Conference noted::equitation

    
    I've been in barns that used fluorescent lighting and it never seemed
    to bother the horses when the lights were turned on and fluttered
    for a minute nor when the bulb was getting near replacement and
    started to flash as it got weaker.  Never bothered my horses nor
    others.  The lights probably only affected them like lightning during
    a thunderstorm; no reaction then either.
    

    Generally I found that having horses in a barn with flourescent
    lights is not a problem.
    
    UNLESS you live in an area with COLD weather.  
    
    I had my horses in a barn which used flourescent lights.  The lighting
    was fine until temperatures reached 10 degrees or so.  Then the
    lights started failing.  That winter there were about 5 weeks when
    the temps didn't get above 0.  We had to use flashlights at night. 
    
    Mary JO
    

    I keep my horse at a barn which is lit by fluorescent lights. They have
    no effect on the horses. What you do need to get are "Cold Start"
    fluorescent lights otherwise they may not turn on in the coldest New
    England weather (if that's where you are). Another point is to properly
    install them and keep the lighting fixtures clean. What I notice
    happening with the lights at this barn is that they, along with most
    other things in the barn, get covered with dust from the indoor ring.
    Now in wet weather, the humidity makes the dust around the lamp
    starters (and everywhere else) a bit damp and prevents the lights
    from starting properly.
    
    For the technically inclined, fluorescent lights work through a
    high voltage electric discharge through the gas enclosed in the
    tube which "strikes" at mains frequency (60 cycles/second in the
    US). There is a starter/transformer in the fluorescent light fixture
    to generate this voltage. When the tube gets old, the gas inside
    it leaks out or air leaks in, I am not sure which, and the discharge
    doesn't happen on every mains cycle so the lights flicker. Lower
    temperatures reuire a higher strike voltage I think and humidity
    allows the high voltage to "leak" away into the air or elsewhere
    before the discharge can take place. You really wanted to know that
    didn't you?

    There are several types of flourescent lights which are used in
    home and industrial areas.  Lights with starters work on low voltage
    sources.  Without getting into the gory details, the starter excites
    the gas which then ionizes and carries a current through the tube
    discharging electrons like crazy, which subsequently strike the
    inside coating of the tube (a special flourescing compound) creating
    light.  Industrial versions work from high voltage created by an
    oil filled transformer inside the light fixture.  It is usually
    called a ballast.  Lights used in cold weather applications are
    specified as high output or cold ballast lights.  They use a special
    lamp (tube) and ballast.  The `blinking effect' is a result of the
    operation which is really a series of flashes with the spaces filled
    in by the flourescing compound and persistance of vision.  The last
    item is why it bothers some people more than others, because everyone
    has a little different persistance of vision.
    
    We have been using H.O. lights for about ten years and how found
    no ill effects from them by humans or horses.  My lights have operated
    at -30 F without too much trouble.  The output initially is dimmer
    than normal but it warms up quickly.  We use dual 40W fixtures (8
    foot tubes) we an operating expense about 25% of what it costs for
    equivilant light of incandescent fixtures.
    
    Regards,
    
    Bob