Experiences of one eyed horses please......

[WHISKEY]

Following on from my previous post about my pony's reccurring Uveitus - he is off to horsey hospital soon. I am just wondering, as i know that eye removal may be an option, what others' experiences where - Of how horses get on with only 1 eye. He is a very spooky pony with 2 eyes so i am reluctant to go with that option if it is put forward. Do horses get more spooky or stay the same or get easier? Thanks

 

[classicalfan]

He presumably has limited vision already so I would not expect a great change in his behaviour. In our experience, horses who have lost their sight early, or gradually, cope much better than horses that lose it suddenly. Some adjust/adapt better and quicker than others.

 

[WHISKEY]

No as far as I am aware his sight is relatively unaffected - we have caught this very very early....
So do you think he wont cope well (he is 19 - but a very fit and active 19!) ??

 

[humblepie]

My old mare lost the sight in one of her eyes when she was mid 20s. She coped well and had an early warning mechanism if a horse got too close to her she would squeal which she never did when she could see properly. Although the eye was not removed it was obvious that it was sightless but used to warn people to ensure they spoke to her when approaching and to approach from where she could see them. She wasn't a spooky horse and didn't get spookier.

I have a friend with a one eyed horse, don't know his history as to when it lost it, but he goes out to dressage and years ago I know of a one eyed horse who show jumped.

 

[5horses2dogsandacat]

I was watching a pet program a few years ago and their was a little grey pony who competed in showjumping and was really successful... they then discovered he had been blind from birth.. Im sure, although it may take time and you will have to always remember he is blind in that eye, he'll still be able to be active and happy x

 

[superted1989]

We had a livery that arrived (from a well known Irish dealer in Kent) with quite advanced uveitis. A stunning, black sec D, obviously had been well done by as a youngster. Our guess is he was sold on, because of the condition and ended up in a low end auction.
He was only 7, very, very spooky and highly strung. Trying to treat his eye was a nightmare. His owner decided to have it out and he transformed almost overnight. Much calmer and far less spooky. Vets did a beautiful job, you could only tell the eye was missing when you were up close.
He was doing very well in his ridden work, started jumping a few poles and hacking out alone. That was back at the start of the summer, she's moved him now as she has relocated with work but I'm assuming it would have been onwards and upwards.
He wasn't insured for vets bills and she often said she could have bought a top class showjumper for the 4.5k he cost. She paid a grand for him, so the toatl for the treatments, then operation must have been about 3.5k by my calculations!

 

[WHISKEY]

We had a livery that arrived (from a well known Irish dealer in Kent) with quite advanced uveitis. A stunning, black sec D, obviously had been well done by as a youngster. Our guess is he was sold on, because of the condition and ended up in a low end auction.
He was only 7, very, very spooky and highly strung. Trying to treat his eye was a nightmare. His owner decided to have it out and he transformed almost overnight. Much calmer and far less spooky. Vets did a beautiful job, you could only tell the eye was missing when you were up close.
He was doing very well in his ridden work, started jumping a few poles and hacking out alone. That was back at the start of the summer, she's moved him now as she has relocated with work but I'm assuming it would have been onwards and upwards.
He wasn't insured for vets bills and she often said she could have bought a top class showjumper for the 4.5k he cost. She paid a grand for him, so the toatl for the treatments, then operation must have been about 3.5k by my calculations!

This is EXACTLY what i wanted to hear!!!!! Keep the 'spooky before eye op - great after' replies coming!!! I am lucky in that i do have insurance paying at the moment!

 

[Jesstickle]

I have known two horses with one eye. Both lost them reasonably suddenly, one to a kick and one to cancer.

Both of them were absolutely fabulous horses that worked taking novices out on pony treks. I'm a noisy bugger so never managed to creep up on them in the box either. They always heard me coming!

Both of them were pretty damn bomb proof in honesty. I hope your lad doesn't have to lose his eye but if he does it certainly isn't the end of the world

 

[nat_1]

my friends horse at same yard as me developed uveitus last nov/dec (only 3 at the time)
had vet out ,gave drops etc 4 times a day,the eye appeared to of got better,but febuary this yr he had to go to liverpool horsey hospital to have it examined.they said the uveitus was very advanced so they could put an implant in which would only last 4-6 years,then have to keep going back to have it replaced at £2k each time and insurence wouldnt pay for each implant after the first.
my friend asked about having his eye took out,which they did on the following visit.
he has got on absolutley fine since with one eye,more confident than ever.nothing has held him back in anyway with only one eye and you can hardly tell its not there unless you look really close at him.he is still the same sweet horse.

 

[hannahmurphy]

Used to look after two, neither of which you would know only had one eye ... no difference, they cope really well.

 

[soulfull]

not sure BUT there was one doing SJ the other day

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Whisky my first Mare in my sig the Butter Biscuit had moon blindness m another form of uveiitis. she lost nearly all her sight as there wasn't much known in the 80s she coped well and hacked her out too and she peed of with me.

