eye sight and jumping

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smurf

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Does anyone know anyone who competes (I mean jumping) with only vision in one eye - rider not horse.

If so, are they safe, can they still judge distances, ie see a stride
 
I am not exactly blind in one eye but if this makes sense - my brain does not use my left eye. In fact I take my glasses off to jump so am definately only using my right eye. I always worried that I wouldnt be able to judge distances properly as I am rubbish when passing things on my left while driving. BUT my instructor said I have the best eye for a stride, better than some of his much more experienced riders (he always laughs at how I can do it as I take my glasses off, he doesn't even know about my left eye)... How, I don't know but it is definately possibly with just the one eye, and still not a perfect one at that...
 
You may guess from my forum name that I can answer yes to your question! I lost my left eye after a car crash when I was 18. Now the wrong side of 50 - and still eventing. I can't say that I'm wonderful at judging strides - I do tend to go for rather too many long ones but I think that may be a result of team chasing a few years back. I feel that I'm safe - some may disagree but noone has ever said I shouldn't be eventing. I event up to BE100, (am hoping to do some Novices next - sorry this year!). I am also a member of BS and BE. Distances are difficult to judge but I've probably had so long getting used to it that I have now adjusted reasonably well. I do have a nice young 5 year old who sorts things out when I get it wrong - like totally ignoring me when I kick a stride too soon and therefore taking off in exactly the right place - If you look at this video -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCaHl_d7dKc

you'll see what I mean at Fence 6!

Why are you wanting to know if that's not a rude question? Ignore me if it is!
 
Cyclops said:
Why are you wanting to know if that's not a rude question? Ignore me if it is!
Click to expand...

I was diagnosed with Keratoconus (sp?) and it has got bad very quickly. I now have no useful vision in my left eye. They are trying to sort it out with hard lens but it's not working. The little vision I have in my left eye is so distorted that I see better when it's covered up. I'm sitting typing with an eye patch on as I can't focus on the words unless my left one is covered up.

I could possibly have a transplant but there are obvious risks of rejection. I was competing at IN/CCI* level and BSJA NC but at the moment am struggling to even ride. Odd things are difficult, I keep spilling things as my close up perception of distance is all wrong - ie I pour wine out of a bottle and totally miss the glass:eek:

Cyclops - how long did it take you to 'get used' to only having one eye?
 
smurf- that doesn't sound good. :( I hope the docs can find some way of sorting it for you to the best possible vision for you. The body/brain is pretty incredible at adapting though and I reckon it won't be long until you are back on track with judging distances (maybe until then just drink from the bottle?! :p Would hate to think of you wasting your wine...! ;) ).

Are you still able to drive? Will it affect HGV etc? :( Hope you get summat sorted soon. :)
 
I am another semi blind person. I have nystagmus (sp) and my right eye wobbles so much that on its own its as good as a chocolate tea pot! My left eye does all the work of seeing. However, I am useless at judging strides and distances (use glasses when driving - a must but not riding as I feel more vunrable somehow). My horse Meg is one in a million, she helps me out no end of trouble, and I have actually given up on looking for a stride as she will take off when its safe, I just keep my leg on. She catches me the other side too - I always think anyway, and without her I wouldn't look so good no doubt. Not that Iam good, but you know what I mean!!
Hope that helps, I have lived with this condition for years, altough it has got worse over time, but it ain't gonna stop me!
 
Sorry smurf that must be really scary :( I do hope they can sort it.

A girl I used to SJ a lot against in the 1990s had only one eye - Carol Richardson of Panama sporthorses. She was amazing at seeing a stride and took a very good horse to the Foxhunter final at HOYS if I remember correctly. It certainly did not hold her back at all to give you a positive story on it.
 
Hi Smurf - I'd never heard of Keratoconus - just looked it up - poor you - I really hope they sort it for you and that a cornea trasplant works if that's they war you decide to go forward. Can totally understand the wine situation - I've poured quite a lot over tables instead of into glasses over the years - what a waste -I now tend to use two hands one to hold the bottle and the other to guide it over the edge of the glass!!! Sad eh?! Friends seem to find it amusing!

I can't remember how long it took me to adapt but I remember I went to live in London quite soon after and was driving again quite quickly. Judging gaps was quite difficult and still is a bit partic. in narrow country lanes with a horse box and a car coming the other way. I tend to pull over as far as I can and let the car driver sort it out. Not had any problems with driving - just told DVLA and they seem fine about it as long as other eye is ok - I do wear glasses/contact lenses for distances so use them when driving or eventing etc.

Have you tried wearing the patch when riding - it might be that the blurred vision in your bad eye is contributing to the weird feeling - I sometimes wear one when I can't wear my flase eye cos of an infection - get a few strange looks but that's their problem not mine!

