Please let me be wrong.....

McNally

McNally

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Although some will know the story and my vet has been spoken to and pony booked in for aa full examination but if i tell you this what would be your instant thought?

Pony has always been fab was broken in with no problem and so well behaved my daughter has been hacking him with a friend her own age as hes 100%. Traffic, dogs, bikes a shoot nothing phases him.
Temprement wise he's the sweetest thing always at the gate before my engine is off, follows us round the field while we poo pick (investigating pockets and tipping the barrow etc).
Loads perfectly, travels, shoe clip he's near perfect....

Now he whips round constantly ALWAYS to the right from some random thing on the left but there is never anything there- into traffic, people other horses its complete panic.
He is very very cautious about loading and travels badly. In the field he's tense and sticks like glue to my other horse, stressing if he's taken away.We cant catch him very often even with food.
I tried to rug him today and he was terrified- think head high, eye whites showing tail clamped so hard that he was virtually leaning backward and physically shaking.
If i touch him he panics at first (once he's in and we are grooming or something he calms down)
I dont think this is spring grass as we put the first signs down to I honestly dont think he's being naughty- he's just not a bad pony.
Ive cut his feed amd he's living out 24/7
This is something thats slowly crept up on us and ive tried my best to find excuses for or ignore. Choosing to go with everyone elses (including at first the vets) opinion that its just that time of year, sends them all a bit scatty type excuse.

Please can the horrible old school "horses are not to be loved" gang not comment im just after real opinions here and yes i realize that my Pony club ideas this summer are so not going to happen im not stupid just not wanting to believe what i now think?!
 
So you're thinking he's blind I'm guessing? First thing is-get the vet out for a full examination.
 
I also thought of sight. This time of the year does send Horses a bit naughty. However yours sounds like his switched completly so I would be concerned there was something going on pain wise.
 
McNally said:
Although some will know the story and my vet has been spoken to and pony booked in for aa full examination but if i tell you this what would be your instant thought?

Pony has always been fab was broken in with no problem and so well behaved my daughter has been hacking him with a friend her own age as hes 100%. Traffic, dogs, bikes a shoot nothing phases him.
Temprement wise he's the sweetest thing always at the gate before my engine is off, follows us round the field while we poo pick (investigating pockets and tipping the barrow etc).
Loads perfectly, travels, shoe clip he's near perfect....

Now he whips round constantly ALWAYS to the right from some random thing on the left but there is never anything there- into traffic, people other horses its complete panic.
He is very very cautious about loading and travels badly. In the field he's tense and sticks like glue to my other horse, stressing if he's taken away.We cant catch him very often even with food.
I tried to rug him today and he was terrified- think head high, eye whites showing tail clamped so hard that he was virtually leaning backward and physically shaking.
If i touch him he panics at first (once he's in and we are grooming or something he calms down)
I dont think this is spring grass as we put the first signs down to I honestly dont think he's being naughty- he's just not a bad pony.
Ive cut his feed amd he's living out 24/7
This is something thats slowly crept up on us and ive tried my best to find excuses for or ignore. Choosing to go with everyone elses (including at first the vets) opinion that its just that time of year, sends them all a bit scatty type excuse.

Please can the horrible old school "horses are not to be loved" gang not comment im just after real opinions here and yes i realize that my Pony club ideas this summer are so not going to happen im not stupid just not wanting to believe what i now think?!
Click to expand...

Something that may be completely irrelevant but have you checked eyesight? My friends mare was like this and found to be almost completely blind in both eyes. She still competes etc but the mare is jumpier of things that are silent spooking her, my friend taught her to flex her head away if something spooked her rather than moving her whole body.

Pan
 
I instantly thought eyesight too. Particularly floaters. They think there is something there but it is detached retina ( I think) floating in the fluid and causing them to see things moving which makes them spook
 
There's absolutely no point in speculating what may or may not be going on and torturing yourself with a hundred possibilities.

Hugs to you and kudos for listening to your boy and getting him checked out at the vet's.

Just wait for the vet's diagnosis and try to relax
hug.gif
 
Cr**..... ...Yes this is what i think, Problem being he's already totally blind in the right eye so he cant cope with loosing the sight in the left.
He's going to be checked next week. His eye looks completely normal but obviously i cant see inside so am taking him to the surgery where they have a very dark box to check him in.
I so so hope he's just being a little brat but its not naughty its like a personality transplant.
 