My other mare in my sig first one has uveiitis in her right eye. was diagnosed early this year, she has had many attacks but i have learn t the signs , so catch it early. The last attack i caught on the first day before too much happened. My vet gives me atropine to put in on the onset which dilates the pupil thus stopping the damage. She has not much damage yet and as long as i catch it early it shouldn't get any worse.

I bought a guardian mask for sunny days and a cashel one on the cloudy days http://equinecare-and-control.weebly.com/u.html

by the way my mare is 23

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

your vet is your best advisory regarding the condition of your horses eye. BUT one eyed horses do adapt and cope exceedingly well. you have to be careful turning them on their blind side, and try to keep things same y. if the worst comes to the worst and your horse does lose his eye he and you will learn to cope with this, and find things that work for you and him. many years ago i used to bsja against a pony called one eyed fury he was like a bullet and would jump anything at great speed and won a lot. so talk to your vet, and IF your horse loses his eye he will and can adjust to this, but it does take time.

 

[Dizzle]

There was a pony locally that used to hunt and team chase with only one eye, 13.2hh pony could clear 4ft!

 

[Temptation]

I no one that's still out jumping fox and b and c's ... And winning them!!

 

[Ridin_Solo]

We have a horse with one eye on our yard. Hes amazing and hasnt changed one bit. Hes still the bouncy cuddley boy he has always been. Just hits his head on the right sometimes but bar that hes amazing

 

[Swift08]

Pharaoh had ERU but not the 'normal' version (was secondary, not primary - rather rare). His vision in the eye had basically gone completely by the end but it never was a problem for him
Have known several other horses that were partially sighted and not one was dangerous, in fact if you didn't know about their sight you would think they were fine.
Hope your one is ok, you may find he gets better because he is no longer in pain. My vet described it as all the pain of a migraine but in one eye!

 

[Nosey]

I thought there was one that went round badminton wiv only one eye..briarlands blackberry? Also we had a brilliant little chap in our RC wiv one eye who won everything! My dtr has just got a lovely mare wiv one eye. She has a lovely nature & is so easy to do. Just find she needs a bit of rein to be able to look round when she needs to. Ditto we don't tie her up too short either.

 

[Tnavas]

We have one at Pony Club - awesome pony - does everything

 

[lil'chesnut]

i have had the "pleasure" of riding two one eyed horses in the past. both have been perfect gentlemen.
jumping was a bit difficult though as one day, Bob couldn't see the wall of the school and very nearly ran straight into it, with me sitting up on his ears.
both have been very well mannered and behave impecibaly out hacking.

i really do find there is not much difference, from my experience.

 

[alext]

My boy lost his eye four years ago. It's never really made any difference to him, I still rode him and jumped him. He is quite a stressy horse doesn't like change
much and gets worked up very
easily but he didn't seem to worry about losing the eye! Infact the only time I notice is if I've moved to that side and he turns his head to find me and sometimes knocks me but this is a pretty rare

 

[OldNag]

We've a one-eyed horse at our yard and he is a complete star. Lovely temperament and is out competing regularly.

Hope all goes well for yours.

 

[peaceandquiet1]

I am reading this with interest because one of our ponies has uveitis, now thought to be secondary to a viral infection which appears to be responding to anti viral drops. Howver this morning her pupil looks constricted again. She is a games pony-what chance does she have with one eye? If it comes to that?

 

[MileAMinute]

A livery on my old yard had a cob mare with only one eye. She didn't seem to suffer any ill effects and still went out hacking (was very limited as she was arthritic).

Day to day life she gets on great! I used to forget she only had one until I caught a glimpse!

Hope the operation goes ok for your boy xxx

 

[teamsarazara]

We have one at our yard, hes fabby Works in the riding school and you wouldnt even know he had lost his eye! He sometimes looks at things like he can see out of the eye haha x

 

[Ladyinred]

Back when I was training for my AI we had a one eyed horse who was absolutely fine. The only problem was he would kick defensively if he thought another horse might be too close to his blind side; he was fine with people there.

Slightly off topic but we also have a one-eyed feral rescue cat, she too manages fine but also feels threatened if approached from her blind side. Which, I guess, is fair enough really.

 

[Goponygo]

My pony only has one eye and has absolutely no problems. would say she is more aware and responsive on her blind side than her sighted side. she has stopped trying to take my knees off on the side of the school and puts an extra foot on anything she jumps, just to make sure

 

[Cuppatea]

cant comment on spookiness but there is a one eyed racehorse near us. one a couple of times over fences last year. Having only one eye doesnt stop the at all!!

 

[ElphabaFae]

Wasn't there that event horse that went up to 3* or something? Briarlands Blackberry I think he was called...

 

[FairyLights]

I learnt to ride on a one eyed horse and a girl hunts at our local hunt with a one eyed pony.