Hi All
My wife’s 20yo QH “Canelo” has been struggling with reoccurring Uveitis. We took him to see an Equine Ophthalmologist a couple of weeks ago, who prescribed some additional meds, but basically told us that there wasn’t anything they could do. Additionally she said that he had/was developing glaucoma, and would, in all likelihood, have to have his eyes removed in the near future.
Poor Canelo 
In any event, my concern here is not his medical situation, but his ongoing welfare as a blind horse.
At the moment he can still see a little bit; light and shadow, movement, and some days are better than others, but the overall trend has been negative. And on his “dark” days he just stays in his stall and picks at his hay. This is no way for anybody to live.
At the moment, I have George (the Mule) keeping him company at night, and a good part of the day most days. They have always gotten along OK, but I don’t really see George evolving into a Guide Horse, and His Muleness has indicated that he would really rather be out and about as opposed to being confined in Canelo’s stall/paddock.
So what should we be doing to make life tenable for a blind horse? Any suggestions, or links to resources greatly appreciated. TIA! Steve and George
Maybe putting bells on George, and don’t clip any whiskers or eyebrow hairs on your horse. Whiskers help them feel where they are.
I’d try a noodle halo on his crown piece, kind of like a hub with foam pool noodles as the “spokes”, so they can give him feedback when he walks in the stable or near fences. Pool noodles as artificial whiskers.
Here’s a link on halos (not hub and spoke) for blind dogs.
I’ve had two horses w one eye here. The other was removed. Both got along well. I also have had two older horses (we do not use the word “old” here)with big cataracts who got along well. One had a pasture buddy she stuck with. The other really didn’t have a friend nor did she like people very well. She, too, got along fine. I wonder if eye pain is more of the problem…I really don’t know.
And this echo location device for horses
A famous horse trainer had a completely blind horse, that he didn’t know was blind. But the horse worked so well because he was being ridden and followed the riders cues. I can’t remember the trainer’s name, but he was a western rider.
we had a pony who finally died at 45+ years, his last ten or so he was basically blind, he did have a great relationship with one of our geldings who lead him around the pasture. We never limited their access to the open pastures.
Later after the gelding passed we then kept the pony in a restricted paddock which did allow us to feed him mash grain four to five times a day since he could not chew hay any longer.
One day he got down and could not get back up, we then euthanized him having him buried next to his guide horse
I boarded at a farm that had two completely blind horses. They used goats with bells on them as companions. The horses knew their boundaries and got along well with the goats. They taught the horses words, like step up, wet for water, and constantly talked to them while handling them.
One had a issue with knocking his head on things so wore a foam thing on his halter.
They were both older seniors and seemed happy eating hay and playing with the goat friends.
I had a new 2 yr. old horse that I boarded at a large farm.
A few weeks later they took in an older totally blind mare. i arrived one day to see my. young horse in the same small paddock with the blind mare. Fast forward a week or so and the old mare had taught my whippersnapper how to be her seeing eye horse. It was fascinating to watch but it was so effective.
So maybe you need a smart, willing young horse
as a pasture mate.
I love this. 
Also, there’s this:
I have their Recovery Vizor for my horse with eye ulcers that took FOREVER to heal and it’s a good product. In fact, I have two because I wanted to be able to wash one and still have her wear one. Her eye has since healed but it’s a great product. I also have one of their dog e-collars, which is also nice. So I suspect this is well-designed and well-made.
My 32 yo is almost completely blind but you couldn’t tell as long as he’s in his paddock. He had been living there since he was seeing fine and he knows it perfectly. The fence is solid wood and I saw him using the fence line as a guide. I guess he counts trees too because he touches the trees (on purpouse, he doesn’t collide with the trees, he gently touches them with the nose or the shoulder) while he passes by. He shares the paddock with a sheep and has other horses in the bordering paddocks, I think this helps him too. So maybe put some references for him so he doesn’t feel lost, and don’t move anything or he’ll be confused
That is a GREAT website.
