The Future's Bright, But It May Not Be Orange...

Research into the way equines see and interpret colours could provide useful information across equestrian sport to help horses read fences more easily

- Sarah Radford

RACING’S distinctive orange take-offboards 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.