Feeling a bit sad...

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starbar

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I had the vet out today for a few routine bits and pieces. While she was here I asked her to check my beautiful, big white cob, Desmond's eyes. He has always been a bit spooky but just recently I haven't been able to approach him from the right hand side and he seems to jump at things after he should have seen them. She confirmed what I though, he is going blind in his right eye :( She showed me the damage, his retina is partially detached and has caused a lot of bleeding in the back of his eye, you can see it really clearly when you shine a light on it. Apparently, eventually it will come away completely and he will be blind in that eye. There is nothing she can do :(
Feeling a bit sad really and gave him lots of cuddles after she had gone. As he was getting a bit unpredictable to ride, now I know why, I guess he's going to have to be a big cuddly field ornament now.
 
Awww that's sad, I'm sorry. He needn't become a field ornament though, many horses with 1 eye go on to be perfectly ridden horses, so hold on in there xx
 
Thanks everyone, I think the process of going blind is making him so unpredictable that until he has adjusted to life with one eye we'll take it easy. He was starting to do mahoosive spooks and really scaring himself....I guess its cos he can't see things properly. Getting a bit dangerous really, we'll take it slowly and see how we get on. I kind of already knew what the vet was going to say but just need to get used to making adjustments for him.
 
awww big hugs

Don't right him off just yet my old mare, now retired, had to have her left eye removed when she was just 8 due to an absese and I BSJA'd her up until she was 15, she also did a bit of dressage and was fine, maybe he just needs to get used to things.
 
Agree with what everyone else has said.

I know horses that during the process of going blind, they have become quite spooky to be ridden, however once they are completely blind/have eye taken out....the horses quickly adjust and can go on to do just about anything! So don't write him off yet :)
 
I'm sorry to hear that :(

As said above, lots of horses adapt very well to only having sight in one eye. You might also find (hard though it is to think about) that he is actually more settled once he has completely lost his sight on that side. Instead of spooking at half-seen things he will adapt and become more predictable again as time goes on. This was my experience of riding a mare with a cataract, anyway.

In the meantime he is lucky to have an owner who cares and who he can rely on for reassurance x
 
My lad is blind in his left eye and it makes no difference at all. Certainly doesn't make him unfit for hacking, jumping, XC, Trek or any of the multitude of other things we enjoy together. Just have to ensure his working eye stays okay but other than that it's absolutely no handicap at all. I have to use my head and steer him away from objects on his left but otherwise he's 'normal' as any other horse. Okay he spooks like an idiot but I suspect he'd do that anyway cos he's a jelly head but don't write your horse off he's perfectly capable of continuing working.
 
Massive (((((((((((hugs))))))))))). I'm sorry you had such bad news but as others have said don't write him off to quickly. When I worked at the riding school there was a pony called Hoggle. He was soooooo cute and was blind in one eye. He still did loads of stuff like jumping, hunting and sponsoured rides. One day he got an abcess in his eye and the eye had to be removed. Still he carried on with life (although he did used to play on the fact he only had one eye. He would pretend he couldn't hear you when you where teaching and his non eye was facing into the school. He'd ignore you till you got realy cross and shouted loudly at him then he would spin round and look at you as if to say "What" :p :D :D) I also looked after a showjumper who was blind in one eye.
I realy hope things work out for you and your horse and he addapts to being blind in one eye.
 
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