Thanks Everybody!
So it does seem like a companion animal is a tried_and_true benefit. We aren’t allowed to keep goats, or most other livestock, but we could bring in another horse. Actually, we tried my “young” (5yo) boy Rosy in with Canelo. Rosy always had Canelo as a playmate before his blindness issues really set in; typical rambunctious 100MPH “Horse-Play”. After the usual exchange of salutations, Rosy wanted Canelo to go out for a romp with him, and was doing his level best to move him along. He received a firm kick for his troubles, but didn’t seem very discouraged, and we finally took him out of Canelo’s paddock rather than risk injury.
Were we to shop the local rescues for a suitable companion horse, what sort of search criteria might you suggest?
Chall; the idea of echo-location for Equines is intriguing. I’ll have to do some more research on that one. Also the “halo” idea. The K9 design doesn’t look like it would be useful for a horse, but feelers attached to a halter or face mask might. Do you have any additional info, or maybe some fotos?
As far as not trimming sensory whiskers, I have been preaching that philosophy forever. If nothing else, my boys use their whiskers to test a hot-wire for charge before leaning on it to access “The Greener Grass on The Other Side”.
Canelo’s mom had been serving his hay in a large pan (rather than in one of our “Savvy Feeders”) on the theory that he couldn’t see to use the slow feeder. He was making a huge mess in his stall, and I finally convinced her to put him back on the feeder. He seems to be fine with it, and moves it around as convenience suits.
Bells on George. Hmmm. Well, he might actually like it; he seems to like dressing up; I’ve put an old scarf on him and watched him wear it around until he snags it on something and it comes off. I have a very cool, and musical old sleigh bell horse collar, but put it on George . . . ? I think not, but I’ll shop for a suitably robust bell and give it a try. Worst case, he will take it off and stomp it into scrap-metal. Maybe if he is willing to wear a bell, I can fit him with the bell-collar and loan him to Santa. If your kids Christmas Presents don’t arrive on time, you’ll know why :-D.
Time for Barn Chores. I’ll keep this thread updated as things develop.
And 100X “Yes”; this is a great website.
You’d want to find a non-dominant more submissive, lower in pecking order type horse.
My 2 ye. old ASB mentioned above, who learned to be the guide for the old blnd mare, accepted being pushed around a bit until he got the message. He always had to stay on her right side. She also trained him to stick pretty close so she could nose him and tell where he was.
They quickly became a team. Y9ung guy was a willing student. Old mare made ugly snake faces when she was dissatisfied or he resisted her wishes. Fortunately my saddlebred complied with the old lady’s directions and they were like 2 peas in a pod out in the pasture, totally in tandem. They were a Hoot to watch.
do not forget a horse’s range of smell is more acute than that of humans but less sensitive than that of dogs, we have trained one of ours to do tracking. We were working with our GSD teaching her scent work, the horse decided he wanted to play too.
I’m reading this with interest as my elder statesman’s vision is fading as well. Different cause than your horse, but we think he is able to perceive the same things- light and shadow and movement. Transitions between bright outdoors and indoors are hard for him to manage, and sunset is tough as well. So far, the start of vision loss in each eye has been the worst part for him. He could perceive things but he clearly was not able to make sense of them. There was a lot of staring and spooking and turning his head this way and that way to try to get a better glimpse. Once he got used to having limited vision and figured out what he had to do to make sense of what was in front of him, he got better.
He already has a seeing-eye horse in his codependent platonic life partner of many years. This is a blessing. If I turn my guy out later than his friend, they will play Marco Polo in the field so that my horse can find his friend.
