# Barn Light Question



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Yes, a light would help.
Remember horses can see better than we do in the dark.
Their eyes though are adjusted to seeing the images of outside and when you expect them to walk into a walled off closure they can not see immediately, nor can they see shadows that appear from their own bodies or things hanging inside. 
Not knowing if they're friendly not foe or enemy in nature will make them leery, and hesitant to go in.

If you do do a light make sure you do it inside a cage, high up and out of reach so no curious nose sniffs to hard, touches to much and breaks it off to get hurt.
Horses are also much more sensitive to electric current than we are...grounded is a must.
:runninghorse2:....
_jmo.._


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I agree, mine will stand outside when it's dark until I turn on the barn lights and then they stand in their stalls (I leave them on from about 4 to 9 pm, but sometimes am a little delayed getting home and it's dark at 4:30!). We have a dusk to dawn light just outside the paddock, and I often find them standing under it if the barn isn't lit. So I do think they much prefer a well-lit area.

I have on occasion left a dim light on in the tack room and left the door open. It's their "night light" lol. I use an LED light because they don't emit any heat. I always worry about a source of heat in a barn, but the ones I have put out zero heat - I've tried touching after they've been on a while. They don't need a lot of light, as their eyes will eventually adapt, but a little light helps I find.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

I set up a pair of solar powered lights just outside and inside my horses' 20x20 barn. They know that 'dinner' is fed inside, and will often go in before I have a chance to turn on the light, but they will almost always race right back out if it's full dark. Once the light is on, though, they enter calmly and wait for me to feed. Because the lights are solar powered and LED, I don't have a problem leaving the inside barn light on all night. My biggest issue is that my 5 y/o gelding is still in that curious phase and will occasionally pull on the light strings. I'll find the light on after I know I turned if off or vs versa. ;-)


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## elkdog (Nov 28, 2016)

Horses eyes adjust much slower than ours from light and dark. It takes them about a half hour and us just a couple of minutes. My friend Rowland is a vet and one of his stories is:

A horse in a barn with the lights on was startled. When it ran out into the dark, it ran into another horse that it couldn't see. Both horses died........(he tells the story much better with a lot of technical terms) 

He goes on a lot of injured horse calls for this reason. Horse runs into fence. Horse runs into tractor......

I would NEVER put lights in the barn. If I have to go in the barn at night, or out on the trail in the dark, I use a red flashlight and take care not to shine it on the horses . I'm not sure if this works or not, but I've never had any problems.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I never leave a light on and mine come and go as they please. I'm leaning towards it just being a temporary thing until they get used to their new surroundings.


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## They Call Me Pete (Oct 27, 2009)

The light is high enough they can't get to it but need to do rewiring in barn and when I do I will replace them with cages. Might be a good job tomorrow cause its supposed to rain all day. They do have a pine grove they could use as a run-in if the barn thing doesn't workout tonight. I setup some hay up there today. I agree with this who said "they do good in the dark" I just think this is a new thing and if a little light helps them get outta the weather I'm good with that.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Ours have a 'yard light' near the barn, but no light inside. They go in and out fine as their water is in there, and hay if it's too windy for the hay in the outside feeders. Since it takes horses' eyes so long to adjust to darkness from light, I'd rather they be half blinded indoors than outside where there's a lot more for them to slip on, run into, etc.


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## They Call Me Pete (Oct 27, 2009)

So we fed them in the barn and they then went out to the hay just outside the barn. I put more up in the pines incase they spent the night up there and left the 15w light on in the barn. Just went to check on them and they are up in the pines outta the rain. Lights off in the barn cause they have clearly made their choice where to be.


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