The most difficult thing I find when competing is a busy collecting ring - difficult to see others coming up on one side until they are at least level with you - we've had a few near misses - just need to keep turning my head more to check!

I really hope the specialists sort it out for you but I'm sure whatever happens you'll be back in the saddle eventing soon - I've hunted, team chased, show jumped (BE NC) and qualified for grassroots final this year - I know that's not quite to your level but I'm not as brave as I used to be!!!

Good luck and fire any more questions at me if you want!
 
Smurf, i too hope that the doctors manage to improve things for you. fingers very firmly crossed, that sounds awful.
I have rather uneven vision, eyesight in my left eye is much better than in my right. i wear contact lenses but tbh the view of the world i have with my left eye is the same as with both eyes, if that makes sense, so i don't know if i have true 'binocular' vision or not. i've evented up to 3* level and only used to see the odd dodgy stride. what i do notice is that my judgement of head-on approaching vehicles isn't great, i have nothing like the judgement of many of the men i know when it comes to, say, judging whether to overtake when a vehicle is in the distance coming towards me. hope that makes sense.
 
You still have some degree of stereopsis (can you tell i have almost have a degree in this stuff :p) If one eye is lost then the other eye will adapt to the change in simulation that it will now recieve, the younger this happens then the better adaption. So yes you can still see a stride with one eye, but its dependent on the age and the cause that the eye is lost...

Smurf so sorry to hear about the Keratoconus, if you need to ask anything feel free, but they're constantly improving the treatment options for it
 
Can I join the "Dodgy Eyesight Club" please? I don't compete at the moment but hoping to do a bit in the summer. I do though work as a groom, and it's hard to explain but you kind of adapt to things. I have no useful vision in my right eye at all and less than perfect vision in my left eye, unfortunately can't drive any more. I have a very rare and aggressive form of glaucoma and my optic nerves are shot.

I don't think I would pass the medical to ride in a p2p, is there any restrictions in eventing/sj? Just out of interest really as I will probably just stick to unaffiliated stuff.

Jumping, haven't noticed any particular differences really, much the same ( lost sight around 2 to 3 years ago ).
 
Sadly youth is not on my side, I'm 40 this year and up to 5 months ago had 'fairly' good sight, so adapting to my new blind state is not easy. I have worn soft contacts for years and never had a problem.

The problem with keratoconus is that the shape of your eye changes to more of a rugby ball shape so the light does not focus in the centre of the eye. You know at the opticians when they ask you to read the letters on the chart, well with my left eye I can't see the chart! With corrective lenses I can just make out the BIG A at the top but there are 2 of them! So the idea with the hard lenses is that they are perfectly round and my eye is conical, and therefore the space between my eye and the lense fills with tears and that makes the light focus into the centre of my eye and allow me to see. Only snag is, imagine having a glass lense in your eye that is a totally different shape to your eye. The edges stick into and it's bloody agony!

So far I can't cope with wearing the hard lenses. They are just too painful. Also the shape of the eye changes so fast that the vision is not that good either. Off to see more specialists next month and then if no joy think about a transplant.

Sorry for moaning - depressed ! I used to think lame horses and lorries not starting were a drama, this is a whole new level!
 
I really feel for you - the transplant option has quite a good success rate doesn't it? I know it's easy to say - but stay positive - wear a patch when riding (if that helps) - and I always try to consider myself as lucky compared with others - not always easy expecially after a glass or two (in the glass that is - not on the table)

Keep us all posted with how things go -

Thinking of you and keeping everything crossed
 
Not sure about any of the scientific stuff I'm afraid, but I do know of a lady who showjumps in our Area, she only has one eye, she lost the other one in an accident. She used to jump AIT's and the like (sorry no idea if they are still called that!).
She is from Panama Sport Horses so maybe you could look up her results it might reassure you?
I do hope you adapt well to your new found challenge. Wishing you the best of luck xxx
 
I have a left eye that is pretty much useless and has been since I was born. I don't do a lot of jumping but, if I know the horse I seem to be able to judge the striding just as well as anyone with full sight.

I also do tentpegging which I don't think I'd be able to do if I was lousy at judging distances!

DSC_1407.jpg


(although I am crappy at judging where pavements are when I'm driving - pedestrians dive for cover!)
 
I am sorry to read this and hope that you can find something to help with the issue.

Spotted Cat trained with a lady in the USA (LeeAnn Zobbe) who lost her eye in an accident and got back to going advanced and did it through teaching herself a method. I believe its that when you can see the back bar of the fence between the horses ears then you can go forwards as I believe that is what she struggled with most was knowing when to go with the horse. Its also an exercise she uses to teach people to wait. It might be worth emailing LeeAnn?

I think it was Caroline Bradley who was blind in one eye and continued to Sj to a high level?
 
