For my science fair project (im in 10th grade) I would like to see whether or not horses see in color and which colors they prefer by spraypainting sections of grass certain colors, putting the grass 15 feet away from them and each one a few feet apart, and seeing which grass the horse goes to. I would obviously not let the horse eat it since that would be unhealthy, but i would stop the horse a few feet away just to see which one it goes to. Would this be a good experiment to test horses' vision, and if not what errors does it have? Any other ideas? also is this age appropriate (I'm in 10th grade).
thanks!
2007-10-13 07:00:53 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
sounds like a great idea , try painting the grass with edible paint so the horses can actually eat it, and you might have flaws in your theory because a horse can probably still smell and recognize the general shape of grass and go to any one of them even if they're colored differently but in theory it sounds like a good idea even if the horses go to any patch of grass the chance of them going because of the smell is under 30% i guess so that's a pretty good chance of success for your plan.
2007-10-13 07:07:26 · answer #1 · answered by WraitH 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nice project in theory. The catch is that even color-blind animals can sense difference in intensity. You can't know what you are testing.
You might have better luck in determining horses' preference among different types of hay. Use as many horses as you can. Place identical containers with the different hays where the horses have access to it. Switch the positions of the containers each day, so that you are measuring the food preference and not preference for a location. Measure the weight of each batch of hay before and after the horses have access to it. Run the tests for as long as you can.
2007-10-13 11:01:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like an interesting experiment, but there are two things to consider. Firstly, the colorant used on the grass samples must not change the natural smell of the grass. Secondly, if you cannot be sure that it's not toxic to horses, how are you going to find a bomb-proof way of preventing them getting at it? Good luck with the experiment.
2007-10-13 07:12:36 · answer #3 · answered by Michael B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Horses are NOT colorblind. If you want to test, that IS a good way, but make sure the controlled factor is true, because if it was different food, the horse might be attracted to his/her favorite. The colors of the rainbow might be good, but also neon colors and dull colors would be good contrast! I have a horse, and she is not colorblind! Some horses have a favorite color like us, believe it or not. My horses favorite color is purple, like mine. I tested it against pink, green and blue! My objective was painting my hands a color and holding a carrot star in each. Good job on your honors making!
2016-05-22 05:55:26 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First look it up on line and find out if they are color blind.
Then you will know that you have something to prove.
2007-10-13 08:00:20 · answer #5 · answered by lana s 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