One eyed horses!

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daisybe33

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Does anyone own one? does it restrict them in any way. I reemember a good JA pony near me that only had one eye but other than that have never really known much about them.

Would it put you off buying one if it was good in all other respects?
 
friend of mine has a one eyed horse, retired now but she used to hack him out on roads and did dressage with him
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Some horses adapt better than others, for example it can make them spooky but there are plenty of example of good horses with one eye or partially sighted. Although I wouldn't like to do anything too compliacated jumping/XC wise
 
I have one - a New Forest yearling. He was bred by a friend and contracted an eye infection when a day or so old. He's blind in that eye now which has a massive cataract in it. The pinky/white bit you can see in the photos is the third eyelid which is permanently partially covering the eye. It doesn''t appear to affect him at all but he doesn't really know what it's like to be able to see out of both as he was so young when it was damaged. Friend gave him to me as she wanted to know he'd be loved and looked after! He's a lovely pony with super breeding and will be a decent size (14/14.2hh).

This is him with his "eye" in September when he came in for weaning
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and a nice one of him at 7 weeks old with his Daddy
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We have a retired one eyed horse at my yard (he wasn't retired due to eye just due to age he is 26) He went round Firle XC and was placed while blind in the eye he had (he had it removed but was completely blind in it anyway) and was incredibly bombproof on hacks, He was always fun to jump, face him with anything and he'd jump it

Only difference with him was when hacking you had to ask him to stop at gates or he could walk into them. Also he was better kept in the same field, as he got confused in other fields where the fencing was etc. Also we have to lead him to the new water source to show him where it is if we ever change it.
 
my friend has a 80% blind horse in one eye. This horse was hunted my the whipper in for 4 seasons, then hunted for 2 seasons by the huntsmans wife. now my friend bought it and does everything with him. SJ, XC, Dressage, Hunts, Hacks. although not blind completley, he can hardly see out of that eye. The only thing she has to be careful is, is with skinnies as he cannot always see them, he wont run into them he just wont jump them and because of this he sometimes goes into jumps wonky so he can see the fence, but this doesnt affect anything and with a good rider i think most blind horses are fine.
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I have a one eye 2 year old. I was given him as a yearling by his breeder. He is extremely well bred with both top showjumpers and dressage horses on one side and a derby winner on his sires. I am expecting to event him. He was born like it - he knows no difference so I don't think it will be a problem at all.
 
used to be one at a riding school i went to he was amazing didn't bother him at all, but we had to do the showing him water thing and he always lived in same field. He was a sod to load but we didn't know if this was eye related or just him.
 
hmm do I take him
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. He is an unbroken but well handled three year old.

He only lost his eye earlier this year. How well do they recover from the op and does anyone know if there could be any complications so soon?

Thanks for all your replies so far x
 
Many years ago I had a horse on loan that was blind in one eye. He had contracted an infection when he was about 3 and he gradually lost the sight in the eye. It didn't affect him at all, he was blind in his left eye so I had no problem hacking out on the road he could see the traffic coming. The only problem that I did have was once his bandages started to come undone whilst out on a hack, I jumped off to sort it out he got loose and as I was on his blind side he couldn't see me. He took off up the road and a woman passing in her car kindly gave me a lift back to the yard where I found my horse!!! As long as you speak to them when you are approaching the blind side, so they know you are there, I didn't find it a problem
 
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