My horse is going blind.....

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Arran1812

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Hi, i was just wondering if anyone could help or had any helpful hints on dealing with a blind horse.
My horse Arran has lost all sight in one eye and now is loosing it in the other as well due to cataracts. I have enquired about laser surgery to deal with the cataractswith my vet but have been informed it would not help in Arran's case :(
Im worried about him not being able to find feed and water in the field and i dont just want to keep him boxed as its not fair on him - does anyone have any experience of this? I love my boy with all my heart, he was my first horse! I keep having people suggest to have him put to sleep but he's only 13 and if we can manage with the blindness then there is no reason for this, he is fit and healthy in every other way!!
Thanks x
 
Sorry to hear about your horse. I have no experience of this, but hope there'll be others on here who can give you some suggestions. I do remember there's a horse charity who has several blind horses...... I just can't remember which one.

But I did want to say that you may want to google "cataracts" and "selenium" and maybe add in "horses" as well.

Whilst I've been reading up on selenium because of muscle-related issues in my gang, I've become aware just what a vital mineral it is, and I've seen it mentioned quite a few times that a lack of selenium can contribute to cataract formation.

A very quick google now just showed that there is at least some anecdotal evidence of selenium supplementation helping reduce the progression of cataracts, so worth looking into further.

If you choose to supplement selenium, you need to know that selenium can be toxic at very low doses, and so it would be vital to establish what the dietary intake is at the moment (forage analyses and hard feed analysis) and work out from there just how much selenium you would be safe to add.

Like I say, I have no experience of it in this role at all, but it sounds as though if you are going to try anything, time is of the essence.

Good luck.

Sarah
 
Horses have excellent senses. This includes hearing and smell too.

I've read their sense of smell is actually more acute than dogs!

The electric fence clicks on my yard - so horses can hear that.

You can use bells in a field mate's mane.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pack-10-J...ts_Embellishments_SM&var=&hash=item79157c8ea9
I wouldn't worry about them finding food and water. It's a case of giving a safe field with a trusted field mate and keeping consistency and routine.
 
A number of years ago we was given a pony for riding lessons. Within a few years of moving to us she went completely blind, but no one would know it! She took herself to and from the field in a yard housing 25+ horses so she could have easily got lost! And had no problems In her stable.

She was quite old when she arrived but spent many years blind and happy! The only reason she was pts was simply because the yard was closed and we thought it wouldn't be fair at her age to move her.
I wouldn't have him pts if he is happy and healthy, animals adapt, he's adapted to losing sight in one eye.

Hope this gives you some hope for your boy x
 
My story is not so positive. My horse went blind and couldn't cope. He had to follow another horse to be able to move, otherwise he planted his feet and shook. He was unrideable, unpredictable, dangerous and unhappy. I decided to PTS as it was the kindest option for him.

I hope your boy can cope, and is happy to move and use his other senses. Good luck. x
 
We had a mare who was blind in one eye and almost blind in the other she managed just fine you never knew until she had a very young foal when she was a bit panicky I think it just depends on how each horse copes
 
My first mare had moonblindness lost her sight in one eye . The the other eye and then the retina detached in one eye but it gave her shadow vision. She coped very well. I was always careful no to spook her. I could ride her as she had trust in me. I was careful to say hup when we came to something to step over. She was in a safe paddock with my donkey thus she was in no danger of being kicked, her other senses really tuned up.
 
My mare is loosing her eye sight due to old age (She is 30 and has about 25% vision). I have just tried to keep her in a regular routine and she gets turned out in the same field every day and goes out with the same friend. She actually copes really well and the worse she does when you go and catch her (she's a bit deaf too!) is she jumps because she doesn't see me until the last minute...I sometimes suspect this is selective because she always knows when you are going into the feed shed ;) I am sure your horse will be fine I think they always cope much better than we expect....good luck with him :)
 
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