Which way is the horse facing? Answer to Derbyshire internet optical illusion explained

Phil Bramley
By Phil Bramley
Published 17th Apr 2023, 11:02 BST
Updated 18th Apr 2023, 07:59 BST
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A picture of a horse taken in Chesterfield against the backdrop of a sunrise is dividing the internet as people can't figure out which way the animal is facing.

The optical illusion has left baffled web users scratching their heads and struggling to work out if the horse is looking towards or away from the camera.

Villager Jim snapped the stunning scene and challenged social media users to work out which way the mare was facing.

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He photographed the horse while on walk near Chesterfield, after noticing it lined up perfectly with a glorious morning sunrise.

The picture of a horse against the backdrop of a sunrise is dividing the internet as social media users can't figure out which way it is facing.The picture of a horse against the backdrop of a sunrise is dividing the internet as social media users can't figure out which way it is facing.
The picture of a horse against the backdrop of a sunrise is dividing the internet as social media users can't figure out which way it is facing.

Due to the bright light silhouetting its head, internet users have been unable to tell which way the majestic-looking animal is facing.

Quickly realising he'd stumbled on an optical illusion, the wildlife photographer asked Facebook followers to see if they could work out the correct answer.

He wrote: "What a stunning sunrise this morning, the question is though is the horse looking towards me or away? Answer is in a while but I love these as the more you look the more unsure you become."

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Villager Jim, the Banksy of wildlife photography, added: "People are literally split down the middle. Half the people think its looking one way and the half think the other. Its very popular. You become more unsure of your answer the longer that you look at it.

"I've had thousands interacting with it and commenting. No one really knows. It been more popular than I expected. With the sunrise with the orange sky, whatever you put in front of it becomes a silhouette. The area where I go is fantastic for sunrises.

"It's at a stables and they’ve got 15 or 20 horses that look over Chesterfield. Horse's and sunrises go really well together.You've got to get them in the right angle. I walked along so that the sun was in the right position. He was a friendly little guy."

After sharing the image online users flooded to the comments to try and work out the truth. One user posted: "Beautiful. One minute horse is looking towards the sunrise, look again and it's looking towards the camera, awesome."

* Answer: The horse is facing towards the camera.

Related topics:ChesterfieldDerbyshireBanksyFacebook