In a tweet published by the Metropolitan Police today, the police officers were depicted training some of their horses to “get used” to the signs “before riding them in public”. They added that the training “will eliminate the danger to the public, the motorists or the anxiety for our horses”. Several streets in the capital, including the City of London and Tottenham Court Road, have been painted with LGBT phosphorescent flags as part of the Colorful Crossings project. The signs were designed as a show of solidarity with the LGBT community, but the Met today confirmed that some of their horses were “trembling in bright colors”, adding that it was “something we did not expect”. A video released in September 2020 of a road crossing in Yorkshire shows two equestrian police horses disturbed by the signs.
Fly in alternate directions
The animals appear to break their step as they approach one of the signs. After stopping abruptly, they flock to alternative directions, visibly confused and reluctant to continue on their way. A Twitter user questioned the cost of retraining the beasts to overcome their fear of the illuminated signs, which police said they could confuse as obstacles. Sarah Phillimore said: “Just out of curiosity, how long does it take and how much does it cost for horses to get used to crossing the rainbow?” Others suggested that horses were forced to undergo training for diversity. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told the Telegraph that “contrary to some speculation on the internet, we have not sent our horses for diversity training”. They continued: “A ‘terrified’ horse can be a danger to road users and riders and we have noticed that some of the new signs on London’s streets – such as blue bike lanes or other colored symbols such as rainbow crossings – have taken them by surprise. “To make their education more realistic, we painted them on the streets in our training center. “This was done with the generous support of a road sign company at no extra cost.”
The guide dogs had problems
This is not the first time that colorful designs have encountered difficulties for road users. People with disabilities and guide dogs have had problems in the past. Mike Wordingham, director of policy and campaigning at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, told MailOnline: “For the blind and visually impaired, the consistency and predictability of signage is essential to navigating safely and independently. “Ninety-three percent of the blind have some vision. Patterns and colors on pedestrian crossings that are not in line with traditional designs could be confusing and endanger safety. “Black-and-white stripe designs on crosswalks offer high contrast, which is especially important for visually impaired people to stay on track when crossing roads,” he added. “We have also heard from people with vision problems with light sensitivity who do not find the colorful color comfortable to look at.”