In addition to finding him a buddy, one thing you might work on with him is orienting to you/to sound. I like to teach a “touch” cue- touch my hand or an object with your nose- but the purpose of that is to orient the horse to me instead of whatever he’s spooking at. If your horse gets distressed about something he can’t make sense of, having him touch your hand and physically turn away from it can help. If he doesn’t already know voice cues like “come” and “whoa” now is the right time to bulletproof those- and train yourself to tell him “whoa” before you reach the gate so he doesn’t run into it in the dark.
Don’t make major changes to the layout of your property, lead him around and let him touch things with his nose, leave his whiskers long, and don’t forget that you need to be mindful too- he can’t see what you can, so be extra cautious when you’re leading him around so that he doesn’t spook sideways and jump on top of you.
My old lady’s vision is starting to go. She’s been blind in the left eye for a long time. Now her good eye has a cataract. The vet says it’s like she wears a veil all the time.
My old lady is not the dominate horse in the paddock. My gelding was much more of a dominant type and he would happily stay by her side. He would even get between her and other horses if necessary. Her companion right now is another mare, and she also is much more dominant. When old lady has been frantic the mare will check her all over to make sure she is okay when they reunite.
It’s very cute, but annoying.
Blind horses can do just fine in a pasture type situation. The key is you want to mark all boundaries somehow. Whether it be with different wind chimes by the fence line, or use pool noodles along the fence so they touch the noodles before reaching the fence.
Not all horses adapt well to being blind. Some just don’t cope well. It really depends on the horse. I would suggest removing the eyes sooner than later. Every flare up is painful.
This is just about word-for-word what the Vet told us. We’re already re-arranging priorities to accommodate the expense. Canelo goes back to see her in a week or two for re-evaluation. The meds have helped a little bit, so we’ll see what she says.
Ya know, this is just so important, and not just with a blind horse. Your critter has to trust you, and follow your lead, and it’s up to you, as the “adult”, to make it so. I always talk to my animals, and always make the effort to introduce them to new things, and show them how they relate to the overall situation, as pertains to being Equine. Sometimes it takes a few iterations, but generally they manage to get it. Some are quicker on the uptake than others, but they’re not stupid.
Another thing I always do when moving in close proximity to the large children, is to vocally greet them to let them know I’m near, and to lay a hand on them and keep it there as I move past. This accomplishes two things, three maybe. It lets them know exactly where I am, all of the time. And if they do abruptly move into my space, having a hand already in contact allows me to push away. I can assure you that this has saved me a couple of times. Thirdly, if they’re napping, it wakes them up w/o startling them. Well, and fourth, if they’re gonna plant a kick, they know just where to aim :-).
Friends, Off Topic, but do consider the above, and try to include it in your day-to-day interactions with your critters. You will be amazed at how well it translates to things like riding and dealing with fearfulness under saddle. Just a small, but IMO very important proselyzitation for your morning.
I took in two blind horses at two different times. Both were aged. One was completely blind, the other could see shadows out of one eye. They were both very levelheaded and kind horses. They did very well with a seeing eye buddy. The mini Willow had a kind thoroughbred mare that she did great with.
I took in Star the Arabian a couple of years ago. She was 31 and her owner had passed away. I had no idea her vision was so limited. Star had been at the farm she was at for a long time and navigated it well. The family was deciding what would be best for her. I told them I could give her a try with my yearlings and see how she handled the change.
She stumbled up the trailer ramp but went willingly. I thought it was because of her long feet. She didn’t see it. She arrived at my farm and could make out and smell the horses. She happily, and quite loudly, (she also was hard of hearing) whinnied and whinnied to all of them. I put her in a feed pen attached to the baby’s field and I could tell they would be fine together and put them together the first day.
That sweet mare was just so happy to have horse companionship, she was perfect with them. And they were happy to be her eyes. Star raised them for almost two years, she was without a doubt in charge. Sadly, last week I had to let her go.
Both horses were so very trusting and mellow. I could move them to different turn outs and they did fine. I do agree that it depends on the horse. And the more nervous or hot the horse, the more safety precautions you will need for them. Some do not cope well at all.
