The Senses
The eye
The ear
The nose
The sense of taste
Monocular and binocular vision
Blind spots: underneath belly, on top of back, behind, in front of face
Can change focus from near to far and vice versa
Very good peripheral vision and can see well at night (links to life in the wild (predators))
When training a horse, you must remember they are prey animals, make them aware that you're in a blind spot so you don't spook them etc..
They have an acute ability to detect movement (links to life in the wild)
Predators eyes on the front of the face as they don't need to be so aware of the surroundings because they are unlikely to be hunted, whereas prey animals eyes on the sides of the face because they need a bigger field of vision
Anatomy
Rods and cones (cells in eye)
Nasal chamber: where air is warmed or cooled before passing to the lower respiratory tract to avoid shocking the system
Turbinates: they filter the air and provide nasal mucosa for air to pass over (which warm the air)
Olfactory nerve: relays sensory data to the brain so is responsible for the sense of smell
Olfactory bulb: works with the olfactory nerve and accepts and processes smells
Used to communicate with herd members (dropping and urine)
Used to recognise a foal's scent
Used to recognise danger/predators from a distance
Used to select foods/avoid poisonous foods
The pinna (outer ear) is large and conical shaped to funnel sound into the ear, also covered in hairs to prevent foreign bodies entering the ear
Able to rotate 180 degrees individually
Similar hearing range to humans (55 - 33,500 Hz), but are able to pick up more subtle sounds
The middle ear includes the ear drum and an air filled chamber which contains three small bones which amplify the vibrations of the ear drum and transmit the sound to the inner ear
Used to express feelings and moods
The inner ear contains the cochlea (the hearing organ) and the vestibular system which is the organ for balance
Taste receptors very similar to humans', but the horse has ~25,000 and a human has 8-10,000. They're located on the roof of the mouth, soft palate, and the back of the tongue
The horse will often use the sense of smell with the sense of taste to distinguish between what's edible and what's inedible