Did you know that horses normally graze away from the direction of the sun to ensure that they are not blinded by the bright sunlight in the quest to main full visual awareness as they graze?
Horses can see near and far at the same time and use their acute vision to reinforce their hearing to sense danger.
Grazing in the paddock in guided by the direction of the sun.
In the early to mid morning on a sunny day, they normally graze in a westerly direction and mid to late afternoon towards the east.
On and overcast day, or during late morning to mid afternoon when the sun is overhead, they will normally graze in circles around the paddock.
They have five distinct grazing cycles per day – grazing up to 21 hours per day, depending on the available pasture.
On a good pasture, they spend less time grazing and more time ‘loafing’ which includes grooming, hassling other horses and resting.