Gutted her sight is going

[Keltic]

Had vet out today to Kelly for her vaccinations vet said she has damage to the back of both eyes and cataracts too. She thought that her vision is being limited by the damage and made worse by the cataracts, my poor baby vet said not to ride her anymore, not a problem she has already been retired for 5 years after her stroke, i feel terrible i did not see the signs earlier, vet said she should not be moved etc to stay on the yard we are at as she knows her surroundings etc, have to say i was trying not to cry when the vet was there but she knew i was upset and was really nice, had a good sob when she left. Im just gutted i know she is old (28yrs) but she has been part of my life for so long. Im worried i might not see any futher deterioration i dont want her in any distress etc anyone know any signs to look out for?? I will speak to my vet again when im a bit more together. She is the chestnut in my siggy

 

[archie1]

poor you. as long as she knows where she is then she shouldn't have too much of a problem i don't think. also you don't know how long she has managed like this and it will have been gradual so she adapted. just cherish her and she'll be fine

 

[JessPickle]

we have a horse at my yard of simular age, he only has one eye and partial sight in the other but potters about the field fine. The only thing we have to be wary of is if the water moves we have to walk him over to it for the first week or so till he remembers, also if fencing changes we put a headcollar on him and walk him round showing him the new divide.

Bless him he manages absulutely fine, he has always had site problems, he was first found partially sighted the day after he had gone clear round firle!!!!

which just shows how horses can adapt

(no comments on firle thing no one knew till then!)

 

[summertoots]

You will be amazed how well she copes, as long as you make no changes to her suroundings. We had one who was almost blind, we think he could see hazzy shapes, but he lived in the same place for so long he knew where everything was, he had a constant field companion who acted like his guide and looked after him, was amazing to watch. He died of a heart atack in the end not because he was blind.

 

[Theresa_F]

I am so sorry to hear this - I am going through a similar thing - Cairo only has one eye and the other has had mutilple operations and radio therapy for cancer. He is now 22 and starting to show his age.

We have noticed he is a bit funny about one of the gates and does not see close up so well. At the moment he seems ok, we just open the gate and let him sort himself out or lead him carefully through.

Our plan with Cairo is to keep him in his usual routine and see how he goes. I am still riding him - just a very short walk every week on the bridleway and he is still striding out and loves his little outing - again when he starts to back off and look stressed it will stop. He is totally confident with a rider and trusts them to look after him.

There was a very old mare on a yard I was on, she did eventually go completely blind - we knew it was time to say goodbye when she was standing frozen to the spot in the field and looking very unhappy. I think this is what you have to wait for - some horses cope very well with limited eye sight and others do not. If you can keep her with one quiet horse that she knows and trusts very well when out in the field, this will greatly help her.

 

[emma_lg]

So sorry to hear about your horse's eyesight problem.
My friends horse lost his sight in one eye after a stroke...and she thinks his sight is now possibly not so good in the other...tho he still thinks he is a stallion and a hit with the ladies, still a true gentleman and hasn't really changed at all!!
She is always very careful around him, making sure he knows where she is, constantly talking to him and that she doesn't do any sudden movements. She also cleared his stable of any sharp objects, ie salt lick... if he is startled or suddenly moves, he turns his head and of course bashes his head as unaware of the objects. She keeps things the same and familiar for him. She thinks his hearing has really intensified..
He is over 30yrs old...
I wish you and your horsey well...

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Awww K2. That's such sad news. My veteran is 22/23 and had to have an eye removed 2 years ago. When we went with the Welsh Operation Esther donations, we went to the Horse Trust, and I was aching to meet the rescued Amersham mare that was almost totally blind. They called her Angel and my rescued mare (with the sunburnt muzzle you so kindly helped on) is also called Angel. Anyway, the Horse Trust Angel is out in a smallish field with a trusted friend who is also her guide and as far as I know she is doing great. You could give Lianne (Manager) a ring and talk to her about how to help Kelly. Will PM her number to you now. My boy manages very well with just 1 eye. I know it's not the same as slowly going blind in both eyes but I did learn some things. You need to think ahead for Kelly. Feed her away from walls, talk to her and touch her when you approach her, watch for sticking out stuff and be aware that if she has NO sight, she will think there's nothing there so be careful of situations when she could jerk away from something on one side and crash into something on the other side. I had to move my boy to a different yard and in the lorry he jerked away from his travelling companion and cracked his empty eye socket on some protruding metal on the other side. But if Kelly is losing her sight gradually, she will be able to cope surprisingly well even is she is only aware of light and dark. Keep loving her K2 and try not to let her see your distress. She sounds lovely and she is so lucky to have you as a mum. xxx

 

[Luce1504]

Hi, so sorry to hear about your mare but don't get too disheartened. There is an old lady in our village who has a lot of ponies and up until last year she had one that was completely blind.

Apparently he became blind due to an adverse reaction to the general anaesthetic he had when he was gelded as a 2 year old and he went on to live to the ripe old age of 34!

He was blind to the extent of they think he could only distinguish between light and dark and nothing more. The lady has a few stables at her house with a very very small turnout paddock but most of her other ponies go and live out elsewhere, but she always kept this one at home with just one or two other small ponies to keep him company and he always seemed very content. There is a small housing development directly behind her stables that has a green in the middle with a circular path going round it (which means she wouldn't encounter any traffic) and he used to go twice a day for a little walk round there in hand- i think mainly to stretch his legs as the turnout paddock he was in was no bigger than most peoples gardens. But i must admit from what i saw of him, he looked a very contented and happy pony and who lived for 32 years of being blind.

 

[Keltic]

will read these replies properly when i get back from work as at the moment its making me cry more.... i have to pull myself together and go to work now

Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

[ladyt25]

Horses cope amazingly I think and, as others have said, if she knows where she is she'll find it less of a problem than you would imagine. You'll know when she's had enough. She's managed to survive a stroke so she's doing well enough and, at 28 something's gotta give but eye changes gradually will not be a shock to her.

 

[Donkeymad]

The old mare I rescued last year we quickly discovered had poor eye sight. She manages very well, even when we change her grazing, because she tends to stick fairly close to her buddy, although she is also happy to move away when she knows where she is. Horses can cope amazingly well with poor eye-sight, don't despair.