re: Color vision in the horse

<wkambic@xxxxxxx> wrote:
We humans see color because we have rod and cone structures in the eye
that make it possible. Does the horse eye contain similar structures?

Humans with normal color vision have 3 kinds of cones, each
kind sensitive to a different wavelength of light. We are
trichromates, along with most other primates. Most mammals
other than primates are dichromates: they have 2 kinds of
cones. Humans with abnormal color vision, the "colorblind",
also usually have only 2 kinds of cones. The most common
abnormal color vision involves inability to differentiate
between red and green. It is generally *assumed* that the
dichromate animals see the same way colorblind humans do.
(But this is unlikely, given that colorblind humans' brains
are designed for imput from 3 kinds of cones, not 2.) If
horses see like colorblind humans, they can differentiate
between yellows and blues, but not between reds and greens.

Intense blue is rare in the natural environment. In studies
of human searcher's ability to detect objects this color
has been shown to be a "high visibility" color. Especially
when the searcher is red-green colorblind. So you might
expect bright blue to be a very exciting color for a horse.

Una
.

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