Mythbuster Monday: Horses Prefer to Drink From a Certain Color Bucket
On Mythbuster Monday, we tackle a variety of equestrian myths to either bust or confirm. Today’s discussion: Do horses prefer to drink from a particular color bucket?
It’s Mythbuster Monday, where Horse Nation dives into different equestrian myths and provides research-based evidence to either bust or confirm those myths. Today’s topic: Do horses prefer to drink from a particular bucket color? What color are they drawn to most? Is there reason behind why they choose certain colors over others? Read further to find out!
Myth: Horses prefer to drink out of a certain color bucket
Myth or Fact: Fact
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Horse water buckets are essential tools in the daily care and well-being of horses, designed to provide clean, accessible drinking water at all times. Typically made from durable plastic or rubber, these buckets come in various colors and are placed in stalls, paddocks, or pastures to ensure horses stay properly hydrated.
But, do horses prefer specific colors over others?
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According to Kentucky Equine Research, horses do appear to have color preferences when it comes to water buckets. In their article they reference a study by the University of Ataturk involving Thoroughbreds and Haflingers. Researchers tested water intake from galvanized steel buckets painted in six different colors. The results showed that horses consistently drank the most from turquoise buckets, followed by light blue and light green. Based on these findings, using turquoise or light blue water buckets may encourage horses to drink more.
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The initial study by University of Ataturk investigated whether horses show a preference for certain water bucket colors based on their limited color vision, which is similar to that of humans with red-green color blindness. Using six Thoroughbred and Haflinger horses, researchers tested water intake from galvanized metal buckets painted red, yellow, green, light green, light blue, and turquoise. Conducted over 18 days in outdoor paddocks, the study found a statistically significant preference for turquoise buckets, from which horses drank the most water, followed by light blue and light green. The least preferred colors were red and yellow.
Horses consistently showed a preference for lighter-toned colors, especially in the blue-green spectrum. These results align with what is known about equine dichromatic vision, which is most sensitive to blue and yellow wavelengths, and suggests that bucket color, particularly light shades of blue and turquoise, may influence water consumption. The researchers recommend using turquoise or light blue buckets to potentially encourage better hydration in horses, though they also note that further studies are needed to fully understand the relationship between bucket color and equine drinking behavior.
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Breed, Ride, Event states that an accidental bucket swap revealed an unexpected equine preference for the color turquoise. When a horse at the farm, Grace’s, red water bucket was replaced with a turquoise one due to damage, her owner noticed that she consistently drank more from the turquoise bucket, regardless of its location in the stall. Curious if it was just Grace, the experiment was repeated with another horse, Henry, a horse known for avoiding his corner bucket and using it as a hay discard bin. After swapping that bucket with a turquoise one, Henry began drinking from it regularly, something he had never done before. For several nights, he consistently chose the turquoise bucket over his usual favorite, leaving the owner surprised and convinced that horses may indeed have color preferences, particularly for turquoise.
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The consensus is that horses do prefer a certain color bucket. Horses prefer blue and turquoise over other colors mostly because of their limited color vision. So, Horse Nation, we’re taking it to you. If you have different color buckets, try this at home and let us know your results!
Do you have an equine myth you’d like us to tackle? If so, send it our way! Email your suggestions to [email protected]. Put Mythbuster Monday in your subject line.
