Is my pony hard of hearing/ deaf?..........

[_HP_]

Does anyone have any experience of hearing problems in horses/ponies?

I have a 22 yr old grey shetland pony stallion that has been with me a couple months. I have noticed that most of the time he is calm and quiet and chilled but when I arrive at the yard I almost always startle him...he'll spin round and chortle at me. Also, I thought he was nervous of my dogs, but I think they are actually just making him jump when they initially appear as he is fine with them just milling around. His eyesight, as far as I can tell is ok.

I am going to write to his old owners to see if they can shed any light but in the meantime, has anyone had any experience of deafness in horses or can think of anything else it can be?

Thankyou.

 

[fatpiggy]

I'm pretty sure my old girl was going deaf too towards the end. I would shout and shout and the horses way beyond her in the field would put their heads up but she would carry on eating. Sometimes I could get up to within a few feet (still calling her name) before she realised I was there and I certainly made her jump a few times. It didn't help that she was partially sighted! It isn't the end of the world. Gradual change is easier as the animal just adapts. My cat is now stone-deaf but it doesn't seem to bother her all that much.

 

[russianhorse]

I'm quite certain that my lad is now hard of hearing (he's 23 now). He doesn't appear to hear me call him when he's half way down the field, and sometimes if I don't talk loudly when approaching him and he hasn't seen me, he gets incredibly startled. I also now believe this is why he is nervy whilst hacking out , especially when vehicles approach from behind. Spoke to vet about it when she came down, but she said whilst it's possible there's no clear way to tell :/

 

[brucea]

It's a dangerous time of the year for the little, older and sensitive ones. Days are getting longer and it's now that the ACTH levels will he changing.

Be careful that you are sure he is having hearing difficulty and he is not "shut down" or pre-occupied. These very subtle behaviour changes that can indicate that all is not well.

I have 2 laminitics, and these kinds of behavioural characteristics are always the first thing to appear.