Equilume Performance Lighting is a unique system that comprises fully automated, intelligent stable lights and mobile light masks designed to maximise health, growth and performance in horses. Developed by our R&D department, led by Dr Barbara Murphy, Head of Equine Science at University College Dublin, this revolutionary system harnesses all the benefits of natural daylight for the stabled horse and permits continued exposure to optimum lighting when travelling or at pasture.
The lengthening days of spring have long been associated with improved fertility, growth and performance. In nature, this prepares an animal for breeding, foaling and protection of the herd.
Altertness and mood are enhanced
Muscle metabolism is improved
Feed is better utilised for growth & development
By understanding the qualities of natural daylight, we can mimic these positive effects on physiology using a custom designed ‘smart lighting’ system for horses.
Equilume Performance Lighting provides the horse with biologically effective light, incorporating the correct spectral intensities of light that have been validated by science to stimulate maximum daytime activity and night time rest.
Horses need light for more than just vision. It synchronises their ‘internal clock’ – a complex control system that coordinates all bodily functions to a 24-h (circadian) or 365-day (circannual) rhythm.
Without biologically effective lighting that mimics daylight, a horse’s internal clock can become depressed or out of sync, leading to impaired growth and performance.
Modern management of the competition horse requires that they spend a large proportion of the 24-h day indoors and unexposed to optimal daily light intensities or to a natural light/dark cycle.
Benefits of optimal and regularly timed lighting for both physical and mental health are now clearly recognised and implemented for humans, and for growth and development in sheep, chickens and cows.
For the full Equilume brochure [click here]