Eye removal

[soloequestrian]

My horse has a mass slowly growing behind one eyeball - it's not bothering him yet so the plan is to wait until the autumn (fewer flies, easier for him to have time off and not pile on weight) and then remove the eye and the mass. I've worked with horses who only have one eye and read research that says the vast majority of horses cope very well with just one so although I'd rather this wasn't happening it doesn't feel like the end of the world. The mass is unlikely to be malignant so the overall prognosis is good.
I'm interested in experiences of this in terms of managing the wound and any rehabilitation back to riding. PLEASE no horror stories unless they are to make a point about what not to do! I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing. Thanks in advance.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have no personal experience to offer but do want to say, on a positive note, that I have known 2 horses locally who have managed very well with only one eye. One has been used as a schoolmaster for many young teenagers to enter jumping classes and low-level dressage.

 

[vmac66]

There is a horse on my yard with one eye. He still goes out jumping and will clear the fence on his blind side. Doesn't stop him doing anything

 

[scats]

Someone on here had a horse who had an eye removed last year and I’m pretty sure she’s back out competing now? Can’t for the life of me remember who it was.

My friends mare had her eye removed and coped absolutely fine. There was a small complication involving an eyelash being left in, but that was easily sorted. Pony was in her twenties but returned to hacking with no issues (that’s all she was doing by this stage) if she had been younger, im pretty sure she would have been fine to return to a decent standard of work.

There’s a top showjumper with one eye.

 

[Morgan123]

I had to have my mare's eye removed 18 months ago, and she was an old lady so I was mega worried and unsure whether to go ahead with it. It's fine - they do it under standing sedation usually, and then the bandage stays on for a good few days. They can often go home a few days after to familiar territory. The wound healed up no problem and she managed fine even though she was an oldie. I think it was swollen for a few days, nothing major, stitches out after a week I think.

The only bit that was a bit sad was the first time we removed the bandage and she must have realised she genuinely couldn't see on that side - I guess before the op she'd had it blacked out with a cover thing for a good week or so, so must have felt that the bandage was just covering her eye, so she seemed a bit purturbed - but literally that was the only difficult thing. I was totally in two minds whether to do it with an old horse and asked lots of vets opinions first considering her age, they all said go ahead. And she was fine.

The only other thing I had to be careful of was getting into the stable/through gates, obviously spatial awareness is a bit different so just take it steady, also obviously do rugs from the side with the eye, etc etc until they get used to it. Same with field companions - just go with quiet ones to start with.

I also compete a mare whose face was shattered ten years ago in a field accident, so she has no eye and metal plates in her skull. She's a total legend! You wouldn't even know. She even managed to kick an aggressive dog which was barking and snapping at her heels on her blind side before. She likes having the socket cleaned out and vaselined!!!!! For her the vets said losing the eye was nothing compared to the plates and stuff she needed.

The ridden mare likes to be mounted from the side with the eye, not the blind side, so we had to learn to mount on the offside. The other thing is that she does endurance, and she got really scared once when a branch on a bridleway hit her face and must have hurt the remaining eye - her heart rate went really high - I guess for a prey animal the idea of being blind even for a minute must be terrifying. As a result, we rider her with a fly veil on her bridle now to give it some protection, and she storms down overgrown bridlepaths no problem at all.

Really hope all goes well for you, it's a strange thing to process I know. Good luck!

 

[tda]

Only positive here, we had a 3 yr old had her eye removed, she was fine right from the start, went on to be broken in, ridden away and now hacks, jumps xc, anything her teenage rider wants to do
A Facebook acquaintance also just had eye removed from rising 4 yr old, I told her of our experience, her pony has bounced back great as well, and she's hacking him already, matter of weeks since
Good luck, remember to talk to him /her as you approach x

 

[Tidy_rabbit]

Only good news here too.
My boy was 12 I think when his nearside was taken out due to an acute infection (so he was previously fully sighted).
He was spooked the next day when I put my hand on his blind side shoulder but i can honestly say that is the one and only time. He is retired now at 23 but the blindness never held him back, he was already a fairly established jumper but I was a novice he taught me to jump one eyed, and was a local legend at shows. At the time I was heartbroken but I grew to love the socket.
I did everything from both sides mostly but I tended to lead from the near side so if he spooked he could avoid me. Still mounted blind side and he never minded.

 

[milliepops]

Someone on here had a horse who had an eye removed last year and I’m pretty sure she’s back out competing now? Can’t for the life of me remember who it was.

My friends mare had her eye removed and coped absolutely fine. There was a small complication involving an eyelash being left in, but that was easily sorted. Pony was in her twenties but returned to hacking with no issues (that’s all she was doing by this stage) if she had been younger, im pretty sure she would have been fine to return to a decent standard of work.

There’s a top showjumper with one eye.

It was dressagecob. Might be worth sending a PM, OP

 

[Goldenstar]

We had an almost blind brood mare she had lost one eye and was almost blind in the other
Unless you knew you never would have guessed I am sure after a period of adjustment your horse will do very well

 

[Gloi]

Knew a one eyed pony who was fine and the owner had made a pirate patch with a skull and crossbones to fasten on the bridle and cover the socket when the kid rode it

 

[soloequestrian]

Thanks everyone, all very reassuring! How on earth do you bandage an eye? Are there Elastoplast style patches available?

