Vision

By: Deb Kitchenmaster

“There is something about the gentle wisdom in a horse’s eye that can put even the most troubled soul at peace.” This is a quote made by Maisie on November 17, 2020. No pun intended.

Some facts about the eye of the horse:

· Horse eyes are among the largest of any land mammal. They are positioned on the sides of the head (positioned laterally).

· The range of vision is about 350° with approximately 65° of this being binocular vision and the remaining 285° monocular vision

· Their range of vision is somewhere between 20/30 and 20/60

· Horses can see color! They see blue and green colors on the spectrum

· They have amazing night vision. Helpful in the detection of predators.

· Horses have two blind spots: 1) right behind them, 2) Right in front of them. They can’t see the carrot you are holding to their mouth. They use their whiskers around their mouth to feel objects.

· The eye of the horse is a diameter of around two inches. Everything is magnified and they can use their eyes separately.

· Vision is believed to be the horse’s primary sense

The eyes tell us a great deal about a horse’s emotional state. A tired horse may have limited eye movement or a dull, vacant look, while a nervous horse in a new environment may have extremely expressive eyes.

The white part of your horse’s eye is called the sclera. Be careful if you see the sclera of your horses’ eyes showing. This means he is afraid, startled, or very nervous. A happy and relaxed horse will have his eyes wide open, but the sclera not showing.

When you encounter a horse staring at you, he’s assessing you! You have this horses’ curiosity up and he’s trying to understand your intentions.

Have you seen a horse with a fly mask on this time of year? The mask is simply a piece of gear used on horses to cover their eyes, jaw, sometimes their ears and muzzle, to protect them from flies and other biting insects.

What about when a horse gives you the side eye? They get more detail in what they’re seeing when they look with just one of their eyes.

Have you seen or experienced a horse look away from you, either with his eyes or whole head and neck? What message is the horse communicating? Calm down! That’s right. Actually it is a calming cue. The horse uses a signal like this when he feels pressured and wants the rider to know he senses the person’s agitation or aggression, so that person can calm down because this horse is no threat to the human. Lighten up! Relax!

A well-known quote in the horse world says horses offer a mirror to your soul. Sometimes you like it, sometimes you don’t. However, the horse continues to send messages to you. Like a mirror, he is reflecting to you what he senses. In this mirror-like refection, the horse opens the opportunity for you to face your deepest fears, insecurities, and the emotions you tend to bury. Horses attach no judgments, agendas, or opinions to these reflections. You can choose to listen and allow them to teach you, or you can ignore them. They leave that completely up to you. The horses simply react to what they sense, and they are far more intuitive and tuned in than we allow ourselves to be.

May we learn from the horse and reflect vision, a vision reflecting life, truth and righteousness. May we look beyond the color of skin and gender? May we look directly into the mirror where intentions and motives of the heart/soul are revealed and by the Grace of God accept and cast our vote to come back into alignment with FREEDOM? After all, the main spiritual symbol of the horse is FREEDOM. This FREEDOM reflects ENDURANCE, CONFIDENCE, and TRIUMPH. Yes. We are at war. And it is spiritual. “Steady.” “Steady.” “Hold.”

Your NEIGHbor,

By: Deb Kitchenmaster