Would you remove an eye or PTS?

[Sussexbythesea]

No I would'nt put to sleep simply because an eye has to be removed. There would have to be other very strong factors also in play. I know several horse including an International showjumper who have been perfectly happy with one eye.

I see Ahrena has already posted but I remembered her recent report on her success at Tweseldown with pictures of her lovely boy who has one eye - see link below.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=599528&highlight=tweseldown

 

[brackenhappy]

its a hard choice to make putting any horse to sleep i had to make that decision with my mare however hers was down to illness and quality of life. There was a horse at my old stables that had one eye he had an accident when younger and lost it through that, the owner never rode him again as he was too unpredictable to be ridden after the op, she however was in the position of being able to afford to keep a field ornament. The horse was spooky however once you knew to approch him from his sighted side and called him on approch to his stable he was fine probably no more unpredictable than any other horse with 2 eyes. Its the OP decision and only she knows the horse if she feels that he would not cope with any quality of life after removing the eye then the kindest thing would be PTS or see if there is anyone that would be willing to rehome him with his problems. I chose to have my mare PTS as she had no quality of life and i was being cruel trying to keep her as an ornament. Good luck with whatever you decide to do x

 

[Rebels]

A friend recently pts a horse rather than remove the eye. Her reasons were that the horse was a dominant lead horse amongst her 6 , would become anxious if unable to be top dog, had started to become unhappy in and not going out to compete. She felt in the scheme of things that that particular horse who was a stressy, insecure individual would not transition well to one eye and therefore the hunt came and pts. Very sad for all but right for that horse.

 

[Goldenstar]

If uvetis is the reason for the removal of the eye I would definatly PTS , no debate at all.
If another reason I would definatly try it I have had two blind in noe eye and partially sighted for other reasons and both managed very very well.

 

[Rebels]

Oh, and horse had uveitis and would go through phases of trying to remove the eye itself when the pain was bad even with iv bute

 

[claracanter]

Someone I know has a welsh section D and was in same situation as you. Very spooky pony, anyway she took the decision to have the eye removed and the pony recovered well. He is less spooky than he was before. It's as though the problems with the eye were causing the spookiness. He is still a sharp pony but seems much happier now that he has adjusted to it.

 

[slumdog]

I would remove the eye and see how he copes, once he's gone- he's gone and personally I would always wonder 'what if' at least if he doesn't cope and then you have to pts, you've gave him a chance.

 

[Spotsrock]

My mare is partially sighted in one eye following an accident and is now 100% normal. Yard mate has a one eyed horse which hacks jumps etc no problems.

 

[melbiswas]

I think it is harder to make a decision about a horse that has been away from you for 15 months.
Would his current rider be prepared to put in the work that would be involved? Do they not want him with 1 eye?
Is this a horse you didn't want back particularly?

There must be other factors coming into play in this scenario that make deciding more complicated than the impact of losing one eye.

 

[Shadow the Reindeer]

At the end of the day, it's whatever is in the horse's best interest, and only his owner will know what she should do Hugs to the Op, not an easy decision, but you know your boy XXX

 

[Spring Feather]

I own a horse who is blind in one eye. He's no different to how he was when he had two working eyes. He's a competition horse but he also hacks out and goes and does everything he always did before. PTS wouldn't be the first option for me but I'm not the nervous sort and I've seen horses who have gone blind or had their eye removed and it's never changed their personality any.

 

[meggymoo]

Our horse had her eye removed 6 months ago - she was totally blind in her left eye. Since then she has been a different horse - for the better! We are more aware of things around us, that may cause her a problem, but to date nothing has. She has hacked out quite happily and easily jumps 3 foot. She does tend to turn her head to the left more, presumably to compensate, her ear does twitch around more and we do talk more to make her aware if we are approaching from the blind side. I appreciate that everyone is different but it would have been tragic to have her pts considering the life she is living now. Incidentally our vet removed the eye under ga, he said they generally prefer to do it that way although some will do it under sedation. And yes, i did almost worry myself to death about the risks with ga!

 

[Beau jangles]

If his health isn't going to be compromised then give him a chance if he doesn't cope after a 6 month adjustment period then consider PTS but I think every horse deserves a chance to prove there owners wrong !

 

[lucindakay]

i haven't read all the posts and i think my post may seem a little juvenile but why not try with the eye removed and if he isn't happy then think about PTS, obviously thats quite expensive but that does give the horse a chance

 

[showpony]

Give him a chance! Don't give up on him without seeing how he copes!

 

[rara007]

Horses compete at top level with one eye- Id give the horse a chance.

 

[zigzag]

If the eye needs to be removed from Uveitis, I would put shoot him, if its an accident I would give him a chance

 

[Louise_88]

My lad went blind in his right eye about months ago - he is a spooky sensitive sort but is just the same to ride, hacks out as good as ever and is probably less spooky now then he was before (as he can't see things to spook at from the right). He also still jumps, sadly including our field fencing! I would give him a chance if you can.

 

[paulineh]

Horses cope well with only one eye. I have an Arab gelding that is blind in one eye (has not had it removed) he has learnt to trust me and looks to me for guidance.

How old is your boy. I would not PTS. I would give him a chance.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

If uvetis is the reason for the removal of the eye I would definatly PTS , no debate at all.
If another reason I would definatly try it I have had two blind in noe eye and partially sighted for other reasons and both managed very very well.

well I would not pts just because of uveitis as mentioned my mare lost 80 % of her sight blind in one eye she was happy and full of life.

She lived till 25 and it was a stroke that determined her fate not the uveitis.


OP you know your horse. My late mare developed uveitis too ( 2nd horse with it). I managed it very well knew the warning signs and she lost very little of her sight. In fact ironicly the laminitis flare up seemed to lessen the attacks and the last attack of uveitis was the Aug 2012. Vets were totally gobsmacked why it just stopped like that and disappeared.