 

[AandK]

Someone on here had a horse who had an eye removed last year and I’m pretty sure she’s back out competing now? Can’t for the life of me remember who it was.

My friends mare had her eye removed and coped absolutely fine. There was a small complication involving an eyelash being left in, but that was easily sorted. Pony was in her twenties but returned to hacking with no issues (that’s all she was doing by this stage) if she had been younger, im pretty sure she would have been fine to return to a decent standard of work.

There’s a top showjumper with one eye.

That was me!!

OP message me if you like. My 22yo has his left eye removed 28th Feb last year. He had a tumour that meant his eye had to be removed to get it all out with good margins. His was done under standing sedation at my vets by OptiVet, I picked him up the next day. He was discharged with 7 days bute and a course of antibiotics. Stayed in his stable for about 3 or 4 days then I put him in a small paddock with my mare, then back out in the big field after a couple of days in the small paddock. I customised a fly mask using an old padded bra to keep the wound free from mud, and he wore that for a couple of weeks post op. In terms of wound management, it was uncovered when I picked him up and I just left it be, he had no issues healing. I got back on him 2 weeks after his op and he was exactly the same to ride, and in every other way. He made a full return to work (after some foot related issues) and did an ODE in August, getting placed in his section.
Happy to answer any question!

 

[dollymix]

@DressageCob can probably help with good advice 😊

 

[[139672]]

Hi, sorry only just joined so couldn’t reply before. About 24 yrs ago my fell pony scratched the cornea and it wouldn’t heal. It was similar to an anterior uveitis. After two years of treatment the dust caused a huge ulcer and it was removed as he was in agony. I’ve had an ulcer and it was v painful. He came home, box rest and so time in a field on his own when it was quiet. Once the swelling had gone down he went out in the field with the others as usual. No problems, just always letting him know where I was. We carried on showing and showjumping. He still won and was placed in a variety of classes. One time he came out of the stable too fast and caught his eye socket on the door frame which clearly hurt him. So I put a piece of padding over the frame but he never did it again. Hope this helps.

 

[Holdtightffs]

I have no personal experience to offer but do want to say, on a positive note, that I have known 2 horses locally who have managed very well with only one eye. One has been used as a schoolmaster for many young teenagers to enter jumping classes and low-level dressage.

My daughters pony has one eye and has represented Wales previously with the one eye she's so straight forward and talented. Apparently it took her a while to adjust (catching her head on wall in stable) but you would never know now! It has not left her unable in anyway just as talented with one eye!

 

[DressageCob]

Hello!

Sorry, I've just seen this post.

My little cob lost his eye last October. Two days after the removal he was home. After around a further 4 days we were able to remove the sticky bandage. The stitches largely dissolved. I had a vet out a week after to check the wound and she snipped the last stitch.

I was back on board after 2 weeks. He had been in hospital for around 6 weeks beforehand so that was an added complication. Anyway, he was immediately wonderful to ride. We slowly built things up but it was not really necessary from an eye loss point of view. He just got on with things.

Within 6 weeks we were back out doing dressage. Since then he is out affiliated BD at novice and winning. He has also won a combined training competition. He competed in a pony club combined training with a young rider and was awesome then too.

He's a little spookier than before, but that is limited to shying slightly or stopping from a walk. There's no leaping around. He has been a little funny with certain surfaces, but again he just shies slightly then gets on with things.

I would recommend investing in an equivizor (or the new equick visor). Just for peace of mind. Losing two eyes is waaaay more traumatic, so I like to protect against it as best I can. plus my pony doesn't produce enough tears in the remaining eye, so any debris in there could be troublesome. The Equick visor is snazzier but the Equivizor seems more hardwearing and I prefer the fit of it. Also fly masks for turnout. my boy is back out in his boisterous herd (which was my biggest worry - he loves that herd so if that turnout wasn't possible he might not still be with us), which is amazing, but it means secure fly masks are a must. His friends like helping him off with his 😀

Feel free to Pm me if you want to talk

 

[Bob notacob]

Recently a rather super riding school horse that I know ,had an eye removed . He had to wear a flymask all day because the eye was so sensetive to uv light. It was only after the operation we fully realised what a team player he had been . He was so much more comfortable and happy. How he must have suffered and endured without complaint. Hero horse Ranger. He still jumps though the riding school inspectors dont seem to understand that a pro like him ,even with one eye ,is still safer than most. His operation was very minor ,all things considered . Though it is embarrasing to point out that he did absolutely milk the "carrots and sympathy"

 

[Apercrumbie]

I also had a horse with one eye. He coped well and we only had a few issues, all surmountable. He didn't like very narrow gaps so those needed avoiding and he was nappy on hacks, although I suspect he hadn't been hacked alone enough pre-operation. He was absolutely bombproof in traffic even though it was his blind side. We talked to him constantly when on his blind side so he knew where we were.

It was removed before I had him (uveitis) but I talked to his owner about how he had recovered. It was very fast - he was out competing dressage again a couple of weeks later, and he was still his usual characterful self. The one change was that he became headshy and wouldn't tolerate people touching his ears. He never quite got over this even 10 years later despite a lot of work, but we found out what he could tolerate and managed to persuade him that we weren't brushing mud off we were just scratching him...

Basically, he did have some minor issues as a result but this horse was a complete drama queen anyway so I'm not sure he was representative of more normal characters! The point is that he lived a long and happy life, even when he lost sight in his remaining eye and continued to be ridden for the rest of his days.