Poor you. What a crappy thing to happen. :(

A friend of mine in Canada has essentially no vision in one eye and she's a hunter/jumper professional - getting to the "right" distance is a big part of being successful in hunters. I don't know how she lost her sight or how long ago, though.

I also know of at least two people who show hunters who are legally blind!! There's a woman in the States who wins a lot in amateur competition. It's a bit different than show jumping because the courses are much simpler and so the jumps are easier to "find" as it were, but it's very competitive and, as I said, largely judged on accuracy.

I wear hard (gas permeable) lenses to "splint" a deformity in my eyes, although to be fair, I've had them since my early teens so can't speak to the adjustment phase. My eye doctors have always maintained my sight would be much, much worse without them. (Which is a bit scary since I'm not 20/20 even with the contacts and pretty near non-functional without.) From what you're saying though, it does sound like a patch might help as double vision sounds like it would really screw you up for jumping.

I find the more I try to "hard focus" on a jump, the more likely I am to find a bad distance. If I sort of "un focus" and let the jump be towards the periphery of my vision it works much better. (I've done a fair bit of eventing, jumped 1.20+ and started literally scores of young horses' jumping.) I'm sure you will have adjustments but this might be one of those situations where trying less hard yields better results. Do you have some horses you're familiar with to jump? I'd say just keep riding them at the jumps - staying within the horse's comfort zone, of course - and see (sorry ;) ) how it goes.
 
Hi Smurf - the last two posters have just reminded me of something else to watch out for - partic if riding with a patch. I went to a new dressage trainer and she said I wasn't riding centre lines straight. i felt that the horse was level in front but of course if you're only looking through one eye you need to have the horses head slightly to one side for it to seem level. It turns out I was keeping the horses head slightly left thinking I was completly straight (I used to be able to see the eyelahes on both sides evenly) now I can see the right side ones fine but not the left and our centre lines are brill! No other trainer spotted that in years and it was a complete revelation when it occurred to me as to why it was happening. Simples!!!!! Now we get 7s and 8s up the centre line - until the halt that is - work in progress!

By the way - I manage to play a bit of polo - badly - but can hit the ball at a reasonable pace
 
Sorry if this is making light of the situation but I can just imagine the 'dodgy eyesight club' pairs XC....left a bit...right a bit.......
I'm not in the same leage as you but my right eye is fine and my left eye doesn't seem to bother to focus, it just comes along for the ride.
I wear glasses for driving but not riding - I sometimes wonder what I'd do if my eyesight got worse.
Mind you I can't 'see' a stride even with good eyesight!
 
I'm sorry to hear about your eye problems. I am incredibly myopic and have jumped with only one contact lens and recently jumped in my milk-bottle-bottom specks (anyone remember Benny Hill as FredScuttle?).
I'm sure you will adapt quite well. There is a SJ rider, a girl who was kicked in the face at a show and I'm sure she competes with only one eye.
 
Hi Smurf someone pointed me in your direction as I was asking about Cataract Surgery.

As someone newly diagnosed dont panic. I have Keratoconus and so does my brother.

I was diagnosed in 1967 and have had various lense types over the years. My one issue is getting distances right as I have a strong right eye and a weak left eye.

Where to start - it doesnt have to be disastrous and there are lots of contact lens options. Some may appear worrying but I can guarantee they are not.

Lens fitting is a black art and if you find a lens doesnt suit keep going back or asked to be referred.

I have had Softperm and RoseK in more recent years. In my opinion Rosek suck. Literally they suck the dust underneath.

My Left eye now wears a scleral lens and apart from the new issue of a cataract it has given me really good vision. When I had a refit they gave me one I didnt get on with as it was too big so I went back and got it changed.

My Right eye had a softperm until last year as they are discontinued. I had a Jack allen but didnt get on with it. I now have a Synergeyes Clearkone and I am getting on well with it apart from the cataract which has developed.

Join this forum now http://www.keratoconus-group.org.uk/

In 1994 the softperm was developed and it was the first time at the age of 40 that I had ever jumped a round of showjumps I could see even what number they were. This same year I was able to drive.

Every KC patient is different. My brother had a corneal graft several years ago and that was followed by laser treatment and his vision in that eye is better than his 'good' eye.

If you have KC you will be more light sensitive than others and need to wear sunglasses more often you will alos find that a groovy chick pair of wrap around sunglasses are a godsend for dust protection.

Please keep in touch on the subject its important for you to talk to people who really understand ie Horseriders who want to compete and have eyesight issues.
 
I have dodgy eyesight - much better in my right than in my left, but longsighted (at 29) so mine is only going to get worse I think.

I did have one rather amusing hungover/drunk round of BN and Disco when I had put the contacts in the wrong eyes (+4.75 and +6.50 ) and I couldn't focus on a thing, drove me crazy until I realised what I had done wrong. :D

Hope you manage to find a solution, sounds from advice above though that there is plenty of hope :)
 
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