McNally said:
Cr**..... ...Yes this is what i think, Problem being he's already totally blind in the right eye so he cant cope with loosing the sight in the left.
Click to expand...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117596/Laghat-Racehorse-won-100-000-euros-prize-money-see.html

Don't be too sure about that, it's not an ideal scenario, but being blind doesn't mean that they can't cope. I know the link isn't completely blind, but you get the gist. Hearing etc can be great.

Hope things work out though and he's just being a s0d

Pan
 
Sounds like sight to me, but obviously wait on the vet. I have a one eyed horse who sadly losing his sight in his remaining eye. He is now almost completely blind but is still in ridden work. Obviously jumping is out of the question but that's not a massive issue for me.
 
Thanks both- I realize maybe a pony could cope with blindness but he's not handling what ever it is right now and he's a kids PC/jumping pony. Right now he's unhappy in the field and my daughter who played a huge part in breaking him/taught him to jump etc is scared of him.

Here's hoping i just have a little monstor to sort out
 
Funnily pandorasjar the only thing right now he still seems happy and to really enjoy is if we take him to a racing yard and let him go on the gallops! Its a Gallop he knows well and has been using a while now.
I figured as its straight and he knows the footing and there is nothing close by?!
 
In regards to your post before this, yes I would imagine he wouldn't be coping with it, it's completely new and frightening if it is eye-sight. Agreed that it would make him unfit (even if just initially) as a childs pony.

I'd suggest even more bonding and playing so he knows that you're safe and that if you aren't worried he can feed off that - I wouldn't have a child in there alone or even in company if he's very unpredictable atm. Perhaps getting a strong smell to always go out with. My pony hates if I change washing powder, or spray perfume etc. I always try and have a salt rock in my hand for her to come to aswell. Familiarity will be a good thing.

McNally said:
Funnily pandorasjar the only thing right now he still seems happy and to really enjoy is if we take him to a racing yard and let him go on the gallops! Its a Gallop he knows well and has been using a while now.
I figured as its straight and he knows the footing and there is nothing close by?!
Click to expand...

Quite possibly, my friends loves straight gallops, however she still jumps incredibly whatever you line her up too, hacks well but with confidence so she knows she doesn't need to spook as you haven't. I'd say that the pony now reads a lot more off the rider though.

Sorry it's a waffle and probably not much help!

Pan
 
It is a help! Ive been on the verge of crying all day (shamefully!) I went to visit his old owner who agreed this isnt right and has offered to transport him to the vets with me which will be a help.

My daughters not scared to handle/groom him just to ride him. Im sure once he settles after a short while (5 mins maybe) he would never ever hurt her. She's currently the only person who can get close to him, not always but he trusts her so much.
 
McNally said:
It is a help! Ive been on the verge of crying all day (shamefully!) I went to visit his old owner who agreed this isnt right and has offered to transport him to the vets with me which will be a help.

My daughters not scared to handle/groom him just to ride him. Im sure once he settles after a short while (5 mins maybe) he would never ever hurt her. She's currently the only person who can get close to him, not always but he trusts her so much.
Click to expand...

Just a thought, you try working with him with vocal sounds? One of mine will respond to voice cues far quicker than anything else (all be it in hand/lunging/loose in field as not broken yet) , when first learning she'd even freeze with a leg in the air when told to stand. Also might be good for him hearing that you're taking charge alongside a physical movement?

I'd work on really developing a bond right now ahead of riding.

Pan
 
I will, We will try some work with him tonight if we can get near enough! Poor boy.
Thank you x
 
Get him a Labrador.


Sorry, it's not funny really :(
I had a pony years ago who had had the left eye removed, and then gradually lost the sight in the right as she got older.
Once we had realised that this was what was happened, it was very manageable. We made her a routine and we were careful not to nice things in the field/yard around where we could help. She coped very well and was just as happy as before.

However this pony was much older and no longer ridden.
Try not to panic too much before you know what the craic is.

Even if the worst comes to the worst though and the pony is blind, it can still live a happy life in the field.

And this is the worst - it may be something completely treatable, or something else completely.

Please try not to worry too much. All you cab do is find out what the problem is and then deal with it as best you can. Easy for me to say I know! :L

I really hope it all works out for you :) :)
 
Sight was my first thought too, but I am no vet! Jinglejoys may have posted the link I'm thinking about (haven't checked) but a while back there was an amazing YouTube vid of a totally blind horse doing dressage to a very high standard
 
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