My horse blind in one eye the other cloudy.

[Storminateacup]

Vet noticed a small cataract in my old mares eye.
She said its probably in both but we were outside and she couldn't say for sure.
Today we were in the stable and to my horror we could see she was really cloudy in one eye and seemed to be completely blind.

We checked the other and it was less cloudy, but still something there.
My mare is 20 and a Clydesdale.
It looks worse suddenly.

How do other cope with this.

Will she go blind in both now.

Vet will be up again end of week.
But I have no experience of this in horses. Does this mean that she may go completely blind and I will need to think about putting her to sleep.

 

[nagblagger]

I had a donkey that went completely blind gradually, we didn't notice (bad owner!) until the vet came up to give her an mot due to weight loss, and even she nearly missed it as no obvious visible signs.
She knew her field, field mates and the well worn track for food, there was no indication of a sight problem, she was quite happy.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

One of my home bred mares went blind in one eye. She was retired so I didn't handle her a lot and was horrified one day to realise one eye was blue and the surface looked wrinkled. The sight in her other eye started to go too and she coped ok till it went entirely. She was a fairly highly strung mare and just couldn't cope. She was put down the next day at 29.

 

[paddy555]

your vet is the only person who can tell you after examining both eyes. This needs to be done inside in a dark (ie as much light blocked out as possible) stable

make sure your vet knows she will be carrying out a detailed exam. of the eyes before the visit so that she can bring the appropriate equipment.

horses manage with only one eye. Some manage perfectly well if they are blind. If your horse is quiet, calm and very familiar with her living arrangements she may cope fine.

The first thing to do is get an accurate diagnosis from your vet.

 

[SEL]

If they're in a field where they know the boundaries with a stable non disruptive herd they can be fine. What you can't have is a blind or nearly blind horse in an area they don't know or with less friendly herd members.

But your vet will be able to tell you how much vision is left. I used to work on a yard with a lot of polo ponies and a fair few were blind or had limited sight on the mallet side (which is awful) but we had no idea unless the vet checked, so they were getting around just fine.

 

[paddy555]

What you can't have is a blind or nearly blind horse in an area they don't know or with less friendly herd members.

or of course you could have this one. (sorry couldn't resist)

watch

 

[JackFrost]

Having ridden 2 horses that were completely blind in one eye, including in traffic, I found it amazing how little it affected them. Humans are mostly very visual animals, but I suspect horses rely a lot more on their other senses, including perhaps some that we don't recognise. I wouldnt automatically assume a horse wont cope if completely blind, if you have a safe set up and supportive herd members.

 

[Gloi]

or of course you could have this one. (sorry couldn't resist)

watch

What an incredible relationship they have

 

[SEL]

or of course you could have this one. (sorry couldn't resist)

watch

I'm always amazed by how Endo does what he does - she even has him jumping! Morally I keep thinking is that right, but he looks happy and healthy and seems to be enjoying life so I get back in my box!!

 

[Clodagh]

There’s two completely blind Appaloosa’s in the field opposite my house. They are absolutely fine, they are with two sighted field mates. Our water meter is in there and you just have to remember they can’t see, so if we get work done by it someone stays with them.

 

[SusieT]

A new cloudy eye should be seen by the vet today as an emergency so call your practice to arrange this.

 

[paddy555]

I'm always amazed by how Endo does what he does - she even has him jumping! Morally I keep thinking is that right, but he looks happy and healthy and seems to be enjoying life so I get back in my box!!

he jumps with a rope around his neck, look at some of the jumping horses and what is on their heads, and they have 2 eyes!

I can't in any way see Endo is morally wrong. He looks a lot calmer and more relaxed than many sighted horses at shows. No spurs, no whip. In fact from the various videos etc (I have followed him for a long time) he seems to have a far better life than many stabled horses in this country.
I had one that went completely blind. One day he could see, the next he couldn't. No idea why, impossible to take him anywhere to find out so just let him live here. He couldn't do what Endo does and I doubt he could ever have been trained to. He just stopped and couldn't move. He could however canter flat out round his track with his pony and cope with everything else. Then 16 month later his eyesight returned. No idea why but it was really interesting watching him reassess the world when I started to ride him again.
Some can do a lot, some less and it seems Endo can do everything.

 

[Storminateacup]

She has vet coming again on Thursday.
Yard owner says she seems fine in the field today, but just plodding about grazing.

 

[ycbm]

I'm always amazed by how Endo does what he does - she even has him jumping! Morally I keep thinking is that right, but he looks happy and healthy and seems to be enjoying life so I get back in my box!!

What an incredible partnership.

 

[Hollylee1989]

My cousin's late horse went blind in both eyes, due to uveitis. He coped really well for 4 years until he was pts from colic.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Where I ride, the vet had to remove the right eye of a horse who came back from his summer break with either an injury or infection that didn't respond to treatment. He does fine, now, with just the one eye.

I regularly ride one that has dodgy eyesight, particularly in his left eye. I'm told that he doesn't see well at a distance and so notices objects, people or animals at the last moment and is startled. This leads to him jumping sideways at particularly inconvenient moments or sometimes planting and refusing to walk past the tractor.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

A friend of mine had an appaloosa stallion that went blind with uveitis. He continued being ridden and serving mares for many years. This was back in the 80's/90's.

 

[Storminateacup]

Vet noticed a small cataract in my old mares eye.
She said its probably in both but we were outside and she couldn't say for sure.
Today we were in the stable and to my horror we could see she was really cloudy in one eye and seemed to be completely blind.

We checked the other and it was less cloudy, but still something there.
My mare is 20 and a Clydesdale.
It looks worse suddenly.

How do other cope with this.

Will she go blind in both now.

Vet will be up again end of week.
But I have no experience of this in horses. Does this mean that she may go completely blind and I will need to think about putting her to sleep.

Today the vet came and we had a very through examination of both my mares eyes.
Conclusion was this:-
She is no more than 50%

Vet noticed a small cataract in my old mares eye.
She said its probably in both but we were outside and she couldn't say for sure.
Today we were in the stable and to my horror we could see she was really cloudy in one eye and seemed to be completely blind.

We checked the other and it was less cloudy, but still something there.
My mare is 20 and a Clydesdale.
It looks worse suddenly.

How do other cope with this.

Will she go blind in both now.

Vet will be up again end of week.
But I have no experience of this in horses. Does this mean that she may go completely blind and I will need to think about putting her to sleep.

The vet came up to do a thorough examination and in the stable with the right equipment was able to say that she was not more than 50% blind in her right eye and that the other eye was within normal range.
I was told not to ride on the roads, well I don't anyway, and asked about whether she was more spooky than usual, which she isn't.
I'm now reading on various Google sites that riding is not advised. I've been told that surgery to remove the cataract is an option but with a GA being necessary and weeks of box rest and eyedrops up to five times a day, its really not a remotely viable.
No stable, 30 mile round trip to the yard and no services

Plus the cost for surgery is around £4,000 - 9,000 which without insurance is also not an option!

I only have accident insurance.

So whilst I'm relieved she is not blind in both the vet could neither say how long it had been developing or any idea of how fast things may progress.
So I'd appreciate anyone input and advice