No One can tell you what to do

be guided by your vet
your horse
your budget



Too many people opt for the pts option IMO

OP said it was only 1 eye so re regardless of uveitis or cancer or ulcers if the eye is removed its still got one good eye. If my mare can cope with being blind in one eye and 20% vision only in the other. I say give the horse a chance .

OP speak to your vet see if you can maybe put a patch on the bad eye and see how he copes using just the other.

 

[smellsofhorse]

I would give him a chance.
See how he copra with the eye removed.
They adapt surprisingly well.

If he is unhappy and doesn't have a good quality of life then have him pts.

Could he be loaned as a companion if he can't be ridden but is happy being a horse?

 

[The_snoopster]

One of mine is totally blind in one eye, vet decided not to remove unless it caused problems or pain in the furture. The only thing I have to do differently is be careful who his field companions are as he cannot see a kick or bully coming at him from his blind side, and when I arrive to the field or stable and his blind side is facing me I will gently call his name so he can then turn around to see me and not spook. And when the farrier comes he will let him know he his about to ask for his leg, nothing else is really any different.
Your situation maybe different, but you asked for an opinion and mine is I would try with the eye removal first then make a descision on his future, wether that would be PTS , loan or sell depending on how severe he reacts. Good luck

 

[Barney&Buzz]

I do not understand any human who is prepared to say they would pts as they know their horse wouldn't cope! How do you know? Have you previously removed one of its eyes and saw it didn't cope and then popped it back in?

No situation a horse has been in before is the same as having an eye removed so how do you know it wouldn't cope? Quality of health is not compromised.

My horse had an accident which required his face being stitched, he is head shy now and can be difficult to deal with. Therefore I know he would not cope with one eye and would not put him through it. My mare however is so easy going she wouldn't be a problem.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Our horse had his eye removed in January. He was super u predictable before the op and it was a last ditch thing.
He's been ridden since and was no better so has been off since the start of Feb. I'm now starting to see a real change in him and he's so much more relaxed. I'm feeling optimistic about his future at last.

 

[bouncingbean]

If I were you I'd would go ahead with the eye removal now and see how he adapts. Give him plenty of time to adjust and if he's unhappy and not coping with only one eye then pts but at least he will have had the best chance. Horses cope fantastically well with one eye. Best of luck to the both of you.

 

[RachelFerd]

I could not personally ever justify putting a horse to sleep if enucleation was a viable option.

I work in a vets that perform enuclations under standing sedation - the operation is fairly quick and generally has no complications. The horses cope amazingly well, and are generally instantaneously much happier than they were pre-op as soon as they come round from the sedation, as their source of pain has been removed.

The majority of horses who are experiencing some level of eye-pain, or partial sight, will have a change in personality and increased spookiness. It is very likely that the spookiness (and grumpiness) will reduce once the eye is removed.

To me, it would be a mistake to PTS before finding out if the horse can cope with 1 eye. The vast majority cope amazingly well, in fact I can't actually think of an example of a horse that hasn't.

 

[Mongoose11]

My horse had an accident which required his face being stitched, he is head shy now and can be difficult to deal with. Therefore I know he would not cope with one eye and would not put him through it. My mare however is so easy going she wouldn't be a problem.

Ahhhh he became headshy due to a previous operation, yes I see now why he wouldn't cope with one eye.....

 

[starryeyed]

I think it is harder to make a decision about a horse that has been away from you for 15 months. Would his current rider be prepared to put in the work that would be involved? Do they not want him with 1 eye? Is this a horse you didn't want back particularly?

These were my thoughts too - I'm assuming he's been away on loan?
How old is your horse, OP?

Has this been an on-going thing (in which case his current spookiness may be due to his deteriorating sight?), or has it been damaged in an accident?
I personally would try the op & give him a chance to adjust to life with one eye - I've heard of so many horses adjusting to their 'new' lives and being happy and successful, going out and about having fun and competing etc, and would always find myself asking "what if...?" if I didn't give it a go. Their other senses improve when one is compromised. If after the operation, he was really not coping, then I would PTS as it wouldn't be fair.
A horrible decision for you to make x

 

[EstherYoung]

I don't think any of us can recommend PTS/not PTS without knowing the horse, its situation, and the reasons for potential removal. Also please be sensitive to who may be reading threads like this with blanket 'every horse deserves a chance' comments. A friend just made the decision to have hers PTS rather than remove the eye, but his was down to sarcoids and the potential for very weak skin/the sarcoids spreading across the operation site was too great.

It depends on:
- Prognosis for the op
- Prognosis for the other eye
- The horse's temperament
- Whether the horse has had sight deterioration from that eye already (in which case losing the eye may not make much difference)
- The availability of aftercare
- Whether the horse's future can be guaranteed.

There are no right or wrong answers xxxx

 

[dornrose]

I'm another one who has a one eyed horse, you wouldn't notice he only has one eye (he's only 2 so not ridden yet) he had it removed at around 6 weeks old and had no sight in it from near birth. Initially we made huge allowances for him but as we got more used to his lack of vision and realised it wasn't affecting him we stopped. I've recently started doing more with him - gentle lunging and there was no difference lunging on his blind side, he's fine coming in/out of stables and isn't bothered by me leaning over his blind side (he hasn't got his left eye) so the normal things are often done on the blind side like mounting I no longer see this as a problem.

So for me I'd weigh up why your horse has to have the eye removed - if he's in pain now it may have affected his behaviour. But if he's always been spooky and difficult I might consider pts, no reason why you can't have eye removed and later take the pts option, but if their behaviour is to do with pain I'd give them a chance.