Horses with one eye.....

Nats_uk

Nats_uk

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 August 2007
Messages
3,587
Location
Essex
Visit site
It looks like my horse has got to have his left eye out as the vet suspects that the lens has popped out and is pressing against the front of his eye
frown.gif


He always had virtually no vision in that eye and the vet suspected he had gone blind in it anyway so hopefully it won't make a huge difference (and may even make him less spooky!) but I am worried about competing especially SJ'ing.

Has anyone ridden/competed a horse with one eye - particularly hunting/SJ and how did they get on?
 
A livery at the yard I used to be at had her horses eye out following trauma to it. He was used as a hack and she was told that they soon adjust. Another girl at the riding club where I am a member used to jump her horse affiliated SJ. There was something about a famous event horse recently in one of the horsey publications, it might be the one the last poster referred to, showing a photo of it flying over a massive fence with only one eye! Please don't lose heart. I wont lie, it is a terrible thing to have happen to your horse and very sad, but horses adjust quickly and they do not mourn the loss of an eye like we would, just as a dog doesn't mourn have a leg amputated. Luckily they do not have quite the same thought processes as us and do not get as emotional as we would be (quite rightly) about such things. As regards jumping I am sure there might be a fairly long period of adjustment with you two working as a partnership before you will be able to compete again but I am sure it nothing that is impossible to do. I will be thinking of you, reach for the stars and don't lose heart x
 
Hi Nats_uk, thought i'd let you know i had a pony that had to have his left eye taken out back in 1981. I had him for 11 years and although he was only 12.2hh he did absolutely EVERYTHING. He hunted, XC, SJ, Showing locally and all general hacking. I didn't notice any adjustment period although I was only 10!! at the time!! He just got on and did whatever I asked of him. It is a very daunting prospect to have an eye removed but it was the best thing i ever did for my little Jet. He used to hate having drops, lotions and potions put in it twice a day. I reckon he got the ahh factor from everybody as well coz everyone loved him. Good luck with your horse
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
It looks like my horse has got to have his left eye out as the vet suspects that the lens has popped out and is pressing against the front of his eye
frown.gif


He always had virtually no vision in that eye and the vet suspected he had gone blind in it anyway so hopefully it won't make a huge difference (and may even make him less spooky!) but I am worried about competing especially SJ'ing.

Has anyone ridden/competed a horse with one eye -
particularly hunting/SJ and how did they get on?

[/ QUOTE ]

If he has had no sight in that eye for a while he will not know any difference.

If he has been competing already then there will be no problem. They do adapt well to the situation
 
Cairo had his eye removed due to cancer - never stopped him doing anything - though it was only low level. Most non spooky horse you could meeting.

Only two things - careful with doors/gates swinging shut on the blind side and if out with a scatty horse, Cairo preferred it to keep to where he could see it.

Jumping - he liked to twist his head slightly on occasion to see what he was doing.
 
My horse is blind in one eye - it doesn't make a blind bit of difference to her (scuse the terrible pun).
tongue.gif


Only thing you have to watch for is gates, stable doors etc. swinging shut on their blind side as they can't see it to move out of the way. She still jumps and hunts with no problems.
smile.gif
 
So sorry to hear your horse will have his eye removed; however as others have said, they can get on ok without. My horse had his eye removed in December and I still get upset when I see him, but he isn't bothered, hasn't become more spooky or anything. Unfortunately due to host of other vet problems it will be a while before he can be ridden so can't help on the jumping aspect but other people tell me that it won't necessarily hold him back.
 
