The first time you see a horse wearing sunglasses you will probably do a double take. They’re certainly not commonplace, but we’re seeing them in use more frequently and they’re not just a quirky fashion statement.
Horses wear sunglasses (often called equine goggles or visors) for a variety of reasons that are all centred around protecting their eyes. The most common reasons include:
- managing conditions, such as equine recurrent uveitis, headshaking or photosensitivity
- UV protection
- glare reduction, improving a horse’s vision in bright conditions
- extra protection during recovery from injury or surgery
- high-risk sports, to prevent injuries from flying dirt kickback or balls, for example
Just like humans, horses benefit from the protection sunglasses, goggles and visors offer from harmful UV rays and sun glare. Horses with little or no pigment in the skin around their eyes are particularly vulnerable and can suffer from sunburn, squinting, watery eyes, sunburn, cataracts, and even cancer.
Horses can wear googles or visors for a variety of reasons. Credit: Alamy
When can a horse wear sunglasses?
Unlike fly masks, equine sunglasses, googles or visors of any kind should only be worn when ridden or supervised. This is because of the potential for them to move or get caught if a horse rubs their face.
Visors are not permitted to be worn in competition by many governing bodies (including British Dressage, British Eventing and British Showjumping), so it’s recommended that you check individual rulebooks first. They are permitted in some cases by the British Horse Racing Authority, but must be declared in advance.
Horses may wear visors for snow polo due to the glare from the snow. Credit: Alamy
Googles, visors and sunglasses are, however, also marketed for use in the following sports and areas of equestrianism across the world:
- hacking or trail riding
- barrel racing
- eventing or cross-country
- showjumping
- endurance
- racing
- polo, including snow polo
- mounted shooting protection
- skijoring
Tinted lenses reduce the amount of light able to get through, just like human sunglasses. Credit: Getty Images
Types of sunglasses for horses
Some visors – those with transparent lenses – only serve to protect a horse’s eyes from trauma, which could be caused by flying dirt or other objects.
Goggles or sunglasses with tinted lenses offer varying levels of light blocking, although this is not the same as UV protection. Horse sunglasses are also assigned filter categories (just like human sunglasses) depending on the strength of the filter, ranging from zero to four, with category four being the darkest.
Below are one model’s (the eQuick eVysor) visible light transmission percentages for their available tinted lenses, along with the filter categories for context.
- Transparent: 98.08%, category 0
- Mirrored orange: 46.28%, category 1
- Mirrored blue: 42.64%, category 2
- Mirrored green: 38.41%, category 2
- Mirrored rainbow: 19.85%, category 2
- Darker: 10.45%, category 3
Visors typically fit over the ears and secure under the jaw. Some have elasticated straps to make them easier to put on and take off.
Police horses may wear specialist visors in riot or public order situations. Credit: Alamy
Visors for police horses
While Horse & Hound has previously reported on a police horse who wore sunglasses for medical reasons, some situations require mounted police horses to wear specialist visors that protect the eyes and nose from objects thrown in a public order or riot situation. These are category zero glasses designed purely for trauma protection rather than light reduction.
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