LED lighting for horses

No matter how the horse is used by humans, a mutual trust is of great importance for a good cooperation. The horse is a flight animal by nature and constantly observes its surroundings.

A decisive aspect is, among other things, vision, for which suitable lighting conditions are important. But light does not only influence the horse's vision. The animals react to the number of hours of light, the intensity or even the colour of the light. For example, fertility or the change of coat depends on the availability of light. The vitality of horses also depends on this.

First and foremost, of course, this refers to the natural daylight of the sun. Artificial light, however, offers an additional source of light and can have a positive effect on the well-being of the animals if used appropriately.

A horse‘s field of view is typical of a prey animal. The eyes are arranged laterally, thereby enabling almost a full all-round view without having to move the head. The largest part of the field of view is thereby covered by just one eye (two-dimensional vision). Its view tends to be towards the ground. Instinctively, horses want to see what is happening around them. With a clear view of its surroundings, the animal can recognise and assess potential threats. Unobstructed perception helps calm the animals. Even lighting without blinding the animals helps them perceive their environment.

Different cones in the retina of the eye are responsible for colour perception. While humans have three different cone types, horses do not have the L cone for recognising red shades. Horses see in shades of yellow, green and blue. If you take this into account when designing lighting, you can help your horse to better perceive contrasts. The horse can then fully concentrate on other tasks.

Horses have much better twilight vision than humans. However, the eye has to adjust to the respective lighting conditions. In the wild, the daylight does not just switch on and off. Sunrise and sunset are a smooth transition between light and dark, and vice versa. An abrupt change requires a period of familiarisation. When switching from light to dark in particular, horses initially see next to nothing. This short-term blindness leads to unnecessary discomfort for the horse. The time required to get used to the new light condition is longer for horses than it is for humans.

There are many factors at play when it comes to the right lighting for animals and humans. The light spectrum and the light distribution in particular have a huge influence on the biological effects, and so on the fertility, immune system, welfare, activity, growth and performance of your animals. And yet the working conditions of horse owners and vets can also be significantly improved with the right lighting.

Put your trust in Kerbl’s experience: Our lights were specially developed for lasting use in stables and similarly demanding environments.
As well as high stress due to humidity and dust, lights in stables are exposed to a lot of chemicals in the ambient air and due to cleaning processes. In particular, lights have to be able to withstand high concentrations of ammonia. Therefore, to ensure a long service life, we focus our efforts on the technical design, the use of suitable electronic components and materials, and high-quality workmanship of our LED lights.

And we don’t just rely on our own expertise – we also put our products through special safety and load tests by independent and recognised testing institutes such as TÜV Süd and the DLG Test Lab. Our LED indoor spotlights and MultiLED Pro and FarmPRO lights have passed ammonia resistance tests at the DLG Test Lab.

Economic and environmentally friendly operation
Not all LEDs are made equal. The details matter when it comes to taking full advantage of the potential savings in terms of costs and energy consumption. A high light output and optimised light distribution reduce the number of lamps required. At the same time, it’s also what’s inside that counts if you want to enjoy your lighting for a long time, as this ultimately affects the life and maintenance costs.

You can find a calculation guide for LED high-bay spotlights and LED floodlights in our brochure ‘LED Lighting for Horses’.