Why do carriage horses have their eyes covered?

Question

And how do they even go around so fast.
Do they have complete trust in the driver?

Answer 1

samurai is right
It is NOT usually to prevent the horse from being spooked, especially at the carriage! WHen you ride a horse with loose rein, you'll notice that most horses like to look around at their surroundings. They like to know what is around them and what is going on for their own safety, its instinct. The blinders or blinkers re to keep the horses looking int the direction they are being asked to go, straight ahead, instead of around at their surroundings. Horses are just like us, they tend to travel wheichever direction they are looking. If the driver constanty has to saw back and forth to keep the horse traveling straight, its a hassle!

Answer 2

Horses Eyes

Answer 3

The equipment is called Blinders,they are used to cover just the horse's peripheral vison, this helps keep the horse calm and concentrate on what is in front of them and what the driver is telling them to do. You see horses have a range of vison of about 350 degrees, when the average cat or dog only has a range of 150 degrees and a nervous horse has a hard time paying attention when they can see all that is going on around them, even when a well trained horse is presented with something new they can still be unpredictable so the Blinders can be a precaution as well...

Answer 4

I have just broken in a small pony to pull a 'trap' or carriage.
The reason they have their eyes covered is because they can see what is going on behind them without blinkers on. They see the carriage as something that is chasing them, and so their instinct would tell them to run!

Whilst training a horse or pony to pull a carriage, the person starts by giving commands from the side, and slowly moves around so that they are behind their horse. They do this without the carriage on, so that the pony or horse is used to receiving commands from behind.

To get a horse or pony used to pulling weight whilst receiving commands, you rig a tyre up to where the carriage will eventually go. This helps them put their chest into pulling the carriage, and it also gets them used to 'funny' noises behind them!

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why do carriage horses have their eyes covered?
And how do they even go around so fast.
Do they have complete trust in the driver?

Answer 6

What you're probably seeing on the horse's eyes are called "blinkers." From your perspective, it may look as if the animal's whole eyes are covered up, but in reality they can still see.

Blinkers are designed to only allow (in most cases--race horses are sometimes an exception) a horse to see what is right in front of him. This suposedly keeps a horse focused on driving, and keeps his attention away from other distractful things. It is also supposed to serve as an aid to reduce the likelihood that a horse will spook at something, though personally I doubt this fact.

Answer 7

The horses do not have their eyes completely covered, they are wearing blinders. They prevent the horse from seeing any direction but straight ahead, therefore eliminating distractions that might make the horse skittish. It depends on the horse though- I have seen carriages in new york city and the horse doesn't wear them because he's so mellow.

Answer 8

Carriage horses don't have their eyes covered. Many do, traditionally, wear what are called "blinkers", which artificially block off their peripheral (side) vision, making them less prone to visual distractions which could surprise or un-nerve them. In this way, their gait and their direction are strictly controlled by the driver of the carriage by use of the reins.

Answer 9

Hello; Carriage horse wear "BLINKERS" to keep them calm. Horses are a flight animal and spook at the strangest things.A leaf russeling will set them off. It takes a lot more to train a horse to cart than saddle. The horse is trained to SIDE PASS in order to make turning around seem easy. They put trust in the drive as their herd leader...

Answer 10

Carriage horses have their eyes covered on each side so they cannot see things on either side of them, so they will not get distracted from what they are doing.