Sunny had his right eye removed 3 years ago (at the ripe old age of 19). Long story, but after a failed 6 month battle to save the eye, it was removed and Sunny perked up to be free of unrelenting pain at last. I had to be his missing eye for a few weeks but he very soon adjusted. He is now a mega safe hack, happy to do dressage or pop a little jump. He lives with a herd of about 12 other horses and does just fine. The one thing I would say is if you intend travelling your horse, be extra careful about the confined space of a horse box/lorry. I had to move Sunny and travelled him with another horse. After much debate, he was travelled with his seeing side to the 2nd horse, leaving his blind side closest to the trailer wall. The 2nd horse pulled free somehow and must have lunged at Sunny who jerked hard to his right to get out of the way, not realising that there was a rigid steel wall there. He cracked the rim of his eye socket quite badly and I felt awful. I had a local saddler to make an eye cover for travelling (see sig). It is made of the same padded leather that good quality poll guards are made of and it is made to fit the shape of his face. I've never tried it (honestly!) but when he's wearing it you could probably smack him in the blind side of his face with a baseball bat and he wouldn't feel it!

Good luck with your ned x
 
It's good to hear a positive view on this subject, at the moment we're trying to save a horses eye, but I suspect it will have to be taken out. The pain is the worst thing and he is so tollerant of us.
 
My son's horse has restricted vision in 1 eye & he has won Show Jumping & Hunter Trail at 90cm.
Mind you he's lame at the mo & Vet thinks it may be fractured pedal bone, so probably won't be for a while.
 
Thanks for all the postive comments everyone. Horse is going in for ultrasound on Monday so will know more then
crazy.gif


hairycob - my horse has had a fractured pedal bone so PM me if you want any advice/chat
 
i know of 3 riding schools who had ponies with 1 eye, absolutely no problems with general school work. however never seemed as happy jumping... guessing they can't judge distance as well with only 1 eye.

i think they cope suprisingly well though and as you said, if he's coping now will poor sight, he might cope better without the eye.
 
11 months ago my horse had his eye removed. Before his short illness, as far as I know he had normal sight in it. I can truthfully say there was no transition period at all, I got straight back on and we were back to normal. He still jumps fantastically and we will start competing regularly soon as I have just got myself a trailer. However last summer we competed sj, not massive heights but that is more nerves on my part than anything else.

It is a heartbreaking thing to happen, I am still devastated about it, but that is more about how I feel rather than how it's affected us, if you see what I mean. In answer to you question, we still hack for miles at a canter and I would take him hunting if he wasn't such a nutter when horses overtake him!
 
I had a shetland when I was little that lost her right eye after an accident in the field right when we started to break her in, she took a little while to adjust to distances (stepping up and down things) but grew up to be a great jumper - a 10 h shetland that would jump 2'6" and did lovely lateral work that would put many horses to shame.

Just use common sense - ours didn't like lunging with blind eye in - understandable but would do it if you used 2 lines to guide her. She was also non spooky but would prefer horses in her company to be where she could see them
 
I've known a few completely functional one eyed horses, including one that was a staple on the sj circuit, first with a pro, then as a schoolmaster. To be honest, it's been my experience they do better in many cases, ridability wise, with the eye out/blind than severely compromised vision, particularly if the eye is painful. Not to say there shouldn't be an attempt to save they eye, but if the choice is having it out or a continual struggle or chronic condition I suspect most horses would "prefer" (so much as they think of these things) the former.
 
One of my youngsters got a thorn in his eye at 6 months old despite specialist treatment he has next to no vision now due to a cataract on the lense - has made no difference to him at all ( i made allowances once when out hacking as he kept spooking then realised it was his good side!!) I can highly recommend Malcolm Davidson from edinburgh if you need a specialist opinion (not saying you do)
 
Interesting replies. I have a (rising) yearling NF colt who is blind in one eye. He was given to me as a weanling by the lady who bred him as she was worried what might happen to him if she tried to sell him. He got an eye infection when only a day or so old and the eye is really weird looking now, it's kind of shrunk so you can see a lot of pink in the corner and he has a massive cataract. I'm hoping that he'll make a nice riding pony in the fullness of time despite then eye. It doesn't seem to bother him at all and having been blind in it virtually from birth, he has adapted very well. This is him at almost 3 months old last summer showing his blind eye:
Odin